Remembering a giant from the South

If the hundredth birth anniversary of sculptor S Dhanapal last month went mostly unremarked, it was because collectors and art writers in the North continue to remain largely ignorant of contributions made by artists in the South. The region’s lamentably small market has contributed little to Mumbai and New Delhi; as a result its artists have remained neglected and unheralded. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale may have done its bit to address this North-South divide, but it will be a while before the modernists of the South get their due on a national platform on par with their northern peers.

Dhanapal, for those