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‘I strive to let my paintings remain close to the pulse of life, where the ordinary reveals its depth’: Tom Vattakuzhy

In artist Tom Vattakuzhy’s debut solo, what appears central may not always be most significant

4 min readAug 28, 2025 04:17 PM IST

Tom Vattakuzhy (PICS Courtesy: Vadehra Art Gallery and the artist)

Artist Tom Vattakuzhy’s canvases reflect his surroundings — specifically the neighborhood in Muvattupuzha, a municipality in Ernakulam, where he has lived since childhood. “At first sight, my paintings may seem to dwell on the mundane. Yet, each work unfolds into layers of meaning and experience. They grow through a constant dialogue with the canvas, absorbing fragments of my lived world — the rhythms of daily life, memories, the books that have shaped me, and the films that linger in my mind. All of these merge, sometimes subtly, sometimes profoundly, within the work,” he says, introducing the 16 works that feature in the exhibition titled ‘The Shadows of Absence’. “What I strive for is to let my paintings remain close to the pulse of life, where the ordinary reveals its depth,” he adds.

Taking place at Vadehra Art Gallery till September 13, the canvases at his debut solo in Delhi introduce the audience to his world and builds a personal connection with the artist through that.

The scenes are ubiquitous — from Birthday that has children dressed in festive caps making merry as an aged figure gazes out of the window, to the canvas titled Girl with Balloon, where a girl blows a balloon and another figure looks on, set against bright pink walls dimmed with darkness. If Seller of Stars has people celebrating under star-shaped Christmas lights, in Lady Leaning on Tree, a female figure appears to be lost in thought.

Vattakuzhy, 58, suggests how what appears central may not always be most significant in the ideation of the work. So Lessons of Life-5 might have numerous protagonists — including a man assisting an infant walk, girls playing along, a woman peeping out from behind the curtain — but Vattakuzhy observes how in the composition, for him, the shadow of a bird falling on the ground was perhaps most central when he began the painting. “For me, every canvas is a long process, and the main protagonist might actually be hidden somewhere… In this case, it could be the predator in the shadow, the hidden bird that is looking from somewhere closeby,” notes Vattakuzhy.

Painted over a span of two years, every canvas in the exhibition might appear to tell a story but Vattakuzhy clarifies, “There are lucid narratives with several layers, but I want viewers to interpret for themselves.”

Young girl with a jar (PICS Courtesy: Vadehra Art Gallery and the artist)

Though the figures seem to fleet in and out in the realistic portrayals — with some protagonists common among the works — the interplay of light and shadow appears crucial. The origins of this could perhaps be traced to his childhood. With his parents engaged in agriculture, he spent hours guarding paddy fields, watching shadows and admiring how the appearance of surroundings would change at different times of the day, depending on the sun. “I would spend the time marvelling at how the light and shadows seem to be playing with each other,” says Vattakuzhy, who is a graduate in art from Santiniketan. He pursued his masters in printmaking from MS University, Baroda.

In his artwork, the light emerges as a form, a witness to what is visible and hidden. “Light itself becomes part of the work and plays a role in generating new meanings… All the elements put together make the paintings poetic,” says Vattakuzhy.

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Birthday (PICS Courtesy: Vadehra Art Gallery and the artist)

Commenting on it, curator of the exhibition and art historian R Siva Kumar writes, “…like the children, light is an active element in these paintings. It breaks in from every possible angle and side, brings certain things into visibility and pushes others into shadow. It brings the outer world into the paintings as shadows of invisible things and reflects the emotional weather of those who inhabit his painted interiors. With changing light, the mood shifts from the poignant to the ominous and other subtle shades in between. In other words, light is the artist’s representative in these paintings.”

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

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