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Velu Viswanadhan
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Born in Kerala in 1940 and trained at the Government College of Arts and Crafts in Chennai, Velu Viswanadhan was one of earliest members of the Cholamandal Artists' Village.
Viswanadhan looks at his work as an individual journey and an exploration. Though his early work is figurative, the artist evolved his vocabulary over time through experiments with abstract and geometric forms. In the late 1960s, Viswanadhan, inspired by the...
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Born in Kerala in 1940 and trained at the Government College of Arts and Crafts in Chennai, Velu Viswanadhan was one of earliest members of the Cholamandal Artists' Village.
Viswanadhan looks at his work as an individual journey and an exploration. Though his early work is figurative, the artist evolved his vocabulary over time through experiments with abstract and geometric forms. In the late 1960s, Viswanadhan, inspired by the geometrical ritualistic-magical diagrams of his native Kerala, began to explore the visual language inherent in them. This theme returns in his work time and again, with gradual evolution of form and colour.
He works mostly on paper, canvas and metal plate. Practical considerations like limited space prompted him to use small formats in his work. Viswanadhan draws with a particularly arresting technique. The outline is drawn with thick stamping ink, and then oil paint is applied with a brush and the work washed with essence of turpentine. The transparent and thin paint reveals the geometric forms. His later works, using strong handmade paper, combine a technique generally utilised in the making of handicrafts with a sophisticated sense of organisation. He has also used Indian ink to create large, horizontal pieces and smaller square drawings. In addition to his art, Viswanadhan has made a series of films based on the primary elements of Nature: Sand, Water, Fire, Air and Ether.
An artist of international acclaim, he has exhibited solo several times at Galerie Darthea Speyer, Paris, since his first solo show at the gallery in 1982. In 1985, his ‘Sand / Water’ exhibition was held at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, and in 2008, a solo show was held in New York at the Marlborough Gallery. Within India, Viswanadhan has had solo shows at Jehangir Art Gallery, Tao Art Gallery, and Gallery Chemould in Mumbai, as well as the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi, among others.
Viswanadhan has participated in the Asian Art Fair, New York, in 2007; the 15th International Art Exhibition, Tokyo, in 1984; and the Festival International de Peinture, Cagnes-sur-mer, France, in 1971. Among the many awards to his credit, in 2005, he was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France.
The artist lives and works in Paris.
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Born
February 27, 1940
Thrikkadavoor, Kerala
Education
1950-60 Student of K C. S. Paniker, Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai
Exhibitions
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2008 Marlborough Gallery, New...
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2008 Marlborough Gallery, New York
2007 ’Viswanadhan: Early Years’, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi
2006, 04, 02, 2000, 1996, 93, 89, 82 Galerie Darthea Speyer, Paris
2005 Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
2005 Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
2003 Organized by Gallery Espace, Visual Arts Gallery, New Delhi
2001 Ecole Nationale Superieure d’ Arts, Brest
2000 Salon Renacimiento, Palazio Santa Cruz, Valladolid, Spain
2000 Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata
1999 Lalit Kala Academy Regional Centre, Chennai, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai
1999 National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi
1997 Vadhera Art Gallery, New Delhi
1995 Medienzentrum, Bremen, Germany
1992, 1975, 1972 Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
1992 Philippe Briet Gallery, New York
1991 The Gallery, Chennai
1991 Gallery Espace, New Delhi
1991 Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Kolkata
1990 ABF Galeriet, Huddinge, Sweden
1990 Lilla Galeriet, Stockholm, Sweden
1985 ‘Sand / Water Show’, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
1982 Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
1981 Galerie Gruppe Grun, Bremen, Germany
1981 Galerie Estela Shapiro, Mexico City, Mexico
1981 Centro de Bellas Artes, Maracaibo, Venezuela
1980 Galerie Together, Stockholm, Sweden
1980 Galerie FO, Aarhus, Denmark
1978 Galerie Kloster 7', Cuxhaven, Germany
1978 Stig Carlsson, Hogonas, Sweden
1977 Galerie Shandar, Paris
1976 Galerie Saporiti-Italia, Strasbourg, France
1975 Galerie Yves Brun, Paris
1975 Galerie Surya, Mannheim, Germany
1974 Gallery Chanakya, New Delhi
1973 Galeria Matuzia, San Remo, Italy
1972 Art Institute, Cochin
1971 Maison De La Culture, Amiens, France
1970 Galerie Moderne, Silkeborg, Denmark
1970 Galerie De France, Paris
1969 Galerie Ved Aaven, Aarhus, Denmark
1969 Galerie Westing, Odense, Denmark
1967 Lindsey's Bangalore, Bangalore
1998,66 National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai
1966 Local Library Building, Chennai
