Thota Vaikuntam Art

Thota Vaikuntam is one of the Greatest Artists from the Indian Subcontinent. Vaikuntam was born in Burugupalli, Andhra Pradesh. Vaikuntam completed a Diploma in Painting at the College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad in 1970 and Painting and Printmaking from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda in 1972. Vaikuntam is preoccupied with portraying the men and women from his region. Vaikuntam is an Indian Modern painter. His paintings capture the simple lifestyle of villagers like the paddy fields, toddy pots on shoulders of men, the household chores, temple rituals and much more. His drawings range from stark charcoal on paper, transparent washes and pencil drawings. Vaikuntam paints colorful and elaborately dressed Telangana region, men and seductive women. His muse is the sensuous and voluptuous women of Telangana with their omnipresent vermilion bindis, draped in colorful sarees that highlight their dusky skin. The stylization of a painting is a perfect foil to Indian classical dance as the figures seem to dance as if following their creator in a statuesque movement, reminiscent of temple friezes. Vaikuntam uses the brightest of reds and yellows. The simple women become larger than life as they fill the small format of his paintings draped in bright Sircilla saris. "I like using rich primary colors, which give a sense of character and depth to my paintings. Like reds and saffron and even orange, because these are essentially Indian colors. I don't like using colors that are a mix of two, because they are not natural, they don't exist in the surroundings around us, in our everyday life." says T. Vaikuntam. Men and women of his village are often the central characters of his work. The obsession can be traced back to his childhood when he used to be fascinated by the male artists who used to impersonate female characters in the traveling theatre groups that performed in his village. Vaikuntam admits finding the women of his village very sensuous and that he only attempts to capture their vibrancy. Vaikuntam’s art has a sense of strength to it, a power that emanates from the paint or charcoal that he applies to the surface, from his controlled lines and from the fine strokes that he executes. Vaikuntam has held solo and group exhibitions. He was awarded the "National Award" for Painting in 1993 and the "Biennale Award" from Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal in 1988–89.