The process of creating an art work excites me, says artist V Ramankutty

Artist, medical professional and researcher Dr V Ramankutty has exhibited his paintings at Amuseum in Thiruvananthapuram

“I think I am getting better,” says Dr V Ramankutty with a chuckle, looking at one of his acrylic works on canvas. “Painting on canvas has always been a challenge when compared to paper. I love to experiment and it usually works better on paper than on canvas,” says the veteran medical professional-artist-researcher, speaking on the sidelines of his ongoing exhibition, Promises to Keep, at Amuseum art gallery.

Research director with Amala Cancer Research Centre, Thrissur, Ramankutty has showcased 35-plus abstract paintings, both on paper and canvas, at the gallery. On a board kept at the gallery, he has written: ‘Abstract art is the music of the soul. Music should set you free, invite you to dance to the rhythm of the universe. In a similar vein, abstract art is visual celebration, a dance to the rhythm of the eternal in you which finds its expression in the pulse of the universe...’

“The process of creating an art work excites me. It is an unplanned exercise. As it progresses, I add layers at different stages until I arrive at a form or meaning,” explains Ramankutty. “There is no message in any of the works. I am only trying to arrange shapes, colours and forms.”

One gets drawn to his use of colours in beautiful combinations. The paintings leave an impact on you, with the seamless use of hues, even as you try to decipher the meaning. “It is like an outpouring. I don’t know how it happens.”

As we wonder if he has incorporated images of cells — micro and macro — and human organs and forms in some of the works, he says: “It might have happened because of my medical background. But it is not deliberate.” There are also abstract references to nature and landscape.

He has been painting since childhood. “My father (former Kerala Chief Minister C Achutha Menon) claimed that he used to paint although I never saw him do so! There were a few artists on his side of the family, like his brother, Gopu Menon. When I also started painting, it wasn’t a surprise. Nevertheless, my artistic pursuits weren’t encouraged much because studies were a priority.”

Books opened the world of art to him, thanks to his teacher and mentor, the late Dr C R Soman, renowned nutritionist and public health activist. “A great connoisseur of arts, he kept a huge collection of books on art. One of them was a series with 20 volumes, Twentieth Century Masters. I taught myself with this collection, especially about abstract style. I fell in love with the works of greats such as Paul Klee and Wassily Kandersky. I wondered how someone could draw like that!”