Veteran Chennai artist S Murugesan’s retrospective show covers his decades-long interaction with sculptures

Veteran artist S Murugesan’s retrospective show features sketches created over the pandemic amid seminal sculptures of his from the ’70s

Lalit Kala Akademi in Greams Road once again looks alive. The gallery, which remained empty through the lockdowns, now welcomes visitors with abstract sculptures in bronze, aluminium and copper, as well as framed sketches and pastels — a curated collection of veteran artist S Murugesan’s work spanning decades, titled ‘Visual Treasure: A Retrospection.’ The display juxtaposes the artist’s latest works created over the pandemic, with those that date back to even the 1960s. Clad in white, with an affable demeanour, Murugesan greets anyone who walks in. As he sits down to talk, many stories crowd his mind. Still active, the 88-year-old artist starts his day with a notepad and pen. “Who knows when an idea might strike?” he asks. On some days, drawings unfold, while on others, he meditates with an idea for hours on end. Perhaps, this explains how the artist, a prominent figure of the Madras Art Movement and former Principal of Government College of Fine Arts , managed to continue creating through the pandemic.