Born in 1942, Boorugupalli (Andhra Pradesh), Thota Vaikuntam studied at the College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad from where he graduated in 1960. In 1971, he won the Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship to study Painting and Printmaking at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda under Prof. K.G. Subramanyan. He won the Bharat Bhavan Biennale Award, Bhopal in 1988 and the National Award awarded by the Lalit Kala Akademi in 1993.
He has also received the National Award for Art Direction of film Daasi in 1988-89. He has held several solo shows and participated in numerous group exhibitions, prominent being VII International Triennale, Lalit Kala Akademi, 1991; Art Encounter, Kassel, Germany, 1992; India-Encounter II, Lee Arthur Studio, New York, 1994-95.
Thota Vaikuntam finds his inspiration in the rural areas of his home state Andhra Pradesh in South India. Men and women of his village are often the central characters of his work. Telangana women, in particular, are frequent subjects for his works. 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 travelling theatre groups that performed in his village. He admits finding the women of his village very sensuous and that he only attempts to capture their vibrancy.
In an interview with Saffronart, the artist explains his early apprehensions when it came to art. “…In private I began sketching images which were very Indian, but which I thought were quite shocking. They were very obviously inspired by the spiritual and sensuous tradition that’s part of Indian mythology and art. I hid them from public eye, because I thought they were very sexual”.
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. He generally uses only primary colours, as he believes that composite colours do not exist in nature and are therefore, unnatural. As he explains, “I like using rich primary colours, which give a sense of character and depth to my paintings. Like reds and saffron and even orange, because these are essentially Indian colours. 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 lives and works in Hyderabad
