Noted artist Vivan Sundaram passes away

Renowned contemporary Indian artist Vivan Sundaram passed away in Delhi on Wednesday (March 29). He was 79.

Sundaram (Amrita Sher-Gil was his cousin) suffered from a brain hemorrhage earlier this month, following which he was admitted to a hospital.

Sundaram's work has been showcased in museums and exhibitions across the world. He worked with different media – painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation and video art.

"Extremely sad to share that Vivan Sundaram has passed on. He was one of the finest artist, activist I have known for over 35 years. His demise is a big loss to the art world and also to the creative cultural resistance. He was a rare person, generated extremely interesting ideas, meticulously planned them and worked round the clock to implement them.

I have worked with many artists but have not met anyone like Vivan. He would fight like hell for what he thought was right but was an extremely gentle person on the other hand.It is a huge personal loss as well. My deepest condolences to Geeta and Anuradha Kapoor, Navina and to all his family members and friends. We have lost a very sensitive, creative and gentle person. In grief," wrote social activist, Shabnam Hashmi on Facebook.

After graduating from the Doon School, Sundaram was trained at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, and at Slade School of Fine Arts in London.

Sundaram was a founding member of the Kassauli Art Center, the Journal of Arts & Ideas, the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust. He was a managing trustee of the Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts Foundation.