The Experimental Expressionist

Jed Perle, well known writer on arts and artists, when assigned to write an article on Cezanne, had this to say, “I found it incredibly daunting to write about such a monumental figure- a painter whom several of his great successors saw as both the father and mother of modern art.” And although Kiran Manadhar may be no Cezanne, he is no less a monumental figure in the contemporary Nepalese art scene and it is equally daunting to write about ‘peintre nepalais de renom’ as they call him in France, where the little  master has  earned more than a little fame and fortune.

Going through Kiran Manandhar’s thick collection of memorabilia, there is one clipping published in 1989, wherein he laments at the lack of ‘art critics worth the name’ in the country. Today his refrain remains the same but simultaneously, he does point out, “It is rather sad that artists cannot absorb criticism and maybe that is why critics are shy of reviewing works in a more professional manner. If the review is negative then the concerned artist may well criticize the reviewer as one who has no knowledge of art!”

After well nigh 33 years in the profession Kiran is at that stage where he has earned the right to make such judgments. He himself has always received rave reviews throughout the world. Well, maybe not always. One review by Ranjit Hoskote in The Times of India during Kiran’s exhibition at the Taj Art Gallery in Bombay, was perhaps an exception, but cruelly scathing nonetheless. In it the critic has panned the artist’s works as ‘trite’ and concludes with, ‘It is not clear how the mere vigor or verve of the brushwork can salvage Manandhar’s quite chaotic work. It comes across as so much energy dissipated in the achievement of the superficial.’ Well, one such blistering criticism could well undo an artist, but nice to know, doesn’t seem to have dampened Kiran’s enthusiasm in the least. One of the reasons could well be the trials and tribulations the artist has had to go through to reach where he has today and which has made him a toughened man. He says so himself, “I had to struggle hard for almost twenty years before I could taste success.” He adds, “I have slept for weeks on railway platforms and in fact had even become used to the noise of trains passing by.” Those were during painful times in his ten year stay in Varanasi.

Leaving aside the rare bad review, Kiran’s works have generally been complimented profusely by critics and the artist especially remembers a review in the September 9 1988 edition of the Times of India where the eminent art critic, Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni, was all praise for Kiran’s works at another display at the Taj Gallery in Bombay. The critic wrote then, “Young Nepali painter Kiran Manadhar makes a highly impressive debut’ and ‘A show such as Kiran’s comes like a whiff of fresh breeze (or is it tornado?) in the midst of so much rotten art exposed around us’.

Kiran’s artistic voyage started in 1972. He expresses indebtedness to wife Sarita mostly for her sacrifice, to Dr. A. S. David, an Israeli American who once worked in the National Planning Council, for his supportive encouragement, and to sister, Tara, who lives in France, for her continual assistance. Kiran also doesn’t forget to mention that it was Norma Khobrak who presented him with a book on Picasso, which he says, ‘inspired him to be a modern painter.’ The key word here is ‘modern’. Kiran’s works are doubtless, modern, and he admits to being influenced by William de Kooning, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollack, Emil Nolde and K. S. Kulkarni. Another word frequently used to describe him is, ‘vigorous’. No doubt, no doubt. Just listen to him. “I go mad when I am working. I paint with brushes, hands and feet. When I am working, nothing else exists for me. It is only the canvas, the colors and me.” It is a delight to watch the stockily built master at work. He virtually flings himself body and soul onto the canvas. No brush is big enough it seems and speed is of the essence as if he fears the momentum and the inspiration might be lost if he hesitates even slightly. He uses his thick hands and stubby fingers with great passion and digging out great globs of colour, his hands become his instruments of creation. The artist also says, “I stop only when I become exhausted.”

Maybe that is the reason the artist feels that all of his paintings are incomplete. Just as he does not plan on painting certain subjects in certain ways, there is no plan to stop at a certain point. Kiran deserves to be called a ‘natural’. And in fact, since he has been labeled an ‘abstract expressionist’, one can assume that he has to let his emotions be displayed as naturally as is possible, otherwise the vibrancy associated with his work would probably be missing. At the SAARC Painters Camp in Kufri, India, in 1989, Kiran’s modus operandi had been thus described, ‘Kiran paints very fast. He starts with the abstract forms but later discovers in them, the faces, figures, animals and birds through the swift strokes of the brush. He scatters or flings colours on to the canvas in order to explore the physical qualities of colour’. Kiran prefers not to mix colours on the palette, instead allowing them to mix on the canvas itself. He also prefers passionate reds, strong blues and bold blacks besides other similar robust and contrasting colours. Presently, Kiran is unto experimentation and this is another significant indication of his mastery of the medium, for less than that, and no artist would be so confident as to dive into such deep waters.

