The Great Clown

Krishna Reddy's series of large-format prints, The Great Clown (1975–1982), is perhaps the best example of the artist's unique modification of the intaglio method of printmaking, allowing for multiple colors to be printed off an incised plate at the same time rather than in individual pressings. This innovative method, now widely used, is referred to as 'multicolor viscosity intaglio', as it relies on controlling the viscosity of different colored inks so they can be printed in the same pressing.

Reviewing an exhibition featuring a set of prints from the series, writer and fellow artist Sharmistha Ray notes, "the large prints from The Great Clown series manifest a multi-hued palette to a single image, demonstrating the technique’s examination of form through the emotive and performative possibilities of color. The semi-abstract image is composed of ferociously drawn lines linking spherical balls of energy that resemble blast waves radiating from an underwater explosion. Yet the image could just as easily describe the intricate beauty of a butterfly’s wing [...] The title of the series The Great Clown suggests a Dadaist critique of warmongering narcissists, with clear allegorical undertones: a nation in the clutches of a great clown is, indeed, doomed" (S. Ray, 'India’s Reclusive Master of Primordial Form', Hyperallergic, 16 March 2019).