T. Venkanna
Born 1980, Gajwel, India.
Born in 1980, T. Venkanna’s powerful and virulent imagery, together with his prodigious output, has gained him the reputation of being his generation’s most exciting, versatile, and unconventional artists. He holds a Masters in Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Printmaking from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda and Bachelors in Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Painting from J.N.T.U, Hyderabad where he was awarded a Gold medal.
In 2023, Venkanna had his twelfth solo show titled Looking for Peace, Modesti Perdriolle Gallery, Belgium. His eleventh solo show was titled LOVE ME AS I AM curated by Abhay Maskara at Gallery Maskara in Mumbai, India. 2022 MARKED 20-years of his printmaking practice and he had his tenth solo show titled AS I AM at Gallery Maskara in Mumbai, India. During the same year, he also participated in various group shows including Inside India, Espace 251 Nord, Liege, Belgium curated by Laurent Jacob. Radical Enchantments, AICON Gallery, NY, curated by Jason Vartikar. Inside India, Modesti Perdriolle Gallery, Belgium. In 2021 Venkanna was part of a group show titled The Art of India, Clarinda Carnegie Art Museum, Iowa, USA curated by Anne Pagel. In 2019 the artist had two solo shows titled LOVE ME and Tradition/Transformation - both shows at Gallery Maskara were curated by Abhay Maskara. In 2018 Venkanna was invited to participate in Inde at Manoir de Martigny, Switzerland. In 2017 his solo show Looking for Peace opened at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India. In 2016 he was part of a group show TIME at Gallery Maskara, Mumbai, India. In 2015 his solo show CELEBRATION curated by Abhay Maskara opened at Gallery Maskara. In 2014 his shows include Residual Remnants, Site art space, Baroda, India; Midnight's Grandchildren curated by Girish Shahane, Kitab Mahal, Mumbai, India; Trajectories: 19th-21st Century Printmaking from India and Pakistan curated by Dr. Paula Sengupta and Camilla H. Chaudhary, Sharjah Art Museum, UAE. Major shows in 2012-13 include Air Sri Lanka, Galerie Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna, Austria, Lunch with Olympia, curated by Dr. Robert Storr, Yale University School of Art, CT, USA, Between the Lines: Identity, Place, and Power, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, India, Pancha Mahabhuta (The Five Great Elements) at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India, Cynical Love: Life in the Everyday curated by Gayatri Sinha at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Noida, India,a solo presentation at Art Brussels 30th Contemporary Art Fair, ProjectStage at Art Stage Singapore, the India Art Fair, India, the VIP Art Fair, (online). In 2011, Venkanna presented a controversial solo performance at Art Stage Singapore and was part of New Trends from South India, at the Lalit Kala Academy, Chennai, India. Other key projects during the year included; CROSSROADS: India escalate (India Pavilion) at the Prague Biennale 5, Czech Republic, a solo presentation at the Art Brussels 29th Contemporary Art Fair, Belgium, Fabular Bodies, curated by Gayatri Sinha for the Harmony Art Foundation, Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, India, Printmaking: Open Studio, at Gallery Maskara, Mumbai, India, (M)other India at Galerie du Jour – Agnès B, Paris, France and Window in the Wall, Pearl Lam Galleries, Shanghai, China. In 2010 his work was part of Finding India: Art for the New Century, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Taipei, Taiwan. His solo show, NERO opened at Gallery Luce in Torino, Italy and he simultaneously showed at Artissima 17 Torino, Italy. He was also the youngest artist featured in the Saatchi Gallery show The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today, London, UK.
His works are in major collections in India, Japan, Russia, Netherlands, France, USA, UK, including the Burger Collection, Switzerland, the Swagemakers collection, Netherlands, the Karen and Robert Duncan Collection, USA , The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, India, amongst several others.