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K. P. Reji
K. P. Reji approaches the notion of
displacement with an awareness of the many crossings involved in such a
journey toward safety. Crossing / Sea and Crossing / Mountain
indicate the ‘escape routes’ often taken by thousands due to
disasters both natural and manmade. The artist symbolically and visually
addresses the plight of those forced to leave everything behind.
‘This set of paintings stem from
migration/displacement, which has been my preoccupation for long. People
move to alien lands leaving behind all their belongings, home, land,
family, friends and dreams - all for a little peaceful life. People are
on a constant move for centuries. All they have to offer is their life.’
(K. P. Reji)
K. P. Reji (born 1972,
Kerala, India) received his Bachelors and Masters Degree from M. S.
University of Baroda. Reji was awarded the prestigious Sanskriti Award
for the Young Artist in 2007 by the Sanskriti Foundation, New Delhi.
Reji was invited for Kochi-Muziris
Biennale, 2012, Kochi; Shadow Lines, curated by Suman Gopinath
and Alia Swastika, Jogja Biennale, Indonesia 2011–12. He has been
represented by The Guild in many international art fairs, such as Art
Taipei, India Art Fair, Dubai Art Fair, Hong Kong Art Fair, and Art
Basel Hong Kong. His recent solo exhibitions include Cut Pieces,
The Guild, Alibaug, 2022; With a Pinch of Salt, Nature Morte, New
Delhi, in collaboration with and at The Guild, Mumbai, 2009; Just
Above My Head, The Guild, Mumbai, 2006.
In 2022, a major mid-career
retrospective of Reji’s works was organised by The Guild in
collaboration with the Madhavan Nayar Foundation and Kerala Museum,
Kochi, The Good Earth: K. P. Reji, curated by Suman Gopinath,
Kerala Museum, 2022–2023.
Reji’s select group
exhibitions include The Past Has a Home in the Future, Jackfruit
Research and Design and Dhoomimal Gallery, New Delhi, 2024; BLUE
Chapter 1, curated by Nitesh Mohanty and Riyas Komu, The Guild,
Alibaug, 2024; Contextual
Cosmologies, curated
by Anushka Rajendran, Bose Krishnamachari, Premjish Achari and Sujit SN,
College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram, 2023;
The Chaos Trilogy: Disorder Under Heaven,
The Guild, Alibaug, 2022; Past-Present-Continuous: 25 Years of The
Guild, The Guild at CCA Galleries, New Delhi, 2022; Moothon - Art
& Cinema, curated by Riyas Komu, Cafe Papaya, Kochi, 2019;
Futures Present, curated by Sathyanand Mohan, The Guild and Gallery
White, Vadodara, 2018; Sub-Plots, Laughing in the Vernacular, curated by
Meena Vari, Sakshi Gallery, NGMA, Mumbai, 2017; Negotiation in
Contested Space - Part I, conceived and written on by Renuka Sawhney,
The Guild, 2017; Touched by
Bhupen, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai, 2013.
Reji’s work
has been featured in Phaidon publication Vitamin P3: New Perspectives
in Painting (2016), for which he was nominated by art historian
Geeta Kapur. |
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