Thota Vaikuntam

BORN
1942 Boorugupali Karimnagar Andhra Pradesh

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS
1971-72 Painting and Printmaking, Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Scholarship from Lalit Kala Academy, Andhra Pradesh
1965-70 Diploma in Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015 The Telangana Icons, presented by Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi at Grosvenor Gallery, London
2011 Memoire du passe 1979-1999, Latitude 28, New Delhi
2011 Metamorphosis The Changing World of Thota Vaikuntam, Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi
2009-10 Saffron.Vermilion.Turmeric, Indigo Blue Art, Singapore
2007 Yes, I am He, organized by India Fine Art, India Fine Art, Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay
2007 Telangana Inheritance of a Dream Lost, Art Alive, New Delhi
2006 Mukham, Sanskriti Art Gallery, Calcutta
2005 Telangana Men and Women, Arts India, California
2005 Naupu Telupu, India Fine Art, Bombay
2005 Retrospective Exhibition, Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi, London
2004 Kuhu Art Gallery, London
2003 Larger Than Life - Vaikuntams Women, Arts India, New York, and The Guild, Mumbai
2003 Portraits, Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
2001 Memories of Telangana, Sama, New Delhi
2000 Mother, Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
1999 Gallery 678, New York
1998 My Telangana Images, Mumbai
1998 Vision and Response, Renaissance, Bangalore
1996 Surya Gallery, Hyderabad
1996 The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
1995-97 New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad
1994-95 Crimson Gallery, Bangalore
1994-95 I.T.C. Welcome Group, Hyderabad
1994 Surya Gallery, Hyderabad and Gallerie 88, Calcutta
1992 Gallery Kufa, London
1992 Kessel, Chennai and Mumbai
1991 Gallery Espace, New Delhi
1990 Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai
1988-89 Max Mueller Bhavan, Hyderabad and Grindlays Bank Gallery, Chennai
1985 Drawings Exhibition, Kala Bhavan, Hyderabad
1982-83 Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad
1980 Charcoal Drawings Exhibition on the Mother Series, Kala Bhavan, Hyderabad
1978 Ink and Wash Drawings Exhibition, Kala Bhavan, Hyderabad
1978 Prints Exhibition, Alliance Francaise, Bangalore
1975-77 Ink Drawings, Kala Bhavan, Hyderabad
1974 Solo Small Drawings Exhibition, Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad
1972-73 Kala Bhavan, Hyderabad

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2011 Adbhutam Rasa in Indian Art, CIMA International Modern Art Centre, Kolkata
2011 Aureus 2011, Gallerie Nvya, New Delhi
2010-11 Figure Landscape Part Two, Aicon Gallery, London
2010 Figure Landscape Part One, Aicon Gallery, New York
2010 The Living Insignia, Gallery Ensign, New Delhi
2010 Modern Folk The Folk Art Roots of the Modernist Avant-Garde, Aicon Gallery, New York
2010 Black is Beautiful, India Fine Art, Bombay
2009 Entity, in association with the Asian Academy of Film and Television Arts at M.E.C. Art Gallery, New Delhi
2009 The Root of Everything, Gallery Mementos, Bangalore
2009 Gallery Space, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
2008 Stellar Configuration, presented by Vinyasa Premier Art Gallery, Chennai at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
2008 Post Independence Masters, Aicon Gallery, New York
2008 Freedom 2008 Sixty Years After Indian Independence, CIMA International Modern Art Centre, Kolkata
2008 Pravah, Art , New Delhi
2007 Screen Prints, presented by Archer Graphic Studio at Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
2007 Rising Of The Phoneix A Tribute To Livelihood, Hasta Gallery, Hyderabad
2007 Self and the Selfless, Hasta Gallery, Hyderabad
2007 The Workshop, India Fine Art, Mumbai
2006 Drawing Show an Act of Art II, Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai
2006 Opening Show, India Fine Art, Mumbai
2006 6 Artist Exhibition, 1 x 1 Gallery, Dubai
2006 Inaugural Exhibition, Arts Pilgrim, London
2005 Evoking Rasa in Luminous Visions - Indian Art, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA
2005 Divine Inspiration, India Fine Art, Bombay
2004 Confluence, Arts India, California
2003 Faces, Art Alive, New Delhi
2003 Kuhu Art Gallery, London
2003 Hyderabad with Love, India Fine Art, Hyderabad, Bombay
2002 Tradition and Change, Arts India, New York
2001 A Panorama of Indian Contemporary Art, Art Circle, The Guild
2000 Dubai Creative 2000
2000 Menaz Art Gallery
2000 Faces Design Art, Dubai
2000 Ignition, Crimson Art Gallery, Bombay
2000 Mask, Dhoomimal Art Gallery, New Delhi
1999 Sans Tache, Bombay
1999 Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Mumbai
1999 Gallery Ganesha, New Delhi
1998 Group exhibition in Singapore
1998 Threshold, Vishakapatnam
1998 Tempera, Art Today, New Delhi
1998 Gallery Ganesha, New Delhi
1998 Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Mumbai
1997 Gallery Ganesha, New Delhi
1996 Chamatkara - Myth and Magic in Indian Art, Whitley Art Gallery, London
1995 Art for CRY, Mumbai
1995 Gallery Ganesha, New Delhi
1995 Gallerie 88, Kolkata
1995 Autumn Exhibition, All India Fine Art and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi
1995 Surya Gallery, Hyderabad
1995 Woman, organized by The Gallery, Singapore, Hong Kong
1994-95 Contemporary Miniatures, Center of International Modern Art CIMA Gallery, Kolkata
1994 Art in Miniature Form, Renaissance, Bangalore
1994 Gallery Ganesha, New Delhi
1994 India Encounter II, Lee Arthur Studio, New York
1993 Anniversary Exhibition, Gallery 88, Kolkata
1993 Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata
1993 Summer Show, The Gallery, Chennai
1993 Birla Academy of Art and Culture Silver Jubilee Exhibition, Bombay
1993 Wide Angle, Sarla Art Centre, Bangalore Sansriti
1992 Art Gallery, Calcutta
1992 Summer Show, Hyderabad
1992 Help Age India, Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay
' 1992 Art Encounter, Kessel
1992 Gallerie 88, Bangalore
1992 Shraddha Saharpan, Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay
1991 Images of Rural India, Max Mueller Bhavan, Hyderabad
1991 The Collectors Choice, Society for Promotion of Art, Hyderabad
1991 Gallery Espace, New Delhi
1990 Five Artists, L. V. Prasad Eye Institute and CCMB Scientific Institute, Hyderabad
1990 Sarla Art Gallery, Bangalore
1990 The Gallery, Chennai
1988-89 Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad
1989 Max Mueller Bhavan, Hyderabad

PARTICIPATIONS
2014 Ode to Monumental Celebration, Visuality, and Ideology, presented by Saffronart at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
2013-14 Transition, 20th Anniversary Exhibition, CIMA International Centre for Modern Art, Kolkata
2011 Ethos V Indian Art Through the Lens of History (1900 to 1980), Indigo Blue Art, Singapore
2010 Masters Corner, organized by Indian Contemporary Art Journal at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, India International Art Fair, New Delhi
2010 Contemporary Printmaking In India, presented by Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai
2010 Summer Exhibition 2010, CIMA International Centre for Modern Art, Kolkata
2009 Entity, Annual Exhibition, M.E.C Art Gallery, New Delhi
2007 Exhibition of the Year, M.E.C Art Gallery, New Delhi 17th Anniversary, Gallery Sanskriti, Kolkata
2007 Summer Show 2007, CIMA International Modern Art Centre, Kolkata
2006 CIMA Annual 2006, CIMA International Modern Art Centre, Kolkata
1995 6th Anniversary Exhibition, Ganesha Gallery, New Delhi
1994 1st Anniversary Exhibition, Surya Gallery, Hyderabad
1991 7th Triennial, India
1988-89 Biennale, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal

HONORS AND AWARD
1993 National Award for Painting
1988-89 Biennale Award, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal
1988-89 Daasi National Award for Art Direction in Film
1985 Hyderabad Art Society Award, Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Academy
1982-83 Hyderabad Art Society Award, Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Academy
1979 Mahakoshal Kala Samithi, Madhya Pradesh
1979 Academy of Fine Arts Award, Calcutta
1979 Chitra Kala Parishad Award, Bangalore
1975-77 Second Prize, Hyderabad Art Society, Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Academy

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Thota Vaikuntam hails from Andhra Pradesh in southern India and finds his inspiration in the rural areas of the state. The men and women of his village are often the central characters in his work. The women of Telangana, in particular, are frequent subjects in his works. The obsession dates back to his childhood when he was fascinated by the male artists who used to impersonate female characters in the traveling theatre groups that performed in his village. He admits that he finds the women of his village very sensual and that he is only trying to capture their vitality.

In an interview with Saffronart, the artist explains his early apprehensions regarding art. Privately, I started sketching images that were very Indian, but I found them quite shocking. They were inspired by the spiritual and sensual tradition that is part of Indian mythology and art. I hid them from public view because I thought they were very sexual.

Vaikuntam's art has a sense of strength, a power that emanates from the paint or charcoal he applies to the surface, from his controlled lines and the fine strokes he executes. He generally uses only primary colors, as he believes that composite colors do not exist in nature and are therefore unnatural. As he explains, I like to use intense primary colors, which give a sense of character and depth to my paintings. Like red, saffron, and even orange, because they are quintessentially Indian colors. I don't like to use colors that are a mixture of two, because they are unnatural, they don't exist in our environment, in our everyday life.

Born in 1942 in Boorugupali, Andhra Pradesh, T. Vaikuntam completed a Diploma in Painting from the College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad, in 1970, and then another in Painting and Printmaking from the College of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, in 1972. He held his first solo exhibition at the Kala Bhavan, Hyderabad in 1973, and has since held regular exhibitions at various galleries in Hyderabad, Bangalore, New Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. His most recent exhibitions have been Yes, I am He, organized by India Fine Art at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007; Telangana Inheritance of a Dream Lost, at Art Alive, New Delhi, also in 2007; and Mukham at Sanskriti Art Gallery, Kolkata in 2006.

Recent group exhibitions featuring Vaikuntam's work include Indian Harvest, presented by Crimson - the Art Resource, Bangalore, at SG Private Bank, Singapore in 2009; The Root of Everything, at Mementos Gallery, Bangalore in 2009; Post Independence Masters, at Aicon Gallery, New York in 2008; 6 Artists Show, at 1x1 Gallery, Dubai in 2006; Tradition and Change, at Arts India, New York in 2002; and Ignition, at Crimson Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2000.

Among his numerous honors are the 1998 National Art Award, the 2009 National Art Award Painting Award, which Vaikuntam received in 1993, and the Bharat Bhavan Biennial Award, Bhopal, which he received in 1988-89.

The artist lives and works in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

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