Video, Text Source: Kochi-Muziris Biennale YouTube Channel

Surendran Nair, b. 1956 in Onakkoor, Kerala. Lives and works in Baroda, India. After gaining his BFA from the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram, Surendran Nair did post-graduate work at the MS University, Baroda.

His works have be exhibited in galleries and shows across the world, including the NGMA in New Delhi, the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Fukoka, Kloster Perneg, Graz, and Frey Norris, San Francisco.

In this interview, Surendran Nair speaks about the scale he works with — from the extremely small to large-canvas paintings; of how his usual workspace is the studio, but how the Biennale offers him both another workspace as well an exhibition site different from the gallery; and of how his paintings have been influenced by traditional performing arts and sculpture.