Thota Vaikuntam

Acquired from Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi, 2009 

Singapore, Art Alive Gallery, Thota Vaikuntam: Showcase at Art Singapore, October 2008

Exhibition catalogue, Thota Vaikuntam: Showcase at Art Singapore, Art Alive Gallery, October 2008, illustration cover and p. 16

“My mother was like a goddess to me. Even today I feel my art is a tribute to her strength and grace. She was a village woman who may not have known much about art but the way she lived her life, that was art for me.”

(Thota Vaikuntam quoted in S. Ayaz, ‘Thota Vaikuntam: Rural Reveries’, Open Magazine, 4 November 2022, https://openthemagazine.com/art-culture/thota-vaikuntam-rural-reveries/)

Born in Burugupalli, Telangana in 1942, Thota Vaikuntam was heavily influenced by the beautiful rural simplicity of his home and his late mother’s resilience, the epitome of the strong female villagers he was surrounded by growing up. Through his mother’s support, he attended Hyderabad’s College of Fine Arts and Architecture (1960-70), later attending Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda (1971-2), where he was mentored by K.G. Subramanyan. In the current lot, Vaikuntam's mother is mentioned in the inscription in the lower right, stating that the artist is the son of T. Venkaiah and T. Sathyamma.

The current lot is an example of his famed works of Telangana women. The beauty of the figure is not demonstrated by idealistic standards; instead, she is a full-bodied vibrant woman, cloaked in a lavish Sircilla sari of brilliant red, orange, and yellow, boldly crowned with haldi, kumkum and a bright vermillion bindi (a feature inspired by his mother). She is shown at rest, a green bird perched upon her finger. Rooted in Indian artistic tradition, Vaikuntam’s Telangana subjects are timeless figures, his respect and adoration for village women evident in each portrayal.