A retrospective showcasing works from the 1950's through the early 1980's. Reddy's work fuses a hyper-reductive figuration with a transcendental, karmic, almost Blakean philosophy of a varied and beauteous unity amidst the turmoil of an anxious and fractured world.
The Thomas Erben Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of a
retrospective of seminal print maker Kirshna Reddy (b. 1925, Andhra Pradesh,
India) showcasing works from the 1950's through the early 1980's.
Celebrated artist, wandering scholar, innovator and experimenter, Krishna
Reddy is a pivotal figure in India's artistic path through Modernism. After
completing his studies under Nandalal Bose at Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan in
1947, Reddy taught art at Kalakshetra in Madras for three years. Going
abroad in 1951, he attended Slade School of Fine Arts, London, with Henry
Moore, for two years. After Slade he moved to the continent where he
furthered his contact with European Modernism, studying sculpture with Ossip
Zadkine in Paris (1952-55) and with Mario Marini in Milan (1956-57). Also in
Paris, he studied engraving (1953-55) with S.W.Hayter at Atelier 17, which
he later joined, becoming a professor and associate director in 1965. In
1977 Reddy moved to New York to teach at New York University where he
established the print department and presently is Professor Emeritus in Art.
As a master printmaker, Reddy has been credited with a process allowing for
simultaneous color printing. The unique artist¹s prints presented in the
exhibition testify to Reddy¹s explosive, exuberant approach to color and
fascinate us with the seemingly endless variation of one image from one
plate, which the artist constantly sculpted and altered, printed in a
rainbow of shifting color.
Reddy¹s work fuses a hyper-reductive figuration with a transcendental,
karmic, almost Blakean philosophy of a varied and beauteous unity amidst the
turmoil of an anxious and fractured world. Nevertheless he remains highly
cognizant of the paradox of creation and an artist¹s ability, or sometime
inability, to master the objects he employs and the subjects he depicts.
Awarded numerous honors, Reddy has presented more than 200 solo exhibitions
worldwide. His works are included in major private collections and more than
250 museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the British
Museum, London; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the National Gallery and
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; the Albertina Museum, Vienna; and the
Art Institute of Chicago.
Reception for the artist: Wednesday, September 17, 6 - 8:30 pm
Thomas Erben Gallery
526 West 26th Street, 4th floor - New York
Free admission