Monday, June 2, 2008

A P Santhanaraj

My first encounter with A P Santhanaraj was at a time when I was oblivious to his vast career as an artist. This was 4 years ago. He was one of the guests at a group art exhibit that included himself and artists such as Velu Vishwanathan, Yusuf Arakkal, R B Bhaskaran, S Nandagopal and others to name a few.

His entry to the exhibition hall was noticed by one and all. His opinions were very vocal.

A year later after much research and learning, I approached Mr. Santhanaraj to ask him to be part of a show that I was curating titled 'The Art Of Investment'. He gave me a drawing for the show. This was the first time I started to talk to him and learn about art from him.

Over the years I have interviewed Mr.Santhanaraj extensively on every aspect of the Indian Art world. He has been a power house of knowledge.

A P Santhanaraj started his career as an artist at the age of 16 at the Govt. College of Arts & Crafts, Madras. After completing his masters degree he joined the same college as a teacher. He then went on to become one of the most influential forces in Indian Art. His students include R B Bhaskaran, Velu Vishwanathan, M X Susairaj, C Douglas, Rm Palaniappan, K Muralidharan and many others like M F Husain who spent a lot of time learning from him. Mr. Santhanaraj later went on the become the Principal of the college.

After a career of over 55 years, A P Santhanaraj is still full of energy, creating fantastic works of art.

These works are some examples of the kind of work A P Santhanaraj is famous for. To purchase these works please contact us at ashvita@hotmail.com

View more images at www.ashvita.com

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