N.N. Rimzon
Encyclopedia
N. N. Rimzon is an India
n artist known primarily for his highly symbolic and enigmatic sculpture.
The fragmentation of society, individual alienation, and archetypal depictions of the human experience predominate his work. His metal, fiberglass and stone sculptures have won him international acclaim, though in recent years his confidently composed drawings have gained recognition.
and Bhupen Khakhar
. In 1989 he earned his MA with distinction from the Royal College of Art
, London.
’s Emergency during the mid-1970s. This was one factor that moved him away from narrative painting to experimentation with conceptually motivated sculpture. Rimzon concentrated on themes that depicted humanity’s entrapment and anguish in a hostile environment that was of man’s own making. In The Inner Voice (1992), a sculpted nude figure, cast in fiberglass, is displayed with its back against the wall and surrounded by a semicircle of cast iron swords. In Speaking Stones (1998), a crouching nude figure uses its hands to both hold its head and shield its eyes. The figure is surrounded by naturally sharp stones, which rest on photographs depicting massacres, demolitions, and other acts of communal violence that have been part of India’s more recent history.
Born in the Indian state of Kerala
, Rimzon’s artistic vocabulary finds root in symbols derived from the rural landscape of southern India: the village compound, the palm tree, the temple, the forest pathway and the handmade canoe. In Rimzon’s drawings he further develops the themes that are found in his sculpture. Charcoal and dry pastel is used with a simple grace of line to create an often eerie and evocative stillness. This pristine tranquility seems to be intruded upon by symbols such as the sword and the felled tree. A sense of tragedy or alienation underlies depictions of what might otherwise be thought to be rural idylls. Rimzon’s later works seem as much concerned with ecological threats as with communal aggression.
N. N. Rimzon’s work can be found in the collections of The National Gallery of Modern Art
, New Delhi and Mumbai, The Chester Herwitz Trust, Massachusetts, U.S.A., The Foundation for Indian Artists, Amsterdam, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales
, Sydney.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n artist known primarily for his highly symbolic and enigmatic sculpture.
The fragmentation of society, individual alienation, and archetypal depictions of the human experience predominate his work. His metal, fiberglass and stone sculptures have won him international acclaim, though in recent years his confidently composed drawings have gained recognition.
Early life
Rimzon studied sculpture at the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram. He later joined Maharaja Sayajirao Universtity (M.S.U.), Baroda, where he was considered among the best of the upcoming generation of artists that stemmed from M.S.U. luminaries such as Jyoti BhattJyoti Bhatt
Jyotindra Manshankar Bhatt , is an Indian artist best known for his modernist work in painting and printmaking and also his photographic documentation of rural Indian culture. He studied painting under N. S. Bendre and K.G. Subramanyan at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao Universtity ,...
and Bhupen Khakhar
Bhupen Khakhar
Bhupen Khakhar Bhupen Khakhar was a leading artist in Indian contemporary art. He worked in Baroda, and gained international recognition for his work.-Works:...
. In 1989 he earned his MA with distinction from the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, London.
Career
As a young man Rimzon experienced the widespread political upheaval that accompanied Indira GandhiIndira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
’s Emergency during the mid-1970s. This was one factor that moved him away from narrative painting to experimentation with conceptually motivated sculpture. Rimzon concentrated on themes that depicted humanity’s entrapment and anguish in a hostile environment that was of man’s own making. In The Inner Voice (1992), a sculpted nude figure, cast in fiberglass, is displayed with its back against the wall and surrounded by a semicircle of cast iron swords. In Speaking Stones (1998), a crouching nude figure uses its hands to both hold its head and shield its eyes. The figure is surrounded by naturally sharp stones, which rest on photographs depicting massacres, demolitions, and other acts of communal violence that have been part of India’s more recent history.
Born in the Indian state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, Rimzon’s artistic vocabulary finds root in symbols derived from the rural landscape of southern India: the village compound, the palm tree, the temple, the forest pathway and the handmade canoe. In Rimzon’s drawings he further develops the themes that are found in his sculpture. Charcoal and dry pastel is used with a simple grace of line to create an often eerie and evocative stillness. This pristine tranquility seems to be intruded upon by symbols such as the sword and the felled tree. A sense of tragedy or alienation underlies depictions of what might otherwise be thought to be rural idylls. Rimzon’s later works seem as much concerned with ecological threats as with communal aggression.
N. N. Rimzon’s work can be found in the collections of The National Gallery of Modern Art
National Gallery of Modern Art
The National Gallery of Modern Art is the leading Indian art gallery. The main museum at New Delhi was established on March 29, 1954 by the Government of India, with subsequent branches at Mumbai and Bangalore...
, New Delhi and Mumbai, The Chester Herwitz Trust, Massachusetts, U.S.A., The Foundation for Indian Artists, Amsterdam, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
, Sydney.