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 'Freedom to March: Rediscovering Gandhi through Dandi', presented by Ojas Art at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
2010 'Besides Paris', Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata
2005 ‘Manifestations III’, organized by Delhi Art Gallery at Nehru Centre, Mumbai and Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
2005 ‘Double – Enders’, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Cochin
2000 Cholamandal Artists' Village, Chennai
2000 ‘Exile and Longing’, Emerging Art Practices from Kerala, Lakeeren Art Gallery, Mumbai
2000 ‘Abstract Art in India’, Gallery Art Motif, Habitat Center, New Delhi
1998 ‘Geometry and Symbols in Indian Contemporary Art’, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi
1997 Galerie Darthea Speyer, Paris
1997 ‘50 Years of Independence’, National Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
1996 ‘Works on Paper’, Gallery Espace, New Delhi
1996 ‘Emotion Madras’, Value Art Gallery, Chennai
1996 'Six Artists’, Galerie Darthea Speyer', Gallery Athens, Athens
1994 ‘Drawing’ 94’, organized by Gallery Espace at All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi
1994 ‘Crayon, Fusain et plume’, Galerie Darthea Speyer, Paris
1994 ‘100 Years of Indian Contemporary Art’, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi
1993 ‘Wounds’, organized by Centre of International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata at National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi
1993 Souvenirs d’en France, New Delhi
1993 Regards Sur I’Avant – Garde Russe 1910-1925, Son Influence Dans Une Collection d’Aujourd’hui, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Chateau de Tanlay, France
1993 ‘Trends and Images’, Centre of International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata
1992 Terre d'Avenir, Le Bourget, France
1992 ‘An Exhibition for Satyajit Ray’, Philippe Briet Gallery, New York
1992 ‘Silver Jubilee Exhibition’, Birla Academy of Arts and Culture, Kolkata
1992 ‘India Confluence’, Franco-Indian Association, Kolkata
1988 ‘Art for CRY’, Traveling Exhibition in India
1988 ‘Art Olympiad’, Seoul, South Korea
1987 'Masques d' Artistes', Malmaison Cultural Centre, Cannes, France
1987 L'inde en Suisse, Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneve, Switzerland
1983 ‘Tantra’, Aspects of Contemporary Indian Art, Institut fur Auslandsbeziehungen, Stuttgart, Germany
1980 ‘Contemporary Art Show’, Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan
1968 ‘Contemporary Indian Art’, Traveling exhibition in Europe
1965 Edinburgh Festival, UK
Participations
2011 ‘Manifestations VI', Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi
2011 ‘Manifestations V', Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi
2010 'Evolve: 10th Anniversary Show', Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
2010 'Manifestations IV', Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi
2007 Asian Art Fair, New York, New York
1984 ‘The 15th International Art Exhibition’, Tokyo
1983 Premio Internationale, Biella, Italy
1983,80,68,67 ‘National Exhibition of Art’, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
1981 ‘Asian Art Show’, Bangladesh
1981 International Biennial of Engraving, Moderna Galeria, Ljublijana
1975 New Delhi Triennial, India
1973 5eme Festival International de Peinture, exposition des Laureats, Cagnes-sur-mer, France
1972 Bienniale de Menton, France
1971 Festival International de Peinture, Cagnes-sur-mer, France
1967 Biennale de Paris, France
Honours and Awards
2005 Chevalier des Arts et Letters
1986 Grand Prix de Cinema du Reel,...
2005 Chevalier des Arts et Letters
1986 Grand Prix de Cinema du Reel, centre Pompidou, Paris
1986 Grand Prize for the Best Documentary, Festival Dei Popoli, Florence
1978 Premio Lubiam for Painting, Italy
1973 Premio, Italy
1972 Pris de la Peinture, Festival International, Menton
1971 Palette d’or, Festival International de la Peinture, Cagnes sur Mer
1968 National Award for Painting, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
1968 Award for Painting, Lalit Kala Academy, Kerala
1967 Public Prize for the Best Documentary, FIFD Malega, Spain
1966 Founder Member, Cholamandal Artists’ Village, Chennai
1963 Award for Painting, Lalit Kala Academy, Chennai
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PAST AUCTIONS
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Lot 34
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Winter Online Auction
17-18 December 2024
Untitled
Oil on canvas
34.75 x 33.75 in
Winning bid
$19,320
Rs 16,22,880
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Lot 25
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16 January 2024
Untitled
Watercolour on paper
21.5 x 21.5 in
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$1,446
Rs 1,20,000
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Lot 54
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Absolute Tuesdays
19 December 2023
Untitled
Ink on paper pasted on paper
6 x 8 in
Winning bid
$361
Rs 30,000
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Lot 51
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No-reserve Auction of Art
4-5 August 2015
Untitled
Watercolour on paper pasted on board
11 x 11 in
Winning bid
$1,205
Rs 75,930
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