Laxma Goud
Encyclopedia
Kalal Laxma Goud was born on August 21, 1940, and is an India
n painter
, printmaker and draughtsman
. He works in variety of mediums including etching, gouache, pastel, sculpture, and glass painting. He is best known for his early drawings that depict eroticism
in a rural context, and also for the originality and quality of his etchings and aquatints.
, Andhra Pradesh
.
His childhood was spent in a village environment where he grew up keenly aware, through firsthand observation, of rural tradition and craft. When he was a young boy he watched Andhra leather puppetry and the creation of terracotta ornamentation. As he grew older he studied drawing and painting at the Government College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad. Goud went on to study Mural Painting under K.G. Subramanyan
at the Faculty of Fine Arts
, MSU, Baroda from 1963 to 1965. It was at Baroda that Goud discovered his love of printmaking, and became a driving force at the university in building a strong and credible voice for the fine art print.
Laxma Goud began to interpret his childhood memories of rural and tribal vivacity through an urban grid in which surreal, libidinal tones mingled with fantasy and poetry. He created masterful small paintings of village life in a palette of monochrome greys. He also drew in pen and ink, and his drawings and etchings from this period are an interesting combination of village nostalgia, the surreal, and the erotic. The artist is quoted as saying about this period of visual-erotic exploration, “We come from a culture which spoke openly about the man-woman relationship, about fertility. When it recurs in a contemporary context, why should anyone pull a face?”
Goats, both full-uddered and with erect penises, became a signature motif. These goats are not just symbols of rural India. In Goud’s words, “No one cares for a goat except perhaps for the artist who sees in the creature the dogged determination of a people who have learnt to live off their landscape by foraging for what they can get out of it.”
By the 1970s Goud began to explore aquatint in his etchings and also more intensely sexual themes. But by the 1980s the artist seemed to return to more traditional roots, exploring various craft forms such as terracotta and reverse glass painting in a more subdued and decorative style.
He is the head and teacher at Sarojini Naidu School of Performing Art, Fine Art & Communication, University of Hyderabad
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, printmaker and draughtsman
Draughtsman
A draughtsman or draftsman , is a person skilled in drawing, either:*drawing for artistic purposes, or*technical drawing for practical purposes such as architecture or engineering...
. He works in variety of mediums including etching, gouache, pastel, sculpture, and glass painting. He is best known for his early drawings that depict eroticism
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
in a rural context, and also for the originality and quality of his etchings and aquatints.
Early life
Laxma Goud was born in Nizampur, MedakMedak
Medak , is a municipality in Medak District in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is 100 km to the north of Hyderabad.-Geography:Medak is located at . It has an average elevation of 442 metres .-Demographics:...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
.
His childhood was spent in a village environment where he grew up keenly aware, through firsthand observation, of rural tradition and craft. When he was a young boy he watched Andhra leather puppetry and the creation of terracotta ornamentation. As he grew older he studied drawing and painting at the Government College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad. Goud went on to study Mural Painting under K.G. Subramanyan
K.G. Subramanyan
K.G. Subramanyan is a contemporary Indian painter. One of most revered of living painters in India, often drawing comparison with Tyeb Mehta and M.F. Husain, he is celebrated as much for his wide-ranging scholarship as for his visual satires.-Life:...
at the Faculty of Fine Arts
Faculty of Fine Arts
The Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU Baroda is one of the top three art colleges in India. It has a reputation for promoting a creative and individualist approach among its students, and has historically adhered to secularist, humanist, and modernist ideals....
, MSU, Baroda from 1963 to 1965. It was at Baroda that Goud discovered his love of printmaking, and became a driving force at the university in building a strong and credible voice for the fine art print.
Career and Style
After graduation, Goud made the unlikely step of returning to his village of Nizampur. With the newly educated viewpoint of an urban sophisticate, the artist found himself attracted to the unselfconscious attitudes toward sexuality that contributed to the relaxed atmosphere of village life. This relaxed sexuality stood in stark contrast to the rigid sexual mores of the Indian middle-classes he had encountered in the cities.Laxma Goud began to interpret his childhood memories of rural and tribal vivacity through an urban grid in which surreal, libidinal tones mingled with fantasy and poetry. He created masterful small paintings of village life in a palette of monochrome greys. He also drew in pen and ink, and his drawings and etchings from this period are an interesting combination of village nostalgia, the surreal, and the erotic. The artist is quoted as saying about this period of visual-erotic exploration, “We come from a culture which spoke openly about the man-woman relationship, about fertility. When it recurs in a contemporary context, why should anyone pull a face?”
Goats, both full-uddered and with erect penises, became a signature motif. These goats are not just symbols of rural India. In Goud’s words, “No one cares for a goat except perhaps for the artist who sees in the creature the dogged determination of a people who have learnt to live off their landscape by foraging for what they can get out of it.”
By the 1970s Goud began to explore aquatint in his etchings and also more intensely sexual themes. But by the 1980s the artist seemed to return to more traditional roots, exploring various craft forms such as terracotta and reverse glass painting in a more subdued and decorative style.
He is the head and teacher at Sarojini Naidu School of Performing Art, Fine Art & Communication, University of Hyderabad
University of Hyderabad
The University of Hyderabad is a post-graduate teaching and research institute in India. It was established by an act of the Parliament in 1974 as a Central University. The university also offers courses under distance learning programs...
.
Exhibitions
Laxma Goud has participated in both national and international exhibitions, and has had numerous one man shows:- Kala Bhavan, Hyderabad.
- Ansdell Gallery, London, 1973.
- Figurative Indian Artists, Warsaw, Budapest, Belgrade Goethe Institute, Munich. 1975-76.
- Griffei Kunst, Hamburg, 1975-76.
- São Paulo Biennale, Brazil, 1977.
- Contemporary Indian Painting, Festival of India , Royal Academy of Art, London, 1982.
- India in Print, Koninklijk Institute Vorde, Amsterdam, 1983.
- Festival of India, USA, 1985.
- Contemporary Art of India, The Herwitz Collection, USA, 1986.
- Contemporary Indian Art, Festival of China, Geneva, Switzerland, 1987.
- Journey's Within Landscape, Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, 1992.
- National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, 1993.
- Grey Art Gallery, New York, 1986
- Worcester Art Museum, 1986
- Y2K International Exhibition Of Prints, National Taiwan Arts, 2000.
- Manifestations I, organized by Delhi Art Gallery, World Trade Center, Mumbai and Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2003.
- Manifestations II, organized by Delhi Art Gallery, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai and Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2004.
- Manifestations III, organized by Delhi Art Gallery, Nehru Center, 2006
- " SOLO SHOW ", organized by ICA GALLERY, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 2008
Collections
- Ebrahim Alkazi & Art Heritage, New Delhi.
- Masanori Fukuoka & Glenbarra Art Museum, Hemaji, Japan.
- The Philips Collection, Washington D.C.
- Salarlung Museum, Hyderabad.
- Glenbarra Museum, Japan.
- Devinder and Kanwaldeep Sawhney, Bombay.
- National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.
- Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi.