Profile of Laxman Aelay
Before Laxman Aelay chose to become a
professional artist, he was a signboard painter and then a much sought after and
respected designer and illustrator of books. His work was highly thought of
within Telugu literary circles, but soon the painter in him compelled Aelay to
enroll in college for a degree in Fine Arts, even though he had already received
a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Laxman Aelay was born in the Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh in 1964. He
received his BA in Painting from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
College of Fine Arts in Hyderabad, and took up full time freelance painting
straight after that. Laxman's paintings are nostalgic, depicting the rural
people he grew up amongst. His source of inspiration has been the live of these
poverty stricken people from his village - Kadirenigudem.
Recently, Aelay switched over from using white, black and shades of gray, which
he preferred in his paintings, to using vivid colours to depict flowers,
jewellery and traditional clothing. His earlier preference to paint on large
sized canvases and papers has also been abandoned, and his latest works are much
smaller and compact. Aelay has received international recognition as well as
several awards and gold medals for his works. These include an award from the
Hyderabad Art Society in 1995.
This young and talented artist held his first solo show at the Indian Council of
Cultural Relations Art Gallery in Hyderabad in1999. Laxman has participated in
several important exhibitions of paintings including 'Contemporary Deccan - A
New Generation of Artists,' held in Hyderabad in1999 and the 7th Group show at
the Surya Art Gallery, Hyderabad in 2000. He has also represented the country in
an international exposition organised by TAANA in Chicago, USA in 1995.