Attained a BFA from the College of Fine Art (1988) in
Thiruvananthapuram; Lecturer at the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram
(1997-99)
Selected Solo
Exhibitions
New works by Pradeep Puthoor, The Noble Sage, London
(2010); Indian High Commission, Berlin and Potsdam, Germany (2007); Gallerie
Nvya, New Delhi (2006); Indian Contemporary Art Representative, Florence Biennale,
Italy (2005); Shrishti Art Gallery, Hyderabad (2005); Trivandrum Art Museum,
Thiruvananthapuram (2002)
Selected Group
Exhibitions
The Beating Heart of Kerala, The Noble Sage Art Gallery,
London (2009); Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi (2008); Art Pilgrim Gallery, New
Delhi (2008);Galleria, New Delhi (2008); Bajaj Capital Art House, NewDelhi
(2008); Epicentre Art Show, Gurgaon (2008); Art Maestros, New Delhi (2008);
Gallery Kolkata, Kolkata (2008); Gallery Space, Hyderabad (2008); Triva
Contemporary, Thiruvananthapuram (2008); Artmosaic Gallery, Singapore (2008);
The Next Awakening, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi (2008); Art Room Gallery,
New Delhi (2007); Unayan, Gallerie Nvya, New Delhi (2007); Gallery Limited Edition,
New Delhi & Kolkata (2007); Fidaart Gallery, Singapore (2007); Satrang,
Visual Arts Gallery, New Delhi (2007); Galerie Sara Arakkal, Bangalore(2006);
Neetanjali Art Gallery, New Delhi (2006); University of Texas, U.S.A (2004); AIFAC
Annual Camp and Annual Painting show, New Delhi (2002);Annual Exhibition, Lalit
Kala Akademi, New Delhi (2000 & 2002); Musee Kwok on show, Paris (2000);
Millfield Summer Exhibition, London (1999-2000); Annual Exhibition, Royal
Overseas League, London (1995-97); Annual show, Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai
(1994); Annual Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi (1993-94, 1997-98);
Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi (1993)
Selected Awards
Residency project, Berlin (2006); Jackson Pollock-Krasner
Foundation Fellowship Award for Painting (2003); Royal Overseas Award for
painting, London (1997); International Poster Award (1994); National Award,
Lalit Kala Akademi (1992); Highly Commended Award, Lalit Kala Akademi
(1991-92); Highly Commended Award, Lalit Kala Akademi (1987)
Kerala-based contemporary artist, Pradeep Puthoors art is
dedicated to a fantastical world that is entirely his own. Strange creatures and
imaginatively designed buildings and structures, colourful and playful, clutter
his canvas. It was the high acclaim he received for his art that convinced the
artist that his work had a value for others as well as himself. In 1992, at the
age of 27, Puthoor received the Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi's first national
award for a painting titled 'Air-Airy' (1992). A year later in 1993, the Human
Resource Development Board for the Government of India gave him a Junior
Research fellowship for painting. It was only then that he devoted himself to
painting full time and gave up his day jobs. In 1997 he received the British
Overseas League award for his work titled 'Mangled Mother' (1997)- now in the
Singapore High Commissions collection in the UK. His art took a dramatic step
forward after atrip to the UK where he was exposed to the work of the Old
Masters and the thriving London art scene. In the following years his works
received further critical praise and several awards including a fellowship from
the prestigious Jackson Pollock Foundation in New York.
Few know that Puthoor used to be an illustrator and graphic
designer in Bombay who painted at night as his own private passion. Illustration
is certainly no surprise when one looks at his art today. Many works
demonstrate the distinctive look of this skilled artform: precise linear
draughtsmanship and flat, bright, highly choreographed colour. In this recent
set of paper works acquired by The Noble Sage one can see the most minute of
lines kept consistent in density and clarity. The exactitude is quite breath-taking.
Like the work of Ravi Shankar, a fellow Keralan artist, Puthoor shows us just
what is capable with a pen and paper. Even more striking however is the sense
of vitality he can bring to the image; each line seems animated leaving us
unsure if we are the animators or if it is the gift of the artist. This idea of
viewer participation is significant to his work. Puthoor says that his
paintings lie in the middle of a reality and imagination. All the elements are
woven together in a tapestry that reveals to us a composition of art that
touches an onlooker psychologically and causes him to evolve, that in itself is
as real as any experience. And that gives the paintings life. So the viewer in turn
becomes as much a creator as the artist. In this manner the artist relies on
the viewer to react to each work so that it may come alive and take on a larger
meaning.
The magical mechanics of achieving a Utopian civilisation
appears to be a common factor of much of Puthoors work. In Pink Soul Island
(2009), Puthoor uses a wide palette and a subtly symmetrical composition to
depict an alternate version of a city skyline like that of Manhattan or Mumbai.
Structures have bird heads at their peak, reminiscent of totem poles and other
tribal imagery (a common motif in his work) though have a futuristic character
too. This alternate urban universe has an immediate madcap appearance, however,
because of the seas peaceful horizon in the background and the harmonious
composition, the bizarreness of the scene soon relaxes into normality before
the eye. The pink soul city appears mesmerising, inviting us to forget its
unreality. Puthoor waves a wand over us leaving us spellbound by the
possibility of an idyllic urban existence. In other works such as Ways of Impressing
(2009), Erotic Landing (2009) and Survival Tips (2009), Pradeep
investigates the pervading eroticism of all natures objects. In some phallic
imagery is rather lucid, in others the sexual message comes through motifs such
as thorns, venus flytraps and strange erogenous-looking forms.
