Awardees

Citation

Thota Vaikuntam is one of India’s most eminent painters of contemporary and post-modern art.

Vaikuntam cites his village as his abiding source of inspiration. Born in 1942 to Venkaiah and Satyamma in Boorugupalli in Karimnagar District, Vaikuntam
moved to the temple town of Vemulavada for his education. Though good at
academics, his real interest was in the arts – temple music, street plays,
puppet shows, folk dances, the vibrant rituals and colourful festivals.
In his early years Vaikuntam spent a lot of time with travelling theatre groups
and rural folk performer. Many years later, these memories would inspire the
visual vocabulary of his own art. With the encouragement of his high school
teacher he started painting, creating background sceneries and costumes for
school events, weddings and village celebrations.

He began to dream about making a career in the arts, for which he gained his mother’s blessing, to train as an artist instead of joining the family business. It was his beloved mother, Satyamma, that inspired the woman-centric universe we see in his work today. The women in his paintings are one of his most signature motifs, with large red bindis set on turmeric-sandalwood foreheads, ornate nosepins and colourful Sircilla saris offset against their dark skin.

He enrolled in the College of Fine Arts and Architecture in Hyderabad in 1960. However the political unrest in the state during that decade caused an
interruption in his studies and he received his Diploma in Painting only in
1970. The following year he received a fellowship from the Andhra Pradesh
Lalit Kala Akademi for the Faculty of Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao
University, Baroda to further refine his skills under the tutelage of renowned
artist K.G. Subramanyan.

For nearly twenty years he painted without much appreciation and was
compelled to take on other work. He was the art teacher in Hyderabad Bal
Bhavan for 15 years and also worked as an art director on feature films such as Palleturi Pillagada, Maa Bhoomi, Matti Manshulu and Daasi, for which he
received the National Award in 1989.

K.G. Subramanyan remained a mentor and played an influential role in
Vaikuntam finding his voice. In the company of likeminded artists he realised
the importance of taking inspiration from his own surroundings. After an early
use of charcoal, pencil and ink, he started using acrylic paints to depict rural
landscapes and lives of the people of Telangana. His primary palette of red,
orange and saffron, what he called “Indian colours”, and distinctive figures
finally started to attract the people’s imagination.

In 1988 he received the Biennale Award from Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal; in 1993 the National Award for Painting; and several more accolades followed in the following years.

After decades of struggle, Thota Vaikuntam is today one of the most
celebrated figures in contemporary Indian folk art. His unique blend of folk
traditions and contemporary sensibilities have achieved him much
international acclaim. Vaikuntam has been invited for solo and group
exhibitions in prestigious galleries in India, London, New York, Dubai,
California, Singapore and Hong Kong. And his works have been auctioned by
the likes of famous auctioneers Christie’s.

He also created sculptures which reflect the unique Vaikuntam style and his
artworks are avidly collected in India and abroad.

The Trustees of the Yudhvir Foundation are proud to honour Thota Vaikuntam with this award, for his outstanding contribution to art. They admire his truly exceptional talent, his distinctive style and unique imagery that pays tribute to the vibrant art and culture of Telangana.