Popular Actor, Producer, Educationist and an Entrepreneur Vishnu Manchu today inaugurated “Vishnu Manchu Art Foundation” (VMAF) along with many prominent artists at a gala event in Tirupathi.
The birth of VMAF is to fill the dearth of an integrated platform that will promote gifted artists of this generation as well as to educate aspiring and support young Art and Artists.
Making the announcement Vishnu Manchu said ‘I believe people with artistic bend should have the opportunity to reach their full potential. VMAF’s objective is to help every aspiring and growing artists expand the reach of their creativity. It is a first of its kind initiative in India it is truly integrated with art, adds Vishnu.
VMAF also provides networking opportunity for young artists and showcase their work to legends in the field of Art. Many prominent artists have come forward to share their knowledge, thoughts, advice and inputs to sharpen aspiring artist’s skills sets. VMAF will hold a series of Make Art, Show Art and Beyond Art programs each year. Vishnu Manchu is also planning to do a documentary covering all these activities.
Giving back to the society also stands first in Vishnu’s mind, the proceeds from sales and auction of artworks at VMAF will be donated towards advancement of arts to Sree Vidyanikethan Educational Trust.
Brochure Info:
As they say it is very true that, “Colours, like features, follow the changes of the emotions” and an artist traces down those instincts to create the flipside of what we call, the world. Incepted to support their celestial thoughts, VMAF (Vishnu Manchu Art Foundation) aims at abridging gap between prolific artists and aesthetes by acting as a conceptual platform. The seed stage of VMAF was started way back in 2009. After thorough research and intensive analysis finally the time has come to get on-board. Since Indian subcontinent is blessed with its rich heritage of art and culture for ages artists have more scope to diversify their skills and showcase their art globally. VMAF is a non¬profit organization facilitating the cutting-edge work of renowned and upcoming artists on global arena. This grant-making organization enriches creativity with its outreach to wider audience undermining geo-political and cultural divides.
Mission
Create global cross cultural collaborations and public platforms for arts with widened horizon.
Vision
To be a proud patron, try and help every talent competent of inspiring world with arts.
VMAF has evolved on the pioneering ideology of Vishnu Manchu, renowned Actor, Producer, Educationist and an Entrepreneur. Being an aesthetic himself, has fervor for creative arts inspired by cultural diversity both regional and global. Since his childhood, he intended to instigate artistic and cultural development programs. VMAF provides both national and international leadership in the production and presentation of contemporary visual arts.
To ensure that the arts in all their diversity are nurtured and valued because they enrich individual and community life and are critical to envisioning the future of our society.
VM Art Foundation cultivates a spirit of research, experimentation and excellence while acting as a catalyst for collaboration and exchange within the Asian countries and beyond.
FEBFEST
We are extremely delighted to share that hereon from 2015 VMAF will organize 'Art Exhibition' every year in the month of February. This exhibition will be held in Tirupati to provide befitting platform at par with that of Metro Fairs exclusively dedicated to discover the hidden talent of suburban/rural regions.
Make ‘ART’
-> Workshops & Seminars
-> Interviews of Experts
-> Online Tutorials
Show ‘ART’
-> Art Exhibitions & Auctions
-> Art
-> Get-togethers of Artists
Beyond ‘ART’
-> Online Portal
-> Creating Prolific Database
-> Information on Books and Materials of Arts
Greetings !!
Thank you for your interest in Vishnu Manchu Art Foundation. I never knew much about art until a decade ago. I start taking interest and I am still learning slowly. The main intention of starting this foundation is to bring into foray the artists, who give so much to the creative world and inspire generations. Also I wanted upcoming young artists to interact with the artists across India and abroad and learn from them. I wanted to create a platform and that is when I was suggested to start this foundation.
VMAF is to create a platform here ideas are shared, inspired and motivated. To showcase the world, the talent available and the wonderful, gifted artists of this generation and to educate young generation about Art and Artists. To give platform to young artists to showcase their work to legends in the field of Art and get tips from them. Just to hear them speak would mean a world of change to the young artists.
