I was involving myself in the field of Arts for the past 45 years. I studied & completed my Diploma in Fine Arts Course in the year 1967 under K.C.S Panickar when he was the principal at the Government College of Fine Arts, Madras-600003.After completion of my study, I joined and became a member in Cholamendal Artist Village and I had been working there as a freelance artist, where I have experimented with different media like Batic, Watercolor, Acrylic, Oil On Canvas, Graphic Art and Wood Sculpture Etc.          

In 1971, I had an opportunity to come and join the Govt. College of Arts, Madras, as a Demonstrator in Graphic Art Department. There I worked and experimented with some new techniques in print making Dept. when Mr.L.Munuswamy was the principal. He has given me freedom to experiment with these media and different techniques.                       

After 6 years experience in the field of graphic Medium I was promoted and transferred to sculpture department(studio) as Associate lecturer, where I enthusiastically worked hard with different media  like, terra cotta,(clay  medium) metal relief and wood sculpture. 

I had to work hard for a long time to become a sculptor with special interest in the field of wood. There are other factors also that had a definite impact upon my attitude in the field of cutting and carving wood.

One of the most positive of these factors is that I like wood  very much, because of the above factors. I would like to carve and cut and chisel by joining and constructing.  I judge the work by feeling the carved surface. There is a pleasure in the sense of touch that establishes a perfect harmony with the wood.

This is the primary reason that I don’t use power driven tools at any stage of carving. The use of my hands and the customary hand tools maintains the close contact with the wood which I enjoy very much.

Fine wood carving reached its peak in South India during the Chola, Chera, Pandya Periods. During that time it was used to adorn  temples, temple car, palaces, churches and traditional buildings. Eversince had fluctuating periods of popularity.

I was inspired by works of the contemporary Artist and sculptors wize; S.Dhanapal, S.Kanniappan, C.Dakishina Moorthy, Chennai and Devier wala,Pilo poch khon wala, Sanko Chowdhari, S.L.Prashar,Chinta Manikar,Prodhos Dasgupta are North Indian Artists.

Presently I am experimenting with different kinds of wood in my sculpture work. As a print maker I am involving myself in exploring new techniques by using different Ingredients in the Graphic Art Media. Already,I have worked in the post of the Principal Incharge for 3 and half years at Kumbakkonam college of Fine Arts. Presently I am working in my own studio producing contemporary Art works.

I am the recipient of Tamil Nadu Oviam Nun Kalai Kuzhu Award in the year 1992. Tamil Nadu State Art & Culture conferred me KALAI CHEMMAL AWARD for the year 2006-07.

Anjoli Sircar, an Art critic had written an article about me in the daily newspaper "Hindu " Dated 20 May, 1979 are as follows.

Given a theme, K.C.NAGARAJAN can effortlessly work in more than half a dozen mediums - oils, watercolors, graphics, pen and ink, wood, metal, terracotta and batik-which speak of the extreme versatility of this 32 year-old artist whose talents have already placed him on the Faculty of the College of Arts and Crafts, Madras.

Born and nurtured in the heart of rural Tamil Nadu. Nagarajan liberally drew from folk sources in his early days and his excellent draughts man ship coupled with the use of warm, earthly colors helped him vividly capture the atmosphere and setting of the village scene as he saw it.

Nagarajan says:”Till 1975, I was deeply involved in the folk themes- people, birds animals and the typically Indian landscape with its mountains, hills, skies, and clouds, and I created beautiful texture with thick and thin wavy lines which I freely used either vertically or horizontally. And then suddenly I was tired of all forms and figures, discarded them, came to evolve a style that was totally different from what I had done so far.”

In this new phase, Nagarajan has been working in oils, graphics and pen and ink with color wash and the shapes he creates on the canvas or paper are similar to those of wooden reapers in horizontal or vertical strokes (the beginning of which could be seen in the texture of his earlier folk creations) as though swinging in or rushing through space, conveying a tremendous sense of speed and movement. Nagarajan has done about ten works in this series. Untitled yet, and acknowledges the influence of K.M.Adimoolam on his works. As a teacher in graphic art in the Madras College of Arts and Crafts his original contribution has been the use of many colors in a single lino block which he says  “No one has tried so far.”

-ANJOLI SIRCAR