Exhibition Of Paintings By Nelson Rushdie: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS BY...

Chitramayee - State Gallery of Fine Arts is organising an exhibition of paintings and wood sculpture by Nelson Rushdie, from 11th to 20th December. A collection of about 50 paintings and 24 pieces of sculpture are on display at the gallery.

Rushdie, 75, follows the realistic genre, and most of his themes revolve around the simple yet colorful village life. He paints rustic scenes with charm and intense fervor. What sets his work apart is the 3-dimensional quality he brings to it, which is a combination of his unusual strokes and style besides the base he uses for painting. Like most artists he uses canvas, but he also prefers crepe & crush cloth.

Each painting speaks volumes of his works, his thoughts and his projections. The usage of colors and his excellent color combinations depict each scene or portrait closest to naturality. His sculpture works are natural formations of coffee-tree branchwood that are chemically treated and textured, which can be used as flower vase stands, telephone stands, bird nests and so on.

He is qualified in "Freehand Outline And Model Drawing" by the Govt. of A P, having passed lower grade in 1956 and higher grade in 1959. He further pursued his artistic training in the Damerla Rama Rao School of Arts, Rajahmundry (East Godavari Dist), under the guidance of the then Principal, Guru Varada Venkatratnam.

His talent and creativity won him a lot of recognition. He has won several medals and citations in painting competitions conducted by the Abhyudaya Samathi of Nidadavol (West Godavari), during his SSC period in 1955-56. In 1962 & 1972, The Bible Calenders (6 pages) were published with his illustrated paintings and drawings.

Even during his early period of his career, around the '70s, he received appreciation from great personalities, one among them being the late Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India (1977).

He was so inspired by Salman Rushdie's writings that he changed his second name to Rushdie, and this has nothing to do with his religious inclinations. In 1985, he started a social service organisation called "Manavathawada Brundam". Through this organisation, he has contributed to the upliftment of those with leprosy and those affected by national calamities. He contributes 20% of his income to the foundation. He was also the Secretary of the Lions Club for 3 years, and was a member for 10 years, 1980-1990, at Bellampalli.

Please contact 2311-3308/98486-66262 for further details.