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DEVIPRASAD C RAO Born in Koteshwara, a small pilgrim town near Kundapur of Udupi district (Near Mangalore) in Karnataka state (India), his father was art teacher forced to renounce his his first love and switch to catering to make ends meet. Deviprasad had a disturbed childhood and recalls with evident pain that poverty necessitated that he be raised by various relatives. At the age of 8 he saw a beautiful painting on a visit to his uncle’s home which he later learnt had been painted by his father. This painting, he says, was a catalyst in his young life. He to paint with keenness using all sorts of material – water colours, oils, pastels, in short, whatever he could get his hands on. Always inclined to arts, Deviprasad later studied theatre and dramatics and became a ‘Yakshagana’ performing artist. However, he says, a career in the arts seemed selfish and unrealistic since he considered it his duty to support his family. Deviprasad married and has two boys, Devakanta (8) and Mitra (5), but his marriage failed, and following a great deal of emotional turbulence, he decided to give up his PR consultancy work and head for Goa to make a fresh start. On his arrival in Calangute, he started an art gallery with the help of his cousin. He hoped to secure his financial position and be able to meet his family commitments. Without a safety net he managed to hold regular exhibitions including all the major painters in Goa and established himself as curator and art critic for leading local news papers. Simultaneously he also painted and conducted art therapy and art exploration programmes for children. Art became his redemption and healer. However, it was in 2002 after his trip to Barcelona and Paris, where he saw the original works of Miro, Picasso, Gaudi and Dali that he made up his mind to be a full time painter. Being relatively unencumbered by academic training he was able to move easily and almost directly into abstraction. His aesthetic thinking from the start was in terms of formalistic solutions which take precedence over representational considerations. Given the small size of the art community in Goa, Deviprasad started right out getting to know another generation of artists. Deviprasad’s works, although unpremeditated, are process – based abstractions combined with quirky, child-like imagery and surrealistic poetry. It’s a very unusual combination. Despite the apparent lack of structure there is an inborn sense of symmetry and composition. The center play of empty spaces in his paintings is one of the most interesting parts of his work. They are infused with light and poetry. In its playfulness and sexuality, Deviprasad’s work possesses
influences of Catalan painter, sculptor and ceremist, Joan Miro.
There is also an element of deconstruction reminiscent of the
work of Philip Guston and Robert Ryman. Drawing is a critical
part of his practice and in his work, drawing can also be a painting.
His mentors would insist that he did hundreds of drawings and
may be this is the reason his line is so free and assured, like
a child drawing a pirate ship on a garden with a lawn and neat
flower beds filled in with patches, scratches and blobs of blues
pinks and greens. Birth : 1970 Education : B Com. No formal training in Art
PARTICIPATION : Group Shows • August 1-14, 2007 : Gallery Beyond – Mumbai
(August) along with artists working from Goa Solo Exhibitions: 2006 • “Bondage to Freedom” – a drawing
and painting exhibition at Art Chamber, Goa 2005 • “Here to infinity” – Inox Art Lounge, Panaji, Goa 2004 2003 • “Chants of a monk” - HSBC Art Gallery
by K K Nag Foundation, Pune
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