I thank you for your cooperation and support to VMAF.
Vishnu Manchu
Founder
VMAF
Mr.Manu Parekh
Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, in 1962. The artist lives and works in New Delhi.Parekh's early work explored the relationships between man and nature, as according to him, this was an energetic link that had to be celebrated. The artist also points out that, since then, contradictions have formed the basis of his artistic practice, no matter the subject or genre of his works.
Vivid colours and prominent lines are an integral part of Parekh's work and each exudes the energy that he attempts to capture. Parekh admits to being very strongly influenced by his surroundings. His stay in the city of Calcutta, for instance, drew him towards Santiniketan and the old masters of Indian art, Ram Kinkar Baij and Rabindranath Tagore. His appreciation of their work, more at a perceptual level than stylistic one, urged him to delve deeper into the thoughts that inform his own ouevre.Polemics have always intrigued Manu Parekh - the energy of the organic form and the inherent sexuality within these forms are intangible elements in his works. His paintings provoke viewers to take notice of the world around them through the emotion, pain and anguish expressed in the subjects of his paintings.
Parekh held his first solo exhibition of graphics and paintings in Ahmedabad in 1968, and has not looked back since. His most recent solo shows have included 'Banaras - Eternity Watches Time' presented by Saffronart and Berkeley Square Gallery, London, at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007; 'Banaras' at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2004; 'Portraits of Flower and Landscapes of River' at Jehangir Art Gallery and Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2003; 'Ritual Oblations' at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, Sakshi Gallery, Bangalore, and Sakshi Gallery and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 1999; and 'Small Drawings' at Sophia Duchesne Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 1991. Parekh has also had solo shows at BosePacia Modern in New York and at ARKS Gallery in London.
Parekh was awarded the President of India's Silver Plaque and the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society Award, New Delhi, in 1972; the National Award from the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, in 1982; and the Padma Shree from the Government of India in 1992.
Mr. Thota Vaikuntam
Thota Vaikuntam hails from Andhra Pradesh, in South India, and finds his inspiration in the rural areas of the state. 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.
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.
Born in 1942 in Boorugupali, Andhra Pradesh, T. Vaikuntam completed a Diploma in Painting at the College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad, in 1970, and then another in Painting and Printmaking from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, in 1972. He held his first solo exhibition at the Kala Bhavan in Hyderabad in 1973, and since then has had regular shows at various galleries in Hyderabad, Bangalore, New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. His most recent shows have been 'Yes, I am He' organized by India Fine Art at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007; 'Telangana: Inheritance of a Dream Lost' at Art Alive, New Delhi, also in 2007; and 'Mukham' at Sanskriti Art Gallery, Kolkata, in 2006.
Some recent group shows that have included Vaikuntam's work have been 'Indian Harvest' presented by Crimson - the Art Resouce, Bangalore, at SG Private Bank, Singapore, in 2009; 'The Root of Everything' at Gallery Mementos, Bangalore, in 2009; 'Post Independence Masters' at Aicon Gallery, New York, in 2008; '6 Artists Show' at 1x1 Gallery, Dubai, in 2006; 'Tradition and Change' at Arts India, New York, in 2002; and 'Ignition' at Crimson Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2000. Among his several honours are the National Award for Painting, which Vaikuntam received in 1993, and the Biennale Award from Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, which he received in 1988-89.
The artist lives and works in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.
Mrs. Madhavi Parekh
Born in Sanjaya, a village in Gujarat, Madhvi Parekh reflects her rural influences in her stylized folk art.
Married to Manu Parekh, an artist from J.J.School of Art, Madhvi gained much of her exposure to art and inspiration for her paintings, from him. She explored the possibility of depicting her childhood memories through her paintings, where images of fantasy and early days are woven into her entire work, which lend it a surreal, dreamlike quality.
Her subjects have a freshness and spontaneity to them; and although her themes always revolve around images that affect her; her compositions are flexible, and all her paintings have a strong sense of design.
