Tag-Archive for » indian contemporary artists «

Thota Vaikuntam

Sunday, March 21st, 2010 | Author:

 

3iThota Vaikuntam is a popular Indian contemporary artist who finds his inspiration from the raw and the rural parts of India. His work reflects the cultures and traditions prevalent in the southern part of India. The artist himself hails from Andhra Pradesh and portrays village men and women especially Telangana women in his art. As a child, Vaikuntam drew his inspiration from village male artists who would often sketch sensuous female characters.

pictureaspxVaikuntam’s artwork is simple but this simplicity is striking. He uses primary colors which give a sense of reality to his paintings. He often uses charcoal to sketch and his lines are nothing but fine strokes, well-controlled and strong. Colors like red, orange and yellow are artist’s favorite colors and he feels that these colors help his paintings to retain the Indian-ness in them. artwork_images_425787472_435525_thota-vaikuntam

In one of his interviews, Vaikuntam suggested “I don’t like using colours that are mix of two, because they are not natural, they don’t exist in surroundings around us, in our everyday life”.

Vaikuntam was born in Boorugupali, Andhra Pradesh in 1942 and since childhood, he was always interested in paintings. In 1970, he completed his Diploma in Painting at the College of Fine Arts and Architecture in Hyderabad. He also completed his diploma in Painting and Printmaking from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda in 1972.

solo-exhibition-by-thota-vaikuntam-482x298Vaikuntam has received the Biennale Award from Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal in 1988 and a National Award for Painting in 1993. He has also held numerous solo and group exhibitions in India and in various other countries as well.

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Sajal Sarkar

Saturday, March 20th, 2010 | Author:

 

b2f004a4Contemporary Indian art is growing in a big way and new artists are emerging as Indian art embarks a new global journey through its paintings. One such contemporary Indian art artists of the recent times is Kolkata born Sajal Sarkar.

Be it oil, charcoal or any other medium, Sajal’s work shows a lot of experimentation not just with the medium but with the message as well. He thoughtfully weaves his cobweb to create a vivid representation of his subjects.

In Sarkar’s work, you will mostly see male figures with accentuated features. Neither vulgar nor sensational, these figures represent strength and are aesthetic in their form. His lines are bold, strong and often quite simple but it is this simplicity that represents the male form. sajal_33l_big

Sarkar uses female forms occasionally.Most of the female forms used in his works are seen alongside the male figures. Even the colors that are used in his paintings are bright making the picture look real and vivacious.

Sajal Sarkar graduated in Art paintings from the Government College of Art and Craft there in 1989 after which he spent four years working at the Lalit Kala Akademi Studio in Kolkata as a practicing artist. In 1993, he later moved to Baroda to pursue his Post Diploma in Graphics (Printmaking).

sajal_34w_bigHe did his diploma in graphics so that he could experiment with various mediums. As he graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at M.S. University at Baroda, his interests widened and he began visual experimentation in contemporary Indian art. Sarkar has had numerous exhibitions and shows. He is awarded the Bendre Husain Scholarship and a Junior Fellowship from the Ministry of HR Development, Govt. of India, in 1995-97. Sajal Sarkar is an ode to Indian art.

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Indian contemporary artists: Jitish Kallat

Monday, September 21st, 2009 | Author:

jitish-kallat As we are trying to cover emerging artists who remain unknown hitherto, the next name in the series is Jitish Kallat. He has earned a name for himself in the highly competitive and choosy world of Indian art. The way, he has emerged on the horizon of Indian art is truly praiseworthy. His prime plank is autobiographical mode that he uses in his works. Many critics may find it obsessive but yet there is a certain appeal to the way he uses self image in his paintings as the main protagonist. To quote him, “My art is more like a researcher’s project who uses quotes rather than an essay, with each painting necessitating a bibliography” clearly outlines his philosophy towards his work. He explores several aspects of his life in his works. His favorite themes include his personal relationships, death, time and relation with ancestry.

Jitish Kallat also excels in his method of painting. His method is quite economical and he prefers to focus on abstract form of paintings. His narrative is quite strong and he often takes help of visual materials that appeal to his senses. Images tend to float in his art works and it’s almost like a complex web work. The mysterious part of his painting emerges from abstract form where viewers have to solve the puzzle. Everyone is free to make his own interpretation and it is u to the viewer to decode the theme of the art work. His paintings are dual in nature and comprehending it as a single theme seems to be a tough ask.

While taking care of titles he uses texts that incorporate element of humor in his paintings. His art works are truly a treat to watch and understanding the theme is even more interesting. 

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Indian contemporary artists: Vivan Sundaram

Monday, September 14th, 2009 | Author:

vivan-sundaram

Among the exhaustive list of talented contemporary artists, name of Vivan Sundaram stands out. A true talent he is equally efficient in painting and sculpting. What sets him apart from the crowd is his approach towards painting. He is not your predictable drawing room artist. He would rather focus upon completing multidimensional projects that invite audience participation. That sounds quite interesting, no! He has often performed in an open-stage theatre where performer and spectator can indulge in live interactions.  The best part of such performance is continuous feedback and multiple meanings evoked by the performer. In different words, that also provides an altogether different perspective of one’s work.

Art is a subject that does not have any fixed meaning. It is always subject to different interpretations of diverse range of spectators and interesting part is all of them are correct in their analysis. It is a huge compliment for an artist if his work is considered as a cultural product and not just an object to be hanged in the drawing room. Sundarama is one such artist who has managed to evoke fascinating reactions from the audiences. His work is not merely an imagination of unforeseen realities. It is rather concerned with socio-political history and the surrounding environment. The live interaction signifies viewers can observe and let their thought process run wildly and respond accordingly. The object they react to could be a painting or enclosures or a crafted construction.   

Sundarama makes art works that invite reactions. That is quite a unique approach and very rarely seen on art landscape. Sundarama often redesigns, transforms and renews his works in a new fashion and presents it to the world. Considering his fresh approach towards the art works, he is definitely going to stay and excel.

Category: Indian artists, Indian Contemporary Art  | Tags: , ,  | One Comment

Ved Gupta

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 | Author:

Ved Gupta is a young contemporary artist of India who has a different approach to painting. Ved is bold, fearless, and not afraid to raise his voice on behalf of the suppressed. Ved’s paintings are a perception of the reality that prevails in India about the injustices and inequalities that have been prevailing in the country for years together. His basic theme revolves around the plight of the country despite its new success of economic liberalization and globalization.

His paintings are highlighting the bitter reality and are from the perspective of the dispossessed, projecting them as heroic, albeit tragic beings. In an interview Ved quoted “I have always aspired to make a political statement and give back to the society with whatever I did. The language of art provided me with a way of expressing that and connecting with the society.”

Born in 1975 in Narkatiagunj, Bihar, Ved always weaved a dream of becoming an engineer, but he failed to fulfill it. After leaving Bihar, he traveled to New Delhi and then Pilani, Rajasthan where he spent time with a sculptor. This was the time when Ved started his fascinating journey, which led him to understand various shades of human emotions like the feeling of loneliness and desperation attached with the phenomenon of migration and this is what is reflected in his beautiful paintings and sculptures. Ved later did his post-graduation in sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Vadodara, where he got a gold medal. He has also won numerous honors including the H.K. Kejriwal award and the Kashi Award for Visual Art (2007).

Ved’s work has been featured at many exhibitions. He was among the five Indian artists who showcased their works under the ‘Best of Discovery’ section at the Shanghai Contemporary show.

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