M. Pavan Kumar

Indian contemporary visual artist and academic based in Noida. He earned his Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Andhra University (2019), an M.F.A. in Painting from Bangalore University (2007), and a B.F.A. in Painting from Andhra University (2004). He qualified for the UGC-NET in Painting and completed advanced study programs at the University of Oxford, the Slade School of Fine Art, and the Royal College of Art, London. He is a recipient of the Pollock–Krasner Foundation Grant (New York) and The Awesome Foundation Art Grant (Boston). His work has been exhibited internationally in London, Hong Kong, Canada, Italy, Serbia, and New York, and nationally at venues including Lalit Kala Academy and major galleries across India.

His practice examines identity, alienation, and the existential condition within contemporary society. Through psychologically charged urban landscapes, he constructs visual terrains that move between interior introspection and public space. The deliberate absence of human figures redirects attention toward architecture, monuments, and cityscapes as metaphors for enclosure, regulation, and mediated perception.

Dark tonalities, layered textures, and obstructed views shape his surfaces, reflecting the filtered nature of modern experience. Architecture emerges as both a site of memory and a disciplinary framework, embodying fragmentation and estrangement. Across these constructed environments, he maps the self within social space, prompting viewers to consider their own position within structures of visibility, power, and desire.

He currently lives and works in New Delhi.