There is an element of emancipation in the majority of Madhvi's works, where man is depicted free from the tyranny of mechanical time.
Madhvi's work has its inspiration in rural India, while her style is contemporary; influenced by artists such as Paul Klee and Clemente.
She has been exhibiting her work since 1972, all over the world and has more close to a hundred solo and group shows to her credit.
She is a self-taught artist and is married to legendary artist Manu Parekh.
She has exhibited with the Vadhera art gallery, New Delhi which was a solo exhibition in 2006. In 2003 she received the Whirlpool Women's Achievement in The Field of Fine Art, in 989-91 Government of India Senior Fellowship, in 1989 - Fund for Artist Colonies, Residency Fellowship at Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA, in 1989 USIA Fellowship for extensive travel in USA, in 1979- the National Award from Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and in 1970-72 she got the French Government Scholarship for Fine Arts to study in Paris.
Mrs. Shipra Bhattacharya
Born in 1954, Shipra Bhattacharya's work has dealt with women's issues in a confrontational, yet subtle manner. While the female figure forms a central part of her work, it is more the inner consciousness of these women that the artist draws on, using bold yet soft colours and smooth brushwork. There is a mystery about each of her female protagonists - about the want of something more than what meets the eye. In her recent works, the female body becomes a site or vehicle, backing the viewer, but tattooed with icons and images that voice both fulfillment and desire.
Bhattacharya's work borders on the sensuous. It is far from portraiture, and yet there exists an endearingly real character to each of her women. The artist combines with ease bright, bold colours and soft, curving strokes, rendering each of her paintings a mesmerizing paradox.
Educated at the College of Arts and Crafts in Kolkata and the College of Visual Arts in the same city, Shipra Bhattacharya has been exhibiting her work in solo shows since 1981, most recently at 'EVEa' organized by Gallery Sanskriti at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, in 2006. The artist's works have been included in numerous group shows which have travelled all over the world, most recently 'Think Small' at Art Alive, New Delhi, in 2009; 'Miles Apart' at Point of View, Mumbai, in 2009; 'Manthan' presented by Nitanjali Art Gallery at Galerie Romain Rolland, New Delhi, in 2009; and 'An Indian Summer' presented by Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi, at the Gallery in Cork St., London, in 2007.
Jatin Das was born in December 1941 in Mayurbhanj, Orissa, India. He studied at the Sir JJ School of Art, Bombay, under Professor S.B. Palsikar. His term at the school lasted for a period of five years, from 1957 to 1962. Thereafter, he started participating in the art exhibitions, both at the national as well as the international level. Some important exhibitions where he participated include the Biennales in Paris (1971), and in Venice (1978) and the Documenta in Kessel (1975).
Jatin Das has been painting for 50 years. He has held over 68 one-man exhibitions in India and abroad and has participated in numerous national and international shows and artist camps. He has also done several murals and sculpture installations. He works in oil, watercolour, ink, graphics and conte. His works now feature in several public and private collections in India and abroad. Jatin has built a large personal collection of traditional arts and crafts over the last 35 years. His works have been auctioned by major international auctioneers like Sotheby's, Christie's and Osian's.
In addition to being a professional artist, Jatin Das has extensively lectured at innumerable art and architectural colleges and museums, both in India and abroad on contemporary and traditional art forms. Jatin Das is also an advisor to many government and private bodies. He is the settler and founder chairman of the JD Centre of Art, which is being built in his home state, Orissa. He is the only artist who has taken up a project of this kind. Several of Jatin Das's works have been donated to charity in India and abroad. He has very actively led the relief and rehabilitation work of a village in Orissa, affected by the super-cyclone of 1999.
Mr. Jatin Das
The multi-faceted Jatin Das has been a part of the Indian art scene for more than four decades, with his paintings, murals and sculptures. The human body holds an endless fascination for him and he pursues his quest for dynamic figures tirelessly, using a linear structure and quick brushwork.
