Born in 1925 in Nanadoor village of Chitoor district, Krishna Reddy carved a niche for himself in the international art arena with his extraordinary contribution in print making genre, especially intaglio and viscosity processes. A sculptor and printmaker, he accomplished his studies in fine arts from Santiniketan, Kolkata and Slade School of Fine Arts in London.
A dedicated and passionate teacher he taught at many institutions such as the Montessori Teachers’ Training Centre in Madras, Maryland Institute College of Art, Pratt Institute and Ruskin College School of Fine Art and Drawing, Texas. Since 1977, Krishna Reddy was a professor and artist-in-residence in New York University serving as the Director of Graphics and Printmaking in the art department.
unparalleled creativity: His works display a non-representational visual vocabulary of the unseen aspects of nature.
The series of works on display at the Nehru Art Gallery, have been collated in an eclectic manner and so a long span of his creative trajectory gets manifested. His non-representational visual vocabulary which mystically mentions the unseen aspects of nature is contemporary and traditional at the same time.
The netted, webbed, intersecting, colliding and dispersing lines exemplify a process of opening up of a thought or unfolding of an idea. The colour palette is soft, muted and contains a lot of pastel shades that accentuate the unworldly aspects of the visual dialogue. There is an innate Indian essence and ethos in his expression that remained intact in his creative endeavours though he travelled profusely and stayed at many parts of the world throughout his life.
One of Krishna Reddy’s works displayed at the show in Nehru Art Gallery.
The present show has been organised by Hyderabad art society in collaboration with Lalit Kala Academy, JJ school of arts and JNAFAU. While talking about the show, the President of Hyderabad Art Society Ramana Reddy says, “The students and practising artists can get inspired by the intricate precision and mastery of the medium that gets exemplified through each and every work on display. The body of work that he has left behind is a throbbing example of his extraordinary gifts as an artist.”
Krishna Reddy carved a niche for himself in the international art arena with his extraordinary contribution in print making genre, especially intaglio and viscosity processes.
Talking about Krishna Reddy’s keen interest in inspiring students and sharing with them the experiences he gathered from his long years of art practice, Prof. Ananth Nikam (Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai) who had been entrusted with the precious collection of works by the master himself, shares, “I have been exhibiting the collection which is for educational purpose only, at various cities. To exhibit it in Hyderabad is very important as this is his home town and young artists here must know about Krishna Reddy’s contribution to the art field.”
