S. P. Jayakar Gallery
An established and mature artist, Jayakar’s compositions are inspired by the daily rituals of village life. His watercolour and pen works appear to have flowed from the artist in effortless strokes, and contain, even in simplest village scenes, a luminous quality. The softness of his colours is remarkably well contrived blending well with his liberal yet detailed use of ink and pen. All conducive to a mood of serene tranquility.
S.P. Jayakar was born on the 20 July 1931, the fourth child of a draughtsman working for Southern Indian Railways. In 1945, he enrolled in the Government College of Arts and Crafts, where he studied under renowned sculptor Mr Roy Choudry. He received a First in the six-year course for a Diploma in Fine Art (1951).
After college, financial constraints saw Jayakar teaching full-time and painting part-time. He was appointed as Master of Drawing at Sivakasi Municipal High School in Tamil Naidu. In 1962 he started working for the Government of India Enterprise as Chief Designing
Artist where he built a strong professional reputation amongst his superiors and peers.
1966 saw a turning point in Jayakar’s life. It was during this time that he began associating with a group of artists based in Madras. The mentor of the group Shri K C S Paniker, Principal of the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras was instrumental in founding the Cholamandal Artists’ Village.
In 1998 a work was auctioned successfully in Sotheby’s London.
Jayakar’s importance, besides his unique talent, is that he belongs to the School of Madras Artists who initiated the first community of artists in South India. A community of artists who believed in, and started the search for, an art which was Indian in spirit yet world wide contemporary. He was chosen by the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society to participate in the 6th (1999) All India Veteran Artists Exhibition at the National Gallery in New Delhi. He passed away in April 2005. Works by Jayakar can be found in the New Delhi Art Museum, Madras Art Museum and in the Lalit Kala Academy in Delhi and Madras.