One remembers the realistic painter, Max Ferguson’s, words, “It’s crazy when you find eighteen year old students who can’t do a decent model drawing and they are onto abstract expressionism. It’s like flying before you can crawl.” Experimentation is certainly not for the novice. Not even for the well established unless blessed with courage such as demonstrated by Kiran. Just the fact that he has set the minimum price of his paintings at Rs.10000 here, speaks volumes about his stature built on confidence. “The highest price I have received for any of my works is 10000 Euros,” he discloses. “Of course I price my works according to the market. In Nepal too there is a growing market of discerning buyers, but here I take care to price my works within reasonable bounds.” About realism vis a vis abstract, he has a significant point to make, “Look at your hand-is it the real one or are the nerves, tendons and blood vessels beneath, the real hand?” One thus immediately can realize that the abstract painter sees more, feels more, and this is reflected in his paintings. As he says, “The painter is like a surgeon, dissecting the outer superficial aspects to show what is beneath.” Kiran has exhibited solo more than 150 times all over the world, including Pakistan, India, France, Germany, Japan and Finland. The weathered artist has also won numerous accolades including the Rastriya Pratibha Puraskar in 1996, the Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu in 1999, two times Best Prize in National Art Competition in 1983 and 1986 as well as best prizes in competitions in France in 1991 and 2000.

In 1980, Kiran Manadhar had been awarded the first prize in the Annual Art Exhibition in Banaras Hindu University from where, in 1981, he completed his Masters in Fine Arts. A life member of the Bombay Art Society, Kiran is also a Fellow of Cite’ International des Arts, Paris, France, besides being a member of the Association des Arts Plastiques, Draveil, France, and the founder member of Junkiree Artists Group and Gallery Palpasa in Kathmandu. Till recently he was a member of the Royal Nepal Academy, from which post he tendered his resignation some time ago citing dissatisfaction at the way members were appointed.  Kiran is today the president of the Artists’ Society of Nepal.

Born on 15^th June 1957, Kiran was the only son whose father, Purna Man, a mechanic with the ropeways, wished to make into an engineer. For a very brief period Kiran was inducted as a freeze mechanic at Ravi Bhawan, but as the artist says, “Even in the wirings I saw only art.” Today, his own son, 19 year old Sagar has already had two exhibitions of his paintings and is in his 2^nd year at Banaras Hindu University studying, what else, fine arts. A daughter, Karuna, is 22 years old and is doing her MBA from Shanker Dev Campus in Kathmandu, but Kiran says with pride, “She’s a fine singer and has already cut an album called, ‘Karuna’”. The artist spends a lot of time in France, on an average, six months in a year. He has doubtless tasted the sweet taste of success abroad but at the same time makes it a point to keep his feet on the ground, and manages to keep an even keel on his life by being very much involved in family, societal and national matters.

Thus, he has conducted numerous workshops and informs that he is planning to organize and promote Nepalese sculpture. While in Nepal, the artist devotes himself as much to family and social matters as to his paintings and having his atelier at his home in Chauni must therefore be a blessing. Kiran now seems to have taken on the responsibility of mentor to younger Nepalese artists and in fact quite a few of them have been tutored by him. The long haired experimentalist, whose atelier contains quite a large number of his works done on lokta paper, canvas and jute, believes that besides the lack of authoritative critics, the art market is also not as strong in the marketing department. As he says, “Abroad, before a new artist’s works are exhibited, the art dealer arranges for a critic from a reputable journal to actually see the artist at work so that the critic can understand the artist better. This kind of attention to detail is one of the reasons why art critics’ words carry so much weight with buyers.”

Kiran Manadhar loves classical and jazz music, bright and contrasting colours, Nepal and France. Kiran values his independence and likes to work in natural light. He declares that he is ‘fearless in use of colours and styles’. He admits that he has faced a lot of depressing times in his life. He lives six months with family and six months without. So how does one classify Kiran as a person? How does one define his lifestyle? Well, maybe, just as one would define him as an artist-an experimental expressionist.