Subodh Kerkar (born 26 August 1959) is an Indian painter, sculptor and
installation artist
Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often calle ...
, and founder of the private art gallery
Museum of Goa.
[
] He is known for his artworks and installations.
Kerkar's work has been displayed in India and abroad, including at art exhibitions such as the
Sculpture by the Sea
The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney and Perth is Australia's largest annual outdoor sculpture exhibition. This exhibition was initiated in 1997, at Bondi Beach and it featured sculptures by both Australian and overseas artists. In ...
in 2011
and the
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2018.
One of his recent installations is the 2017 ''Carpet of Joy.''
[
] Another, a 2018 photo exhibition on fishermen (chosen for the Royal Academy exhibition), was chosen by filmmaker
Bharat Bala
Bharath Bala is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Career
Bharat Bala produced the acclaimed album ''Vande Mataram'' and '' Jana Gana Mana Video'' and heads BharatBala Productions based in Che ...
to be the subject of a documentary.
He has spoken at
Visva-Bharati University and the
Van Gogh Museum.
Filmography
Battery Ki Chalo (Archived)2018
Early life
Subodh Kerkar was born on 26 August 1959 in a
Konkani family in
Pernem,
Goa. The son of an art teacher, he always took an interest in art. Upon growing up, he became a student leader, with many cartoons to his credit. He joined
Goa Medical College
Goa Medical College (GMC) is a government medical college and hospital in Goa, India. It is one of the oldest medical colleges in Asia.
It is currently an organic institution of the Goa University (GU), being its oldest unit.
History
Since ...
and became a doctor by profession. Following this, he ran a hospital and private practice for a few years in
Calangute, until he quit and decided to become an artist.
[
]
Career
Kerkar began his career in art as a water colourist. He soon emerged as an eminent water colourist in Goa, and later in the rest of India. He also explored art from around the world, and was soon attracted to installations and land art.
In 1987, he started his own art gallery, in
Calangute,
Goa. It was named the "Kerkar Art Complex", and had an open-air auditorium. He also began to exhibit at art galleries across the country.
In the 2000s, Kerkar began his foray into the field of "land art". He began by creating sculptures from scrap and garbage. In 2002, he created an installation artwork named ''Tenth Planet''. In 2005, he followed with ''Sea Anemone.''
[
] During Goa's first
IFFI in 2004, Kerkar was chosen to set up 500 metres of installations along
Miramar beach.
Following this, he was invited by some international
biennale
Biennale (), Italian for "biennial" or "every other year", is any event that happens every two years. It is most commonly used within the art world to describe large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions. As such the term was popularis ...
s and art projects to create public sculptures. He created a work titled ''The Sea Remembers'' on
Dubai's beach.
He has since displayed his work on Goan beaches, and also in countries like
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
South Korea,
Macau,
the Netherlands,
Germany,
Norway,
Portugal and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
In 2009, Kerkar launched an art exhibition in Mumbai to mark the anniversary of the
2008 Mumbai attacks
The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of Terrorism, terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from P ...
.
In 2011, he was invited by the Dean of
Visva-Bharati University at
Shantiniketan, to conduct a workshop.
In the same year, he created a fibre glass sculpture of a robot with an ass’ head.
Some of his art exhibits include ''Pepper Cross'' and ''Anchored Ocean.''
[
]
In 2013, his sculpture named ''Chicken Cafreal'' (after the
dish of the same name) was selected for the
Sculpture by the Sea
The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney and Perth is Australia's largest annual outdoor sculpture exhibition. This exhibition was initiated in 1997, at Bondi Beach and it featured sculptures by both Australian and overseas artists. In ...
exhibition and competition in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
This was his third time getting selected there, after ''The Chilly'' (a huge red fibreglass chilly) in 2012.
At the
India Art Fair
India Art Fair, previously known as India Art Summit founded bSunil Gautam is an annual Indian modern and contemporary art fair held in New Delhi, India. The fair includes paintings, sculptures, photography, mixed media, prints, drawings and vid ...
in 2014, he showcased an artwork titled ''Palm Leaves'', reminiscing his childhood in Goa, where palm trees are commonly found.
In 2015, he sold his art gallery and founded a new one, called
Museum of Goa.
The museum features many kinds of artwork, including works based on the ocean.
In 2017, he created the ''Carpet of Joy'' – an artwork to protest the excessive littering in Goa, on the 100th anniversary of
Gandhi’s
first experiment of ''
satyagraha
Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...
'' (which Gandhi began in
Champaran on April 10, 1917).
It used 1,50,000 discarded plastic bottles, collected from beaches and hotels in Goa, to weave a carpet. To celebrate the anniversary, Kerkar also worked with a team of software engineers and Dmytro Dokunov, a digital artist from
Ukraine, to create an
augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
smartphone app called "Gandhi AR", which would display a bust of Gandhi when pointed at any Indian currency (which features Gandhi on it).
In 2018, Kerkar's photo exhibition of fishermen was chosen for the
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
Later, it inspired filmmaker
Bharat Bala
Bharath Bala is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Career
Bharat Bala produced the acclaimed album ''Vande Mataram'' and '' Jana Gana Mana Video'' and heads BharatBala Productions based in Che ...
to make a documentary on it.
In 2019, six of his sculptures were installed at the Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park,
Grewelthorpe
Grewelthorpe is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England situated south of Masham and north of Ripon. It is located in the Nidderdale area of outstanding natural beauty.
The name Grewelthorpe derives fr ...
, North Yorkshire, England, including ''The Ocean Comes to Yorkshire'' (pictured)
Kerkar delivers lectures in India and abroad, such as
Amsterdam's
Van Gogh Museum and
University College London.
He has also spoken at various
TEDx events and at
INKtalks.
Reception
In 2009, Kerkar launched an exhibition of sketches of
Lord Ganesha. Organizations such as the
Sanatan Sanstha called for protests, while others like the
Hindu Janajagruti Samiti
Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) is a right wing Hindu organisation operating globally and established on 7 October 2002 by a group of Hindus from various backgrounds. The organisation claims that it "stands as a common platform for all Hindus to ...
and the Shri Samarth Ramdas Seva Bhakti Mandal chose to file a police complaint under Section 149 of the
Indian Penal Code, for hurting religious sentiments. Kerkar alleged that he received threats on his life for his work.
In 2013, he faced allegations of corruption by
Manohar Parrikar, to win a contract for a sculpture for a government body.
Awards
* Busan Biennale Award (2006)
[
]
* First prize at the
Kala Academy Art Show, Goa (2000)
See also
*
Museum of Goa
*
Vamona Navelcar
References
External links
*
Subodh Kerkar: Food against fanaticism (INKtalks)Exploring History through Art: Talk by Subodh Kerkar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerkar, Subodh
Artists from Goa
People from North Goa district
Living people
1959 births
Indian male painters
Indian male sculptors