Quick Facts
Biography
Kanayi Kunhiraman (Malayalam: കാനായി കുഞ്ഞിരാമന് born 25 July 1937) is a sculptor from Kuttamath in Hosdurg Taluk in Kasaragod district of Kerala state, India. He is the Former Chairman of the Lalit Kala Academy.
Kunhiraman is the first sculptor recipient of the Raja Ravi Varma Award, which includes ₹ 1 lakh in cash, a citation and a statue, sculptured by Kunhiraman himself. It was conferred by Kerala's Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at Thiruvananthapuram.
Recently, two of his creations, Melathara and Kalithara, were inaugurated with accompaniment from a violin concert by L. Athira Krishna in Quilon Sopanam Complex, Kerala.
Early life
Kanayi was born on 25 July 1937 at Kuttamath in Kasaragod District of Kerala. After completing his schooling, he passed the SSLC examination in 1957. By then he had already found his vocation. He ran away from home when he was barely seventeen because the elders strongly disapproved of his creative pursuits. He felt stifled in the conservative atmosphere of the traditional joint family, where the primary role of the youth was to obey unquestioningly the instructions of the elders, predominantly the patriarch.
Education
- Sculpture Diploma Course from Fine Arts College, Chennai - 1960
- Slade School of Art, London - 1965
- "Milestones of Kanai". Kanayi Kunhiraman. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
Awards
- 1962 - Govt. of India Cultural Scholarship to study Sculpture at Govt. College of Arts and Crafts, Madras
- 1965 - Commonwealth Scholarship to study Sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art, University of London
- 2005 - Raja Ravi Varma award by the Government of Kerala
- 2006 - Thikkurissy Award
- "Awards". Kanayi Kunhiraman. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
Selected works
- Yakshi at Malampuzha, Palakkad.
- Shanku and landscaping at Veli lake and the associated tourist village, Thiruvananthapuram
- Jalakanyaka/ Sagarakanyaka (Mermaid) at Shankumugham Beach, Thiruvananthapuram.
- Mother and Child at Payyambalam, Kannur.
- Mukkola Perumal at Kochi.
- "Works of Art". Kanayi Kunhiraman. Retrieved 8 September 2011.