Signed and dated 'Ram Kumar 04' (on the reverse)
PROVENANCE
Saffronart / Lot 33 / Auction December 2005 / 6-8 December 2005
Ram Kumar’s fondness for hilly ranges, rivers, lakes, trees and the open sky is well-known and all these have their presence, not symbolically but characteristically in both his drawings and paintings. Indeed they get ‘abstracted’ in his art but nevertheless they are there in many forms with the essence of their ‘character’ bringing a kind of ‘realism’ to them. It is in this sense that his abstract ‘landscapes’ are never devoid of an earthiness, and the elements from nature to be seen and felt are mirrored in them. The surging strokes, the palette knife with layers of pigment fills the canvas with somber hues. […] These are soothing, comforting works—intimate to the core. (Prayag Shukla, Ram Kumar: Lines and Colours, Aakriti Art Gallery Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, 2016, pg.10)
The poetic line and use of space is elevating in this example of the artist's work, affirming the harmony between the mountains, the sea, and the greenery. "Stripped of sentiment and freed from the burden of description, the landscapes have an inner voice that is waiting to be heard. The meditative nature has not been achieved by accident; rather it is a result of long contemplation." (Uma Prakash, Ram Kumar: Selected Works 1950-2010, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2010, pg.11)