About Badri Narayan
Born in Secunderabad in 1929, Andhra Pradesh. Narayan worked as a successful art teacher for years before taking on painting full time. He began painting with no formal training, and his first public showing was in 1949, followed by a solo show in 1954.Badri’s paintings are intimate and appealing, often with an element of fantasy, with simple outlines and accessible subject matter in two-dimensional stylised representations. He worked primarily in ink or pastel and watercolor. His work has been exhibited in over 50 solo and many more group exhibitions in various Indian metros and overseas including Biennales at Paris and Tokyo. He has been the subject of a documentary by Mumbai All India Radio, and received numerous awards, including the Padma Shri in 1987 and the Maharashtra Gourav Puruskar in 1990.
He is known to paint Hindu Gods and drew inspiration from biblical scenes with compositions which are stark, stone cut and almost apocalyptic. His imagery that draws on Indian mythology incorporates influence of miniature traditions giving his work intimate and accessible appeal.
In the course of his career, the painter in some way moved to another lighter genre as seen in soothing dream state housescapes he produced, sweet and exceptionally honed in colour and tone almost appearing like a stage backdrop. He also painted on tiles and ceramics and did etchings and woodcuts with most of his compositions focusing on imagery inspired by the Jataka tales and the world around him.
Narayan also succeeded in creating still life watercolors expressing his very personal sense of beauty and aesthetics. His works are models of textural perfection, from the earlier stylized houses capes to a still more marmoreal purity of his work such as "Flower vase, Mountain and Boat" and "Tree, House, Boat".
Academics
Without any formal training in art, Narayan worked as a successful art teacher for years before taking on painting full time. He followed his own instinct, experimented with diverse media, forms and platforms yet the core of his work remains on the metaphoric weight of literature that served as the basis of his visual representation
Awards
Gaurav Puraskar, Maharashtra State Government in 1990-91.
Padma Shri, Government of India in 1987.
Senior Fellowship for Outstanding Artists, Government of India, New Delhi in 1984-86.
‘The Critics’ Award’, Artists’ Centre, Mumbai in 1968-69.
National Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in 1965.
Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Academy, Hyderabad in 1962 and 1965-70.
All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi in 1962-63 and 1966.
Bombay Art Society, Mumbai in 1957-59, 1970.
Gold Medal, Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad in 1949, 1954, 1960, 1962.
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Badri Narayan's Works