Jatin Das believes that every element of life has an inherent energy. This energy is evident in his paintings of men and women, captured in the throes of emotional upheaval, portraying the plethora of emotions evoked as a result of the interaction of people with society and nature.
The man-woman relationship, in particular, with all its attendant pain and joy is a constant source of inspiration to Jatin Das. Rhythmic discontinuities of colour planes and rushing lines characterise his paintings. Jatin focuses on drawing out the subtleties of thought and feeling through the use of colour. In particular, it was his paintings of nude or 'bare figure' forms that brought him acclaim in the 1960s and 70s.
Jatin Das has been also involved with art institutions, in several capacities: as a teacher at the College of Art, New Delhi, and at the National School of Drama, New Delhi; as a consultant for the Handicrafts Board, and for the Folk Art Museum, Orissa, to mention a few of the positions he held. In 1991, the Lalit Kala Akademi held a retrospective of his works. In his career, spanning 40 years, Das has held only 37 exhibitions, as he believes that painting is an intensely personal experience, the results of which cannot always be shared with others.
V Ramesh
What sets V. Ramesh's work apart are the narratives that inspire and accompany his paintings. They offer a bridge between his life and his work. Frequently, the artist turns to images of the sea and of fishermen in his paintings, people who are born, sustained, live, and die by the sea. The sea, thus, has become a constant theme in his works, and he believes it is a metaphor for time, against which the drama of life unfolds and is enacted with its myriad nuances. There are fishermen on the canvas and the images are very powerful; they somehow evoke strong feelings in the artist's mind and there is every possibility that they would open up wider areas of communication.
Isolation is a prominent feeling that comes across in most of Ramesh's works. Describing his new series of works, the artist says, "I continue to probe the idea of the ephemeral as well as the evolving aspects of the self quoting lines from medieval devotional poetry as well as metaphorical imagery, I allude to the impermanence of the human body. The present work also hints at areas of faith, devotion and transcendence, but it articulates these ideas in an oblique manner, using voices from poetry and imagery culled from mythology."
In his paintings, he recreates dream worlds, comprising landscapes and animals and human beings. Broad brush strokes and thick lines of colour, combined with a grazing technique, characterize his dramatic works.
Ramesh, who completed his post graduate diploma at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda, in 1984, soon moved to Vishakapatnam to teach Fine Arts at Andhra University there. "I was always interested in academics and wanted to teach art. I didn't ever try for a scholarship abroad, though a lot of my colleagues did that," he remarks. Instead, he chose to stay away from his family and move to the coastal city of Vishakapatnam; and out of this environment and isolation were born his intricate works.
In 1993, Ramesh was awarded the Sanskriti Award by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh. He has held several solo and group exhibitions in Hyderabad, New Delhi and Mumbai. V. Ramesh lives and works out of Vishakapatnam.
Mrs. Shubha Prasanna
Subhaprasanna Bhattacharjee is born in Kolkata in 1947. He graduated from the Indian College of Arts & Draftsmanship in 1969. He was an active member of the 'Calcutta Painters' group.
The city of Kolkata has always figured prominently in his work. His themes come from his personal interactions with its urban milieu - its sickness and sordidness, its violence and vulnerability and all that compounds its existential agony. In the 1960s and 1970s his work was influenced by the turbulence and political violence of Kolkata.
Subhaprasanna has depicted varying moods of the city and its people, its places, and all its facets that make the city distinctive. As he states, "There isn't another city like Kolkata anywhere in the world. In the heart of it, I find innumerable themes, subjects." He does not merely portray reality as 'matter of fact' and his presentation of reality often has dream-like elements in it. In terms of technique, Subhaprasanna boasts a precise, finely executed style that yields an unmistakable visual intensity. He works comfortably in an assortment of media, including oil on canvas, charcoal, and mixed media.
Explaining his thought-process and philosophy as a painter, he notes: "What every creator wishes to achieve is a universal appeal. There should be no language problem while judging the merits of a painting. One should go beyond themes, beyond words. There can be no clear cut definition for feelings, nor should you wish to seek any logical explanation."
