K. Laxma Goud
K. Laxma Goud K. Laxma Goud K. Laxma Goud K. Laxma Goud K. Laxma Goud

K. Laxma Goud

K. Laxma Goud

K. Laxma Goud

b - 1940

K. Laxma Goud

Born in Nizampur in Andhra Pradesh on 21 August 1940, K. Laxma Goud obtained a diploma in painting and drawing from the Government College of Fine Arts and Architecture in Hyderabad in 1963.

Goud followed it up with a post-diploma in mural painting and printmaking from Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda. The shift to Baroda made him sensitive to the uniqueness of his rural heritage. By the late 1960s, he had evolved a distinct style that reflected a pan-natural sexuality seen in terms of spontaneous, uninhibited passions, unfettered by the puritanical ethics of the urban middle class—he was able to embed his childhood memories and rural vivacity within an urban framework.

Erotic indulgence highlighted by the intermingling of male and female, vegetal and animal forms, along with a direct rural simplicity, charged his works with palpable sensuousness. His later works, however, are more introspective, and are executed in softer forms and colours.

A master draughtsman, Goud has excelled in a variety of mediums—watercolour, gouache, dry pastels, clay, and metal. He has exhibited widely in India and abroad; notable exhibitions include solo shows in Mumbai and Delhi at various venues, and a retrospective in 2007 in New York. His work is part of prominent collections such as the Masanori Fukuoka and Glenbarra Art Museum, Japan, and The Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C. He won the Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Akademi’s award in 1962 and from 1966-71, among other honours from various institutions. He lives and works in Hyderabad.

‘I want my audience to see my work as an insider, as someone who understands what I am doing’

K. LAXMA GOUD

artist timeline

1940

Is born on 21 August in Nizampur in the erstwhile Hyderabad state.

1962

Receives an award at the annual exhibition of Lalit Kala Akademi, Andhra Pradesh, and again in 1966-70.

1963-65

Pursues post-diploma in murals under K. G. Subramanyan at Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda.He also develops a love for printmaking at the time.

1965-67

Solo show at Kalabhavan, Hyderabad.

1968

Is awarded silver medal, Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad.

1969

Is awarded gold medal, Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad.

Late 1960s

Evolves a distinct style of painting which reflects a sexuality viewed in terms of spontaneous, uninhibited passion, unfettered by puritanical ethics. This becomes his leitmotif over the decades.

1971

Receives gold medal at annual exhibition of Lalit Kala Akademi, Andhra Pradesh.

1973

Solo show at Ansdell Gallery, London, U.K.

1974-79

Works as graphic supervisor for Doordarshan, Hyderabad.

1975-76

Works exhibited in Figurative Indian Artists, Warsaw, Budapest, Belgrade Goethe Institute, Munich, and Griffei Kunst, Hamburg

1977

Participates in the São Paulo Biennale, Brazil

1980s

Starts using terracotta, riverglass and metals in his work.

1982

Is part of ‘Contemporary Indian Painting’, Festival of India, at Royal Academy of Arts, London, U.K.

1983

Works exhibited in ‘India in Print’, Koninklijk Institute Vorde, Amsterdam.

1985

Solo show at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. Participates in Festival of India, U.S.A.

1986

Has a solo show at Worcester Art Museum, Massachussetts; is part of the Herwitz Collection’s ‘Contemporary Art of India’; and exhibits in Grey Art Gallery, New York, U.S.A.

1987

Works exhibited in ‘Contemporary Indian Art’ in Geneva, Switzerland.

1989-2001

Serves as head of department, Sarojini Naidu School of Performing Arts, Fine Arts and Communication, Hyderabad.

1992

His solo, ‘Journeys Within Landscape’, at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay.

1993

The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, hosts his exhibition.

1997

Curates an exhibition of Indian contemporary art in Lima, Peru, commemorating fifty years of Indian independence.

2000

Is invited to participate in ‘Y2K International Exhibition of Prints’, Taiwan.

2003

Exhibits at Aicon Gallery, New York, U.S.A.

2007

Solo show, ‘Laxma Goud 40 years: A Retrospective’, at Aicon Gallery, New York, U.S.A.

2008

Solo show at I.C.A. Gallery, Jaipur.

2009

Exhibits at Aicon Gallery, New York, U.S.A.

2011

Exhibits at Art Musings, Mumbai.

2012

Receives Gagan-Abani Puraskar from Viswa-Bharati University, Santiniketan, for outstanding contribution to art.

2015

Receives Telangana state award. Receives Prafulla Dahanukar lifetime achievement award.

2016

He is honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Solo show, ‘An Inner Retrospective’, at Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore.

2017

His 2004 mural, Torana, is exhibited to great acclaim at India Art Fair, New Delhi.

artworks

dag exhibitions

The ‘Manifestations’ series of 20th Century Indian Art’, Editions V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI

DAG, New Delhi and Mumbai, 2011-14

‘The Printed Picture: Four Centuries of Indian Printmaking’

DAG, New Delhi, 2012; Mumbai, 2016; alternate locations in Kolkata, 2013; Jaipur, 2017; Chandigarh, 2018

‘Indian Landscapes: The Changing Horizon’

DAG, New Delhi, 2012

‘Indian Divine: Gods & Goddesses in 19th and 20th Century Modern Art’

DAG, New Delhi and Mumbai, 2014

‘Indian Portraits: The Face of a People’

DAG, New Delhi and Mumbai, 2014

‘The Naked and The Nude: The Body in Indian Modern Art’

DAG, New Delhi, 2013; Mumbai, 2015

‘India Modern: Narratives from 20th Century Indian Art’

DAG, New York, New Delhi, Mumbai, 2015; Chandigarh, 2017

‘The Sixties Show'

DAG, Mumbai, 2020

‘Iconic Masterpieces of Indian Modern Art’

DAG, Mumbai, 2021

'Kali: Reverence and Rebellion'

DAG, New Delhi and Mumbai, 2024

notable collections

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi

Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation, Mumbai

Piramal Art Foundation, Mumbai

Kejriwal Museum, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bengaluru

Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad

Devinder and Kanwaldeep Sawhney, Mumbai

Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Amsterdam

Glenbarra Art Museum, Himeji

The Philips Collection, Washington D.C.

Jane and Kito de Boer Collection, Dubai and London

archival media

The Asian Age

21 November 2006

Business Standard

14-15 January 2006

The Times of India

1 July 1999

The Hindu

2 March 2012

The Illustrated Weekly of India

14-20 September 1991