Vivan Sundaram Biography, Artwork, Paintings, Memorial, Family, Parents

Vivan Sundaram was an Indian pioneering multidisciplinary contemporary artist. In 1981, Vivan Sundaram participated in the seminal group exhibition, “Place for People”.

Vivan Sundaram co-authored a project on the artist Ramkinkar Baij, “409 Ramkinkars” (2015), alongside theatre directors Anuradha Kapur and Santanu Bose. Sundaram was one of 30 artists specially commissioned to make new work to mark the Sharjah Biennial’s 30th-anniversary edition.

Vivan Sundaram Biography

Vivan Sundaram was born on May 28, 1943, Shimla, India. Vivan Sundaram was educated at The Doon School, where he briefly received instructions from Doon’s first art teacher and the Bengal School of Art painter, Sudhir Khastgir.

Vivan Sundaram pursued painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (1961–65), and at Slade School of London (1966-68) where he also studied the history of cinema.

Vivan Sundaram Artwork

Since 1990, Vivan Sundaram made installations that included sculpture, photographs, and video.

Some of these installations include: “Memorial” (1993, 2014), an elaborate work made in response to communal violence in Bombay; a monumental site-specific installation at the Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, now referred to as “History Project” (1998); continuing work on his family, which includes the installation, “The Sher-Gil Archive” (1995), and digital photomontages, “Re-take of ‘Amrita’” (2001–06), based on photographs taken by Umrao Singh Sher-Gil.

Vivan Sundaram’s works have been exhibited in the Biennials of Kochi (2012), Sydney (2008), Seville (2006), Taipei (2006), Sharjah (2005), Shanghai (2004), Havana (1997), Johannesburg (1997), and Kwangju (1997).

Vivan Sundaram Paintings

Vivan Sundaram Memorial

Memorial 1993–2014 is a room-size installation by Vivan Sundaram that comprises a number of smaller parts that are individually titled. It was created in response to violent conflict between Hindu and Muslim groups in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the early 1990s.

Vivan Sundaram Family

Vivan Sundaram was married to art historian and critic Geeta Kapur. His parents are Kalyan Vaidyanathan Kuttur Sundaram and Indira Sher-Gil.

Vivan Sundaram Parents

Vivan Sundaram was born to Kalyan Sundaram, Chairman of the Law Commission of India (1968 – 1971), and Indira Sher-Gil, sister of noted Indian modern artist Amrita Sher-Gil.