Anupam Sud: The Journey A Full Circle

Palette Art Gallery is delighted to present Anupam Sud: The Journey A Full Circle, a comprehensive exhibition celebrating the illustrious career of one of India’s most accomplished contemporary artists. This showcase features over 60 works spanning five decades, from early etchings of the 1970s to her recent experimental print collages created during the pandemic.

Anupam Sud’s pioneering contributions to etching and printmaking stand as a testament to her technical brilliance and relentless experimentation. From her early works crafted in the 1970s during her time at the Slade School of Art, London, to her more recent ventures into print collages and sculptural forms, the exhibition showcases the evolution of an artist who has continuously challenged conventions and embraced the “controlled accident” of creative processes.

This exhibition that spans two distinct periods of my practice—the early 1970s and the more recent 2010s—comes at a transformative time when the rigours of printmaking are making it difficult for me to continue as a printmaker. It is, therefore, a good time to look back to see how the meticulous learning of printmaking techniques, the choice and use of materials, and the social environment from which I derived my images and compositions, have shaped my practice of six decades. It is a time to reflect on how the concerns or an urban society, as experienced by me and manifested in my printmaking, have changed over time in any meaningful manner. For only that ability to be understood beyond the immediacies of the time in which they were composed can truly be a measure of an artist’s success.” says  Anupam Sud Her works depict treatment of the human body-raw, nuanced, and deeply empathetic-emerges as a central motif, inviting viewers to engage with universal themes of vulnerability, resilience, and self-reflection.

Anupam Sud’s career spans decades, marked by groundbreaking solo and group exhibitions. She debuted with a solo exhibition at Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi, in 1967.

Anupam has consistently been part of prestigious group exhibitions, such as “Stree”, an exhibition of Indian women artists in Moscow (1988), “Self and the World” at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi (1997), and “Colours of Independence”, curated by Rakhi Sarkar at NGMA (2000-2004). Her works have also been showcased internationally, including at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2001), the William Benton Museum of Art, Connecticut (2013), and the Seoul International Art Fair, Korea.

Known for her pioneering contributions to printmaking, Sud has participated in numerous international biennales and triennials, such as the International Print Biennale in Yugoslavia (1973-83), the International Biennale in Florence (1974), and the British Print Biennale, Bradford (1985). Her expertise earned her the role of commissioner for the International Print Biennial (2018), organized by the Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA).

In recent years, Anupam Sud’s solo exhibition, “The Soul (Un-gendered)”, hosted by DAG in New York (2019), have cemented her legacy as a voice of introspection and innovation in Indian art.

Her work continues to inspire new generations, blending technical brilliance with profound narratives, making Anupam Sud a vital figure in the global art community.