Tom Vattakuzhy

Tom brings his human experience that is heart-warming, "I want my paintings to be close to human life and experiences. My interest is in exploring the visual possibilities of bringing art closer to the inner realities of human condition, its uncertainties and predicaments. With regard to my visual strategy or approach, I do not take recourse to a complete narrative. Instead, I try to locate my works on the border lines of real and surreal, fact and ction. I use imagery in tune with the other pictorial elements to invoke a certain psychological mood, palpable yet elusive. For me, a painting is not on what is painted, but in the viewer’s mind. The role of painting is only that of a pointer or a springboard. The set of works in the show were done during the lockdown period of the pandemic."

Instead of keeping his art practice in line with the prevailing art scenario, he delved into an unlearning and relearning process, reassessing art from mediaeval times to the

present assimilating only what his heart truthfully responded to. This became a crucial step in his artistic career and significantly in fenced the formation of his visual language that he went on to implement with structured solidity and crisp organisation.

From 2010, he devoted himself solely to his art. With the intention of bringing art closer to society, he engaged himself in illustrating periodicals with virtually stand alone paintings that he preferred to call story- paintings. A controversy over one of his works resulted in the retraction of the magazine itself, leaving him disillusioned and demoralised until he nally did away with it in 2016. One of his history paintings titled ‘Death of Gandhi ’received nationwide acclaim and found its way to the cover painting of Kerala budget in 2020. Tom Vattakuzhy’s carefully rendered paintings, rich with light effects and subdued colour tones nestle between the real and the surreal. His intuitive and deliberate compositions evolve from observed reality but are expressions of his own feelings and responses which lends them a mysterious and contemplative quality. His poignant figures, eloquent in gesture and posture are imbued with a series of evocative associations and memories.

He joined Kalabhawan, Santiniketan in 1991 where he graduated with a degree in printmaking in 1996. His exposure to the life and works of Benode Behari Das and Ramkinkar Baij and his close associations with doyen artists like K.G. Subramanyan, Somnath Hore and art historian, R. Sivakumar had a significant impact on the formation of his artistic priorities and way of life.

Upon completing his master’s degree from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda in 1998, in lieu of keeping him and his art practice in line with the winds of the changing art scenario, he delved into an unlearning and relearning process reassessing art from medieval times to the present assimilating what his heart responded to. This became a crucial step in his artistic career and significantly influenced the formation of his visual language with a structural solidity and organisation. From 2010, he devoted himself solely to his art. With the intention of bringing art close to society, he engaged himself in illustrating periodicals with virtually stand alone paintings that he preferred to call ‘story-paintings’. A controversy over one of his works resulted in the retraction of the magazine itself, leaving him disillusioned and demoralised, and finally did away with it in 2016. One of his history paintings titled ‘Death of Gandhi’ received a nation wide acclaim and found its way to the cover painting of Kerala budget in 2020. He has been the recipient of awards like AIFACS Award, New Delhi in 1997 and 1998, Kerala Lalit Kala Academy Award in 1997, National Scholarship, HRD New Delhi in 1996, Haren Das Award, Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta in 1995.

He lives and works in Muvattupuzha, his hometown in Kerala.