Thota Vaikuntam

Thota Vaikuntam was born in the rural Karimnagar District of Andhra Pradesh in 1942 to a farming family. His first inspiration was the gaudy yet colourful backdrop used in street plays, the sparsely dressed men working the fields all day and the bedecked women in their fine rustic costumes with jewelry and flowers in their hair. Wanting to pursue art, Thota Vaikuntam went to Baroda to study painting and printmaking at the M S University from 1971 to 1972. He received a fellowship from Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Academy. There he bloomed under the tutelage of K.G. Subramanyan who guided the young artist to pursue his own thinking. At a college seminar, a scholar told the students that most Indian artists copied their Western counterparts. Vaikuntam then strove to create his own language in paint. It was then he started creating his own unique prints. Thota Vaikuntam paintings were showcased in several solo shows held by him. T Vaikuntam has taken part in important group exhibitions at Salarjung Museum in 1989, the 7th Triennale, New Delhi in 1991 and Art Encounter at Kassal, Germany in 1992. Most recently, he has had a retrospective exhibition of his paintings and prints at Hyderabad and at Mumbai with India Fine Arts. His earlier work was done painstakingly on paper. Layer upon layer of thinly mixed paint created vibrancy on the surface. T Vaikuntam drew inspiration for his paintings from the rural Telangana folk. The men and women of his village have always been the subject of his work. The colours he uses give the paintings a vibrant look. His women are sensual and voluptuous while the male is simple and austere. His figures were unflattering portraits of the local people of whom he was one. His success has led him to attempt large sized paintings on canvas since 2000. His subjects have grown stylized and more beautiful. They are some of the most colourful canvas paintings to be done by any Indian artist. He has done several serigraph prints in Limited and Signed Editions in order to reach out to a growing demand for his art. These have also become Collectors items. Thota Vaikuntam continues to work and live in Hyderabad.