The Roots of a Practice

K. P. Reji began his path in the early 1990s at the Kerala Museum’s Art Centre in Kochi. This was a place where contemporary ideas from India and abroad first met his developing eye. From there, he moved to Baroda to study at the M.S. University, earning both his B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Painting. Today, he lives and works in Baroda, but much of his work remains tied to the landscapes and people of his native Kerala.

His canvases often look back at local legends, such as the story of Thoombinkal Chathan from his native village of Chandiroor. In one painting, he traces the tale of an agricultural labourer who used his own body to protect a paddy field from flooding. These narratives are not mere stories; they are ways for him to examine how people relate to their surroundings and the land they inhabit.

Style and Subject

The paintings have a certain weight to them, using bold, slightly rounded figures that recall a naïve style. There is a quietness in his approach, finding things to paint in the everyday: children at school, vendors in the street, or simple household objects. He uses oil on canvas, watercolor, and acrylic to build these scenes. While the images might seem simple at first glance, they often carry a deeper, more complex look at psychological states and social behavior.

His influences come from unexpected places, including Indian miniature paintings, the frescoes of Giotto, and Surrealist works. He uses these elements to explore themes like displacement, urban living, and the presence of government machinery. In recent years, his work has moved toward a more direct way of addressing political subjects, seen in series such as Police in the Garden, Police in the Forest, and Police in the Kitchen.

Exhibitions and Recognition

His work has been shown in many places, from small galleries to large international biennales. Some of his notable appearances include:

• The Kochi-Muziris Biennale, 2013
• Jogja Biennale, Indonesia, 2011
• San Jose Museum of Art, USA, 2011
• Museum of Fine Arts, Bern, Switzerland, 2007
• Solo exhibitions at Zen Studio Gallery in 2000 and The Guild, Mumbai, in 2006

In 2007, he received the Sanskriti Award for the Young Artist from the Sanskriti Foundation in New Delhi. His paintings have also been part of collections in institutions like the Birla Academy in Kolkata and the Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi.