The 1×1 Art Gallery is currently home to The Shape of the Sky, A Rectangle, a solo exhibition by Indian artist and filmmaker K. M. Madhusudhanan. Known for his meditative, politically conscious visual language, Madhusudhanan offers visitors a thought-provoking exploration of the historical, philosophical, and technological structures that shape perception and power. The exhibition will run through 30 May 2025.
Madhusudhanan’s latest body of work continues his inquiry into the image as a tool of resistance and control. The exhibition’s title invokes the imposed frames of cinema and visual representation, drawing attention to how the boundless sky has been constrained by systems of surveillance, cartography, and ideology. In the displayed art pieces, including drawings, paintings, photographs, and sculptures, Madhusudhanan explores colonial violence, industrialisation, and the constructed nature of vision. He invites viewers to reflect on how vision — in a literal and symbolic sense — is framed by power and how these frameworks continue to influence narratives of history, identity, and freedom.
About the artist
K. M. Madhusudhanan (b. 1956, Kerala, India) resides in Kerala. He studied painting at Fine Arts College (Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala) and later pursued printmaking at the Faculty of Fine Arts (MS University of Baroda, Gujarat, India).
His multidisciplinary practice spans painting, drawing, video, and sculptural installations. Emerging in the politically charged post-Emergency era of India, Madhusudhanan’s work is informed by Marxist thought, anti-colonial critique, Buddhism, and experimental cinema. His art confronts the legacies of colonialism, the history of Indian cinema, and the politics of war and borders.
Rooted in Kerala’s cultural and historical context, Madhusudhanan’s work weaves together traditional Indian aesthetics and contemporary abstraction. Central to his practice is the theme of time represented through layered textures, fragmented forms, and dense compositions that evoke memory and erasure. He often draws on the metaphor of the palimpsest to explore how histories are overwritten and preserved, creating a dialogue between past and present.
Madhusudhanan is also famous for his independent films, which often blur the boundaries between documentary and fiction. His acclaimed feature film Bioscope (2008), set in early 20th-century Kerala, chronicles the arrival of cinema in village life and won the Special Jury Award at the 56th National Film Awards, along with five Kerala State Film Awards. His other films, Self Portrait (2001) and History is a Silent Film (2006), were honoured by MoMA as Outstanding Films from International Festivals.
Over the years, Madhusudhanan has exhibited extensively in India and internationally. Highlights include presentations at Art Basel (Hong Kong, 2017); the AV Festival (New Castle, UK, 2016); the 56th Venice Biennale (Italy, 2015); and the Fajr International Film Festival (Iran, 2009), among many others. His works are held in some prominent collections.
To get more information about The Shape of the Sky, A Rectangle, please visit the official web page of the exhibition.
Additionally, you might be interested in attending The Storyteller: Hassan Sharif’s “Objects” Series.
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