By Sukant Deepak

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS): He always wanted to have an exhibition where only his black and white paintings were on display. "It can give a very different experience to the art viewers. Many people feel that without colours, art looks or feels incomplete. Through this exhibition, I wanted to change that perception. While colours areimportant when it comes to art, there are other aspects that bring out an artwork such as technique, detailing etc," Padma Shri awardee artist K. Laxma Goud tells IANS.

A master artist who has deeply explored the erotic in his art while placing it within the normal as well as the rustic, he is a printmaker as well and has received several accolades, including the Prafulla Dahanukar Lifetime Achievement Award.

With 'Drawings and Intaglios by K Laxma Goud' (Curatorial Advisor, Nanak Ganguly), it is after 11 years, Laxma Goud is exhibiting in Delhi NCR with Gallerie Splash (till June 7). Around 125 of his artworks are being displayed which include drawings, intaglio plates, and prints.

Talking about the current exhibition, he says "Drawing has come as a sustainable tool in my creative pursuit, a singular line has umpteen nuances realizing my imaginations. Drawing alone has driven me towards a fertile imagination, and drawing is the source of my metamorphosis."

Adding that the element of his drawing is not confined to a singularity in his art practices; but facilitated him to be highly versatile, Goud says that for him, drawing is like a magic wand. "This very passion has given me the strength of holding a sharp metal tool to make an engraving line onto a metal plate, while I am simultaneously drawing on paper. These decades of practice have made me confront difficulties in finding a place for myself and my work. As an individual, I have not compromised with the value judgments of the outside world. I am passionately engaged with my drawing and making Intaglio Prints every day," he says.

While he may be working with multiple mediums, it is Printmaking that remains his favourite. And when it comes to themes and choosing the medium to convey, he says, "I do not plan a particular theme or medium beforehand, during the course of the progression of the artwork whatever seems right or suitable is what I make. I think every artwork has a different tale to tell."

Lamenting the decline in state art institutions over the years, Goud feels that it is important that every state must boast of some.

Stressing that they open new doors for upcoming artists, the artist feels that it is time that the government starts allocating more funds to the arts and their promotion. "Small initiatives will help in bringing out a whole new world for many artists and art lovers. If we want to see a major change, we have to be the cause for that change. Also, parents must encourage their kids to take up art seriously if the latter show interest."

Goud, who studied Mural under the legendary K.G. Subramanyan, is currently focussing on intaglios and its prints so that they are recognised as a major medium of art.

The artist, who does not really work with a plan in advance feels that the media tends to ignore art in general. "With the kind of power it holds over people, it can play an instrumental role in the promotion of the arts. Also, if we as Indians are not going to respect Indian art, how can we expect other countries to do so?" he concludes.