Velu Viswanadhan

b 1940

Born in 1940, abstractionist painter Viswanadhan was one of the co-founders of the Cholamandal Artist’s Village in Chennai. In 1960, he joined the Madras School of Arts, India. Four years later, he received the National Award from the Madras State Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, and in 1969, the National Award from the State Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai. In 1992, he was the recipient of the International Award for Contemporary Art from Monte Carle, Monaco.

Viswanadhan moved to Paris in 1968, and in a career spanning five decades, developed a still evolving distinctive style that has its roots in Tantric ideology and abstraction, sharing its aesthetic with Indian artists like Nasreen Mohammedi and SH Raza and international artists like the Korean Lee Ufan, the Swiss Niele Toroni, and the French Daniel Buren.

Since his first solos in Chennai and Mumbai in 1966, Viswanadhan’s work has been shown at the Galerie Darthea Speyer, Paris (1982-2002), the Victoria Memorial, Kolkata (1999), the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi and Mumbai (1998), Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (1985), besides galleries in Germany, USA, Sweden, Mexico, Spain, Venezuela, Denmark, Italy and India.

Apart from six self-made films that have been screened in festivals in Europe and the Americas, Viswanadhan’s paintings have been exhibited in numerous art events around the world, including Biennale de Paris (1967), New Delhi Triennial (1975), the 15th International Art Exhibition, Tokyo, and the Art Olympiade, Seoul, South Korea.