B. Jayaram · b. 1956 · ಬಿ. ಜಯರಾಮ್
Fifty years of looking at the world, pen in hand.
B. Jayaram was born on 20 May 1956 in Baluvaneralu, a village in the Tumkur district of Karnataka. The son of B. Bhyrappa and B. Gowramma, he began drawing as a teenager and never found a reason to stop. At the Ken School of Art in Bangalore — the crucible of a generation of Karnataka painters — he took his diploma in drawing and painting in 1978.
That same year he became an Art Master at Vidhya Vardhaka Sangha High School in Rajajinagar, and for the next 36 years he did two jobs with one heart: teaching thousands of Bangalore children how to see, and building a body of work that reached the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi when he was just thirty.
His subjects are intimate and Indian: women and their cats, kites over crowded skies, the patterned fabric of daily life — beaten into copper, inked line by patient line, or painted in saturated acrylic. He was a founder-member of the contemporary artist group Samyojitha and of the Art Park Camp movement, illustrated the Kannada weekly Varapatrikefor eight years, and drew the state’s DSERT textbooks that a generation of Karnataka schoolchildren grew up with.
The artist, 2026.
A life in art
1956
Born 20 May in Baluvaneralu village, Tiptur Taluk, Tumkur District, Karnataka, to B. Bhyrappa and B. Gowramma.
1975
Begins his life in art at nineteen, drawing relentlessly — the start of a five-decade practice.
1977
First selection: Karnataka Artist Conference exhibition. The earliest work in this site's archive dates from this year.
1978
Diploma in Drawing and Painting from the legendary Ken School of Art, Bangalore. Joins Vidhya Vardhaka Sangha High School, Rajajinagar, as Art Master — a post he holds for 36 years.
1979–84
Four one-man shows at Ken School of Art, the 1980 edition sponsored by the Karnataka Lalithakala Academy.
1983
Wins the 15th Annual Exhibition Award of the Karnataka Lalithakala Academy. Work enters the School of Arts and Crafts, Davanagere. Begins eight years as staff artist for the Kannada weekly Varapatrike.
1986
Work acquired by the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi — the nation's foremost collection of modern Indian art.
1993
Mysore Dasara Exhibition Award.
1994–95
Selected for the 7th and 8th Rashtriya Kalamela, New Delhi.
1995
Group show at the Jahangir Art Gallery, Bombay — India's most storied gallery address.
1996
Illustrates DSERT textbooks for Karnataka's schoolchildren; joins the state Text Book Committee and leads tribal-education workshop modules at B.R. Hills.
1999
N.C.E.R.T. National Award and DSERT State Award for his contribution to art education.
2001–07
All India Art Teacher's Art Exhibition awards (Camlin Art Foundation), Best Drawing Teacher of Bangalore North, and selection for the 2008 Euro Art Tour.
2010
Serves on the jury of the 39th Annual Exhibition of the Karnataka Lalitha Kala Academy.
2015
Kempegowda Award — Bengaluru's civic honour, named for the city's founder.
2016
Retires after a final post as Art Master at Tagore Memorial High School — but the daily drawing never stops.
2019
The Cat with Woman series: copper reliefs, pen & ink drawings and acrylics made in Bengaluru and Fremont, USA.
2023
Pulakeshi Award, honouring a lifetime in Karnataka's art.
Awards
- Karnataka Lalithakala Academy, 15th Annual Exhibition Award1983
- Mysore Dasara Exhibition Award1993
- DSERT State Level Award1999
- N.C.E.R.T. National Award1999
- Best Drawing Teaching Award, Bangalore North2000–01
- All India Art Teacher's Exhibition Award — Camlin Art Foundation2001
- Karnataka Rajya Chitrakala Shikshakara Sammelana Award2004
- Best Drawing Teacher Award, Bangalore North District2007
- All India Teachers Art Exhibition Award — Camlin Art Foundation2007
- Selected, Euro-Art Tour — Camlin Art Foundation2008
- State Level Special Teacher's Award2010
- Kempegowda Award2015
- Pulakeshi Award2023
In Collections
- National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi (1986)
- Lalithakala Academy, New Delhi
- Karnataka Lalithakala Academy
- School of Arts and Crafts, Davanagere (1983)
- Private collections across India and abroad
Selected exhibitions
Jahangir Art Gallery, Bombay (1995) · Rashtriya Kalamela, New Delhi (1994, 1995) · A.I.F.A.C.S., Bangalore (1997) · 40th National Exhibition of Contemporary Art (1997) · Shimla (1992) · Karnataka Lalithakala Academy exhibitions (1979–96) · Regional Art Festival, Chennai (2001–07) · group shows in Goa, Mangalore and Bangalore from 1978 to today, and artist camps from Hampi Uthsava to Kalaagraama.