ArtsBespoke

The Artists of the House · 01

A. V. Ilango

b. 1950 · Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu

Known for expressive paintings, drawings and sculptures of bulls, especially the Jallikkattu series inspired by the Tamil bull taming sport.

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Born
1950
Birthplace
Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu
Medium
Oil on canvas, Acrylic on canvas, Drawing, Etching, Metal and stone sculpture

A. V. Ilango was born on 17 March 1950 in Gobichettipalayam, a town in Tamil Nadu. He is based in Chennai. Sources describe him as largely self trained, with a Master's degree in mathematics from Bangalore University, and note that he made his debut as an artist in 1973.

His best known theme is the bull, which he traces from prehistory to the modern era as an image closely tied to humanity. The motif appears in his Jallikattu series, across canvases as well as metal and stone sculptures. His rural upbringing, where art, religion and ritual are part of daily life, shaped this work. He founded Artspace in Chennai in 2007, and was named a British Council Visitorship artist in 1992.

A life, dated

AB / TIMELINE

  1. 1950

    Born on 17 March in Gobichettipalayam, Tamil Nadu.

  2. 1973

    Completed a master's degree in mathematics at Bangalore University and made his debut as an artist.

  3. 1979

    Moved to Madras, where the city's urban life darkened his imagery.

  4. 1980

    Held a solo exhibition at the Pandian Hotel in Madurai.

  5. 1992

    Nominated by the British Council for its Visitorship Programme to the United Kingdom.

  6. 1995

    Showed solo at the Commonwealth Institute in London.

  7. 1997

    Received the Tamil Nadu State Lalit Kala Akademi Award.

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Works from the house

AB / WORKS

A square Kalamkari style painting: an olive gold elephant face in heavy black outline, filled with pale green figures of dancing and standing Shri Ganesha Ji, a drummer and a trident, beside a gold band and a turquoise leaf panel.

Devotional & narrative

Ganesha in green and gold

Ramesh Gorjala. An olive gold ground carries a broad elephant face in a heavy black outline.

Prakash Bal Joshi, Cobalt currents, a gold seam, 2024: a landscape-format abstract in cobalt, ultramarine and pale blue, with diagonal sweeps of the brush and two seams of gold running from lower left to upper right.

Abstract

Cobalt currents, a gold seam

Prakash Bal Joshi. A canvas of moving blue: broad diagonal strokes in cobalt, ultramarine and pale sky-blue, scraped and dragged so the surface looks like water under wind, or silk folded o.

Chandra Morkonda, Four elephants and the green tree: a landscape-format painting of a great green tree with a gold trunk, four outlined elephants on a golden ground, a pink lotus and a second tree in pink and orange.

Landscape, nature & trees

Four elephants and the green tree

Chandra Morkonda. A great tree with rounded green crowns, each leaf veined in orange and gold, stands on a golden trunk at the left, over a ground of patterned triangles in orange and saff.

Two stylised bulls face each other on a brown ground, their bodies filled with tiny scenes of Hindu deities, with gold and orange bands on horns, necks and legs.

Devotional & narrative

Two bulls carrying the gods

Vivek Kumavat. Two stylised bulls meet face to face on a warm brown ground, set against a dark block pattern.

All works Abstract Figures Devotional Landscape Ravi Varma Press stones