PRAMOD KUMAR Born in Pandau, Bihar in 1955, he did his Diploma in Painting at the College of Arts, Patna (1976) and Master's in fine Arts at Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi (1979). A gold medallist at the Youth Festival Bihar in 1985, he won the 1st prize at the Aurobindo Birth Centenary in 1973 and at the Camlin Pvt Ltd in 1975. He won the State Art Award in 1987 and a honourable mention at Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi in 1990-91. Has had a solo show at Sans Tache Art Gallery 1999; Nehru Centre Art Gallery 2001, Mumbai and a group show at Jehangir Art Gallery, 2001, Mumbai; held a solo show at Nazar Art Gallery, 2001 at Baroda; has participated in the Save the Children Auction in 2002 at Mumbai, conducted by Bowring's; also has had a showing at the Kala Ghoda Festival 2002, Mumbai and participated in the American School Auction 2002, Mumbai. 2002 he has had a solo show at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 2003 also participated in the Save the Children Auction at Jehangir Art Gallery conducted by Bowring's. He has participated in several group shows and camps all over India, latest being Camps at Le Royal Meridien, Mumbai organised by Gallery Beyond & Gallery Art Resource Trust, in 2003. Participated in 'Kal Aaj aur Kal', a group show at the Jehangir Art Gallery organized by Gallery Beyond, Mumbai. After teaching at Patna for almost 20 years, he moved to Mumbai in 1998 where he currently lives and works. STATEMENT Dramatic and panoramic landscapes recording the marvels he sees with amazing skill are Pramod Kumar's oeuvre. Soft pastel tones and feathery trees evoke a late evening quality. Areas of light and shade help to move the viewer's eye across and into the scene. The delicate atmosphere is developed from a careful colour range of greys, blacks and browns and sometimes a dash of instant orange and blue.... GALLERY BEYOND, 2001. PRAMOD KUMAR BENARES SERIES Pramod Kumar's strong command over lines, colours and forms creates an exciting visual drama. Like the traditional bas-relief temple structures, his canvases are vibrant with a sense of teeming burgeoning life. Reality, myths and fantasy merge in an intense vibrant and unique manner. His bright, deeply contrasting colours interpret the tradition towards a modernist spirits. He adheres to a gentler, sinuous and patterned convention of iconographic imagery. Fluid lines evoke a complex and mysterious mood of sensitivity and spirituality, they evoke the Benares of Pramod Kumar%u2019s, where the life pulse unconsciously blends with humanist & religious ideals.