Conversation – VI

Before Laxman Aelay decided to become a professional artist, he was a sign painter and then a highly sought-after and respected book designer and illustrator. His work was highly regarded within Telegu literary circles, but soon the painter in him forced Aelay to enroll in university to obtain a degree in Fine Arts, even though he had already received a degree in Commerce.

Laxman Aelay was born in the Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh in 1964. He received his bachelor's degree in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad and soon after took up freelance painting full-time. Laxman's paintings are nostalgic and depict the rural population among which he grew up. His source of inspiration has been the lives of these poverty-stricken people in his village, Kadirenigudem.

Recently, Aelay moved from using white, black and shades of gray, which he preferred in his paintings, to using bright colors to represent flowers, jewelry and traditional clothing. He has also abandoned his previous preference for painting on large canvases and papers, and his latest works are much smaller and more compact. Aelay has received international recognition as well as several awards and gold medals for his works. These include an award from the Hyderabad Art Society in 1995.

This young and talented artist had his first solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in Hyderabad in 1999. Laxman has participated in several important painting exhibitions, including Contemporary Deccan: A New Generation of Artists, held in Hyderabad in 1999, and the 7th group exhibition at Surya Art Gallery, Hyderabad in 2000. He also represented the country in an international exhibition organized by TAANA in Chicago, USA in 1995.

Laxman Aelay is currently working as a freelance artist and resides in Hyderabad.

BORN

June 8, 1964 Kadirenigudem, Nalgonda, Andhra Pradesh

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

1996 BFA (Painting), Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, College of Fine Arts, Hyderabad

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2008 The River Below, Indian Fine Arts, Mumbai

2006 Moods and Colors, Fida Art Gallery, Singapore

2005 Song of the People, Apparao Galleries, Chennai

2004 Charismatic Contours, Gallery Threshold, New Delhi

1999 Kadirenigudem Images, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Art Gallery, Hyderabad

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2011 Melange, Harrington Street Arts Centre, Kolkata

2010 Black is Beautiful, Indian Fine Arts, Mumbai

2009 Sacred and Secular, Fine Arts of India, Mumbai

2009 Roopa Bheda, Alankritha Art Gallery, Hyderabad

2009 Entity, MEC Art Gallery, New Delhi

2008 Stellar Configuration, presented by Vinyasa Premier Art Gallery, Chennai at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

2008 From beyond the Vindhyas, Ganges Art, Calcutta

2008 Symphony of Colors, organized by Art Panache and ABN AMRO, Gurgaon

2008 Colors of Hyderabad, Canvas Art Gallery, Kolkata

2008 Awakening the Spirit, Collection of 37 Indian Artists, The Art, New Delhi

2007 Deccani Parlance, exhibition of drawings by Andhra artists at Kaleidoscope, Baroda

2007 Paper Love, Indian Fine Arts, Mumbai

2007 Beyond the Boundaries, Mahua Art Gallery, Bengaluru

2007 Kaleidoscope, organized by Ayya Art Galleries in Kitab Mahal, Mumbai

2007 A P Art of Habitat, Leela Lounge, New York

2007 Art for Prabhat, charity show, New Delhi

2007 Art for Freedom, organized by Point of View Art Gallery at The Sheraton, Washington D.C. 

2007 Hosted by Nouveau at ITC Marriot, New Delhi

2007 Hosted by Nouveau at Hyatt Regency, Kolkata

2007 Hosted by Nouveau at Leela Kempinski, Bangalore

2007 On top of Hyderabad, Jamaat Art Gallery, Mumbai

2007 Emerging India, organized by Art Alive Gallery and S. A. Fine Arts, London at The Henry Moore Gallery, Royal College of Art, London

2007 Sounds of the Brush, inaugural exhibition, Gallery Hues, Bangalore

2007 Figurative Aesthetics, inaugural exhibition, Hyderabad Art Gallery, Hyderabad

2007 Convergence, Art Pilgrim, Gurgaon

2007 By the Waves, MEC Gallery, New Delhi

2007 Rising Of The Phoneix A Tribute to Livelihood, Hasta Gallery, Hyderabad

2007 Organized by Art Elements in association with BNP Paribas

2007 The Gallery, New Delhi

2006 Mapping the South, organized by Vinyasa Premier Art Gallery, Chennai at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru and at the Regional Centre, Lalit Kala Academy, Chennai

2006 Chinese ink, Stonescene Gallery, New York

2006 Reflections, Art Elements Gallery, New Delhi

2006 Deccan Command, organized by Shrishti Art Gallery at Sridharani Art Gallery, New Delhi

2006 Appointment with Telangana, Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda

2005 Still Waters Run Deep, Haceinda Art Gallery, Mumbai

2005 Graphic portfolio of 20 artists, organized by Gallery Space, Hyderabad

Harvest Exhibition 2005 at Kala Ghoda, Mumbai

2005 In Brief, Hacienda Art Gallery, Mumbai

2005 Divine Inspiration, Hacienda Art Gallery, Mumbai

2005 In the Creative Process, presented by Prakrit Arts at the Hong Kong Center for Visual Arts, Hong Kong

2005 Gallery Space, Hyderabad

2005 Mapping the South, organized by Vinyasa Premier Art Gallery, Chennai at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

2004 Moods, Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi

2004 Sponsored by Art Pilgrim at Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi

2004 First Anniversary Exhibition, Sara Arakkal, Bengaluru

2004 Art for Vision, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi

2004 Hyderabad with Love, presented by India Fine Art at L.V.Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad and Mumbai Art Gallery, Mumbai, Nehru Centre, Mumbai

2004 Black and white, black and white, Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai

2004 A charity art exhibition for Passages at Art and Soul Art Gallery, Mumbai

2003 Group exhibition of Hyderabad artists at India Art Gallery, Pune

2003 Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda

2003 Ganesha Gallery, New Delhi

2003 Group exhibition with Indian and Danish artists in Denmark in Rundetaarn, Copenhagen, Vejle Kunstforening, Musikhust, Esbjerg, Pashuset, Nykobing Sj, Teko Centre, Herming, Lands by Galleriet, Timring, Thorasmindu, Laurentsvej, Roskilde Kunstforening, Roskilde

2002-03 International group exhibition with Danish Indian artists Cross Currents, in Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Pondicherry.

2001 From tradition to modernity, Fulda, Germany

2000 Seventh group exhibition at Surya Art Gallery, Hyderabad.

1999 Indian Council for Cultural Relations Art Gallery, Hyderabad

1999 Contemporary Deccan A New Generation of Artists, C.C.M.B, Hyderabad

1995 Tana, Art Chicago, USA

SELECTED JOINT EXHIBITIONS

2004 Moods, Art Alive, New Delhi

2000 Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

PARTICIPATIONS

2009 Entity, Annual Exhibition, M.E.C Art Gallery, New Delhi

Annual Exhibition 2007, Sara Arrakkal Art Gallery, Bengaluru

2006 National Art Exhibition, Lalit Kala Academy, Bhopal

2005 International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Florence, Italy

2004 Harvest 2004, organized by Arushi Arts at Visual Art Gallery, Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi

2003 National Art Exhibition, Lalit Kala Academy, Kochi

2001 National Art Exhibition held by Lalit Kala Academy in Ahmedabad

2001 Regional Art Exhibition conducted by Lalit Kala Academy in Kochi

HONORS AND AWARD

1995 Annual Exhibition, Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad

1993 Gold Medal in the painting competition conducted by Konaseema Chitrakala Parishath, Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh

1987 Bronze Medal in Painting Competition held by Amateur Artists Association, Nalgonda, Andhra Pradesh