Walking into a room full of older artworks can be a magical feeling. These artworks carry not just the brushstrokes and textures of their makers, but also the dust of decades and memories flown to the paper. Chhaya Rekha Bhava: Tales from the Southern Line, now on display in the city, takes us through a similar journey. The exhibition pulls together a collection of works by three seminal figures of Indian modernism—Laxma Goud, Thota Vaikuntam, and DLN Reddy—offering viewers a chance to witness their early experiments, their struggles with line and shadow, and the first sparks of what would later define their individual voices.
Curator Sharan Apparao, who has worked closely with all three artists over the years, calls this exhibition a labour of love. “All of them went to Baroda, all of them did figurative works. They actually set the trend of mentoring the next generation of Andhra artists,” she explains. For her, bringing these early works together was as much about preservation as it was about education. “Very rarely, even for me, is it possible to see such early works together. That’s why I wanted to share it with Chennai.”
The title of the show draws from three key ideas: rekha (line) as gesture and structure, chhaya (shadow) as atmosphere, and bhava (emotion) as the pulse that animates the form. Together, they create a vocabulary that is distinctly southern yet thoroughly modern. Anchored in the landscapes of Andhra and Telangana, these works speak of village life, folk traditions, and ritual memory.
Laxma Goud’s mastery of line is evident in his etchings and drawings. His village figures, animals, and gestures are stylised yet deeply human, alive with an intimacy that feels both folkloric and timeless. Thota Vaikuntam’s women, meanwhile, radiate earthy strength, clad in bold saris and outlined in uncompromising strokes. They are symbolic and personal at once, commanding presences that seem to hold the weight of cultural memory. And then there is DLN Reddy, whose minimal drawings hover between figuration and abstraction, charged with mood and inner tension. His works linger like meditations, less about depiction and more about evoking a space of silence.
The show is also a reminder of the technical rigour these artists embraced. “The point is to educate people and let them understand the journey of an artist,” says Sharan.
Open to all. On till September 13. Tuesday – Saturday, 3 pm to 6.30 pm. At Apparao Galleries, Nungambakkam.
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