Subhaprasanna's series of paintings, Icons and Illusions, marked a creative breakthrough for the artist in a number of ways. Whereas he had been known in the past as an urban artist with subject matter that reflected the byways, alleyways, birds, and people of his native Kolkata, in this series he relished more in divinities and flowers. The iconic figures of Krishna, Radha, and Ganesha that found lyrical expression in the Icons series are modern representations and sophisticated idealizations of the same images in the popular media.
His work has been exhibited extensively in India and internationally in the United States, Bangladesh, Singapore, France, Switzerland, and Germany. He has won a number of awards.
Mr. PR Daroz
In the forty-odd years as an accomplished sculptor, the ceramics of P.R.Daroz's reflect the transition of the country's clay art form from functional vessel to sculpture and architectural installations. His sheer exuberance of expression in the medium triumphs over the adversities faced by the ceramist in India -limited local resources, adulterated and impure raw materials, inadequate kilns and firing facilities and, technology. Overcoming these odds to create finely crafted, conceptually sound and technically masterful works of clay art are what one sees in the phenomenal body of work of Pandurangiah Daroz.
P.R.Daroz was born in a family of goldsmiths on 5 th may 1944 in rural Andhra Pradesh in Jillela , a small village about 80 kms. from Hyderabad. Belonging to a family of goldsmiths where things of immense beauty were wrought from the rich and precious noble metal, where there never was a grammar to explain or measure that beauty but his own sensibility was drawn towards the tensile quality of clay and the rustic spontanaiety of sheer touch.
As a child helping his goldsmith father make clay Ganeshas at the annual Ganesh Chaturthi, an important Hindu festival, Daroz learnt to enjoy the sensousness of working with clay. Gazing at from the roof top of the village house, Daroz's young and malleable mind was enchanted by the smoke and flame coming out from the kilns fired by palm leaves by local potters. Soon realizing even as a youth dabbling in occasional play with clay,that the patience and perseverance required in clay art is much deeper and demanding than what is required in gold-smithing, Daroz soon detached himself from the noble metal and enrolled himself in the Hyderabad School of Art in 1961 when he was 16 years old. The five-year course included Drawing and Painting in Fine Arts as well as Applied Art and Design.
At the time of his graduation, the Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Akademi used to give scholarships to study art in other states. Though Daroz had not yet touched the potter's wheel, he was accepted into the Ceramics Program with scholarship by virtue of having previously studied Applied Art and Design. He left for Baroda in 1970 on what was to become the beginnings of his pioneering art work in contemporary Ceramics of India which still continues to travel.
Mr. Dhiraj Choudhury
Dhiraj Choudhury was born on 1936 at then Bengal, now Bangladesh. He was a student of Government College, Darjeeling and the Principal Dr. K. D.Ghosh encouraged him to follow up his dreams to become an artist. Later he was admitted to College of Arts and Crafts, Calcutta and Delhi Polytechnic (Delhi College of Art). He has taught from 1962 to 1996 in Women Polytechnic and Department of Painting, Delhi College of Art, University of Delhi. He has ameliorated Calcutta Painters Society by being a member, of Artists Forum, Society of Contemporary Artists, AIFACS, New Delhi. Dhiraj Choudhury has founded 'Quartet Artist' and 'Line', a group devoted to drawing.
Dhiraj Choudhury has more than eighty exhibitions, among which sixteen are international, which is sufficient enough to understand his popularity as a painter. UK, USA, France, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore are the countries where his foreign shows were arranged. In 1979 an exhibition in Geneva with Miro and Dali added a feather to his cap. Dhiraj Choudhury has participated in many National and International Exhibitions and received many awards including National Award on 1995.On the same year he had Exhibitions of his major works at Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Calcutta and All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society at New Delhi.
