Pradeep Kumar

Pradeep Kumar (b. 1973) was born in Haryana, India. Deaf and unable to speak, doctors were quick to diagnose him as mentally disabled with a low IQ. They later realised their mistake and Kumar was fitted with a hearing aid, allowing him to hear some sounds. His father worked hard to teach him letter sounds, but he struggled at school and his concentration wondered, leading him to carve chalk at the back of the class. Kumar left school to study at home, one day finding a matchstick and attempting to carve it with a razor blade like the chalk. His father Bal Kishan Swami realised his exceptional ability, so Kumar began to carve intricate exotic birds and people in the minutest detail before adding colour. In his spare time, Kumar uses a broken razor blade or a needle to carve the details. He taught himself how to use coloured pencils and oil paint to colour his works. He now carves toothpicks as well as matchsticks, without making a sketch beforehand. Alongside his creative activities, Pradeep Kumar works full-time as a cashier in an Indian bank – a role that has been specially adapted through training, to allow him to work there.

Kumar has learnt that through his art he can express the words he is unable to speak. Although still unable to hear properly, he is able to lip read and watch body language to work out what others are saying. He has had many exhibitions and awards in India and is also in several collections throughout the world including Austria, Denmark, France, the UK and America.

2024 (de)codiert Musée Visionaire, Zurich
2023 Why We Linger, Darbyshire, London
2023 Outsider Art Fair, Metropolitan Pavilion, New York
2022 RWA 169th Open Exhibiiton, RWA Bristol
2022 Outsider Art Fair, Metropolitan Pavilion in New York, with Jennifer Lauren Gallery
2022 To all the Kings who have no Crowns, Carl Freedman Gallery, Margate
2021 Im Labyrinth der Kunst - Art Brut, Elektro Halle Rhomberg, Salzberg
2019 Outsider Art Fair (with Raw Vision Magazine), Metropolitan Pavilion, New York
2019 Extra Vaganza, Oliva Creative Factory, Portugal
2018 Les Femes dans Art Brut, Musee Art et Marges, Brussels
2017 Living in Art Brut: Collection of Hannah Rieger, Museum Krames, Austria
2016 Radical Craft: Alternative Ways of Making, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (and then touring the UK)
2013 Raw Vision, 25 Year of Outsider Art, Halle Saint Pierre, Paris
2010 Up Close, Gaia Museum, Denmark