Bio
Ranjan Kaul is a Delhi-based visual artist, art writer-critic, curator, published author, and Founding Partner of the art blog www.artamour.in. He has held five solo exhibitions of his paintings in New Delhi: Within, Without, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre,(March 2024). Ringside View, Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre (November 2021); Where Do They Belong, Arpana Art Gallery (October 2019); Staying Alive, Lalit Kala Akademi (May 2019); and Essence of Being, India International Centre Art Gallery (November 2017). He curated a collaborative art exhibition as well as participated in the two-person show WhatsUp, Urban Fringe, New Delhi (2023); and was also the co-curator of the group show, An Imaginal Affair, The Stainless Gallery, New Delhi (2021). He has participated in many group art shows as an invited artist in India and Russia, which include Art Mir, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow (2023); Urban Myths, Nero Art Hub, Bikaner House, New Delhi (2022); Windows Not Walls, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata (2021); Confluence, Twin Art Gallery, IGNCA, New Delhi 2019; Mahatma Gandhi 150th Anniversary Exhibition, Kochi Art and Science Space (online, 2019); Art as a Weapon of War, M.F. Husain Art Gallery, New Delhi (2019).
A socially aware figurative artist, Kaul’s first three exhibitions, Essence of Being (2017), Staying Alive (2019), and Where Do They Belong (2019), were expressions of his observations of the quotidian life, while his fourth show, Ringside View (2019), featured narratives of the traumatic times of the Covid pandemic and its effect on the human psyche. He extended his oeuvre for the two-person collaborative show WhatsUp (2023), where he used allegory and symbolism, borrowing imagery from mythology and poetry to weave stories that portray the contemporary social order.
A self-taught artist, Kaul has always been passionate about art and literature. While pursuing painting and creative writing side by side, he worked in book publishing and served as Managing Director of Oxford University Press India till he transitioned to become a full-time artist. Interestingly, he is an engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur; he also completed his master’s in English literature from the University of Delhi; and did postgraduate studies in product design at IIT Bombay. His published works include a novel, Through the Forest, Darkly (Hachette), a collection of short stories, Silent Realities (Niyogi Books), and critical reviews and writings on art.
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“Ranjan Kaul’s work is honest. He has had the discretion of exhibiting his paintings after achieving a great deal of proficiency.”
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“The passion which reveals itself is unquestionable – and this is a prime requisite.”
Krishen Khanna
“Life is worth it only if one feels for the men and women in the street. Works from the heart.”
Arpana Caur
“Kaul’s paintings offer a singular view of the dispossessed and neglected who live on the periphery of our consciousness . . . In Kaul’s images are faces that come alive and remain unforgotten.”
Ina Puri
“Ranjan Kaul’s work is stark, austere . . . His paintings beautifully nuance common people . . . the works are lyrical blends of an evocative palette . . . They speak of a ‘silence’ of these men and women.”
Kanchan Chander
“Congratulations . . . keep the spirit alive.”
Rajeev Lochan
“Congratulations for your paintings which are very unique in colour shades and simplifying forms.”
Biren Sen Gupta
“What a magnificent debut in the world of art!”
Sudhir Dar
“Very impressive!”
Poonam Sahi
“Mood, colour, line – super!”
Mark Warner
“Some great use of angles and colours. Vividly original.”
Swaminathan S Aiyar
“Extraordinary talent. Humane, observant, compassionate, (Ranjan Kaul) brings alive people on the streets and in shanties with all their dignity and individuality.”
Harsh Mander
“Loved the colours, the starkness and the sense of humanity at large.”
Susan Visvanathan
INTERVIEW WITH ART CULTURE FESTIVAL
I’m a humanist and a socially conscious artist. I like to depict the human condition, with all its banalities, compulsions and predicaments. Figurative work thus appeals most to my imagination and sensibilities. But I do appreciate other genres and would single out Ram Kumar for his abstracted representation of landscapes.
INTERVIEW WITH FNBWORLD
It all begins with an idea or image. At times, an image leaves a powerful impact on me. Or, it may only register somewhere in the subconscious. I seldom begin working on any idea immediately. It may linger in my mind till I become restless. While working on the canvas or writing for that matter, I allow my impulses to take over, so the finished work can be different from what I visualized or imagined.
INTERVIEW WITH L.I.F.E. CHATS
L.I.F.E. Chats brings to you a perspective on Including Visual Arts and Art Study in Education. Hear Ranjan Kaul, an artist, Art Educator, Author and IIT Alumnus speak on Social Art and its importance in creating a humane world. Do Share, Like and Subscribe so that you do not miss out on other exciting chats in future.
NOTE BY KRISHEN KHANNA
