Untitled (Two Sisters)

Ram Kumar

During his figurative phase, stretching well into the 1950s, Ram Kumar was occupied with addressing the human condition and disenfranchised youth in urban settings. By then, he had returned from Paris, where he spent his seminal foundational years in art making, and eventually settled in the capital city of Delhi. In this early post-partition era, Kumar witnessed families and individuals burdened by the need to rebuild their lives as they took refuge in an unfamiliar urban-scape. Key elements such as observation and introspection went hand in hand for the artist, which eventually seeped into his visual language.

In this multi-tonal lithograph, Kumar depicts two figures, believed to be sisters, standing against the backdrop of a chaotic cityscape. An unsettling, hollowed appearance consumes the figures, reiterating a sense of alienation and isolation inherent in larger cities. The figures with their stoic frontal gaze, composed of expressionless faces, are juxtaposed against the frenzied building blocks of a city ranging from fences and wires to pathways, buildings and towers. The use of grey, black, and sepia further instils a sense of discomfort and unfamiliarity.