In 1998 the shows were '50 Years Struggle for Freedom', a retrospective at Rabindra Bhavan and Lalit Kala Akademi of New Delhi. On 1999 there was 'At The Threshold of The New Millennium' at Kumar Gallery, New Delhi. In 2000 there was a traveling exhibition in Sweden on Mural on 'Love'. In South of France the paintings 'Love' were exhibited at the Millennium Festival, as well as St. Albans, UK. He also painted and exhibited at St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. On 2001 there was a Retrospective of his Water Color painted in the period 1955-2000 at Art Consult of New Delhi. He had many One-man shows among which the exhibition in Art World, Chennai and other one in Time & Space Gallery, Bangalore can be named. Dhiraj Choudhury has curated his own exhibition and art workshops on the theme of 'Love' at St. Albans, and Margaret Harvey Gallery at Herts, UK. In 2002 the exhibition on 'Colors of Love' paintings at Kumar Gallery New Delhi brought a lot of fame to Dhiraj Chowdhury's work.
Dhiraj Choudhury has curated and organized workshops and exhibitions on social theme 'Their Story' at Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. On 1982 he became the advisor of 'Philosophy of Education for Contemporary Youth' sponsored by ICCR and Department of Culture, Govt. of India. He visited Bangladesh and gave lectures in Dhaka Art College, where there was interaction between Bagladeshi and Indian artists. Beside these Dhiraj Choudhury is involved in many other social works.
He is the Art Advisor at the Department of Culture, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. He was also the Art Advisor of HUDCO, New Delhi and was associated with the Voluntary Health Organization,India. Dhiraj Choudhury initiated 'Sketch Club' among his students, organized 'Womens' Painters Group', 'Line', 'Quartet Artist' and 'Artist Forum'. He is also associated with Gallery 26.
Few of Dhiraj Chowdhury's publications are '50 Years Struggle for Freedom' published by A. Mukherjee & Co; 'South of France Through the Painters Eyes'; '70s 80s 90s Drawings', 'Art Consult:Love at the Threshold of the New Millenium', Kumar Gallery, New Delhi; Portfolio of 'Line, Ton & Texture' ; 'Love' ; 'Singapore' ; 'Child'; 'Reproductions of paintings'.
The collection of Dhiraj Choudhury can be found in Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Caparo House, London; Indian High Commission, London; St. Albans Community Center, UK ; National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and also in many private collections in India and abroad.
Mr. R.B Bhaskaran
"I was taught that Indian paintings should look Indian. But I battle with ideas, challenging the self which rushes out on to the canvas, to integrate into a sympathetic form," the artist always puts it that way.
In today's day and age, a career in art has to be as well planned as any other. There are numerous courses offered for an art degree in various institutions. Avers R. B. Bhaskaran, principal of the College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai, "An art student is trained to meet the challenges of society as in any other career. Never has art been so marketable as it is now. Perhaps for the first time, the growing interest of the middle class in 'collectible art' is being matched by the affordability of art pieces. This is surely going to give a fillip to the art market."
The man who mouths these words should know the veracity of his statements. After all, Bhaskaran is an established painter.
The similarity between Bhaskaran and his paintings hits you in the face at once. Both are rugged, pleasantly rakish and unusually dynamic.
In their deep browns and grey-blacks, there is a tribal character to the paintings of Bhaskaran. In the way the faces and other elements are delineated, there is a certain directness. "My paintings will remind you of the elaborate facial makeup done by some African tribes. They are placed in deep shadow with light from a distant source striking one side of the face. They are sensitive and appear rather contemplative," he says.
Bhaskaran has also trained in the art of painting frescos at the Bhanasthali Vidyapeeth in Rajasthan. "That is why you find so much of tribal icons and motifs in my work. Tribal art is not only steeped in an ancient culture and civilization, but is also very close to nature. And nature inspires most artists," says Bhaskaran.
R B Bhaskaran lives and works out of Chennai. He has widely exhibited his works across the globe and has won acclaims, honours and accolades. His works have been collected throughout the world. He is one of the pioneers to achieve the UNESCO Scholarship for Intaglio Printmaking, Lithography & Ceramics at Ein Hod, Israel (1964).
