SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Indian artist Surendran Nair, born in 1956 in Kerala, in southern India, studies painting at the School of Fine Arts in Trivandrum, then pursues postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts at MSU in Baroda, where he earns a diploma in printmaking.
In the 1980s, his work falls within a realist register: he makes ink drawings, prints and lithographs, mainly portraits. During the following decade, he increasingly works in oil on canvas. Towards the end of the 1990s, he also creates a portfolio of hand-coloured prints entitled “The Labyrinth of Eternal Delight”. The Cuckoonebulopolis series is presented as the principal achievement of his work during the first decade of the 21st century. Among his paintings is “An Actor Rehearsing the Inner Monologue of Icarus”, from 2000, which, according to the source, depicts a naked man equipped with wings and standing atop the Ashoka column.
In 1999, Nair takes part in the third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT3), held at the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane. Works by the artist are listed in the collections of the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, the Queensland Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi.
Ranjit Hoskote’s book, Surendran Nair: Itinerant Mythologies, published by Sakshi Gallery in 2009, also attests to the editorial attention given to his work.
This profile brings together identity references for Surendran Nair and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Aquarell, Trockenpastell, Kohle und Buntstift auf Papier
Catalogue period : 2026-06-24
Published result : 17566 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 6000–7500
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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