Shyam Kanu was born in Assam & studied at the Indian College of Art & Draughtsmanship & later studied at the College of Visual Arts,Kolkata under Shuvaprasanna & then co-founded Arts Acre.
Growing up in Assam & surrounded by wildlife,he used strong lines of paint & forceful strokes of charcoal to capture a charging bull or trotting horse or sometimes a wild boar. Having a highly distinctive look about them,they are generally dark.
Hewas particularly good at creating drawings of wild animals in all their fury as a symbol of the untamed powers of nature which civilisation has alienated us from. Thus his bulls were huge snorting & hulking forms with humps as large as a mountain. He managed to catch them when they are charging at their enemies full tilt with blazing eyes & horns lowered. There is a dynamism in his drawings, which makes even the smaller animals, like the wild boar, look fierce.
He held many solo shows in Kolkata,Bhopal,Chandigarh,Chennai,New Delhi,Guwahati,Mumbai & Pune. Amongst his international shows they were held at Washington D.C,Singapore,Dubai,Stockholm,Santa Barbara & England.
