Laxma Goud

Laxma Goud, is a master draftsman, displays his versatility over a range of mediums, from etching, gouache and pastels, to sculptures. A student at the Government School of Art and Architecture Hyderabad, he graduated with a diploma in drawing and painting in 1963. His fellow colleague T. Vaikuntam, in one of his interviews, reminisces that it was Laxma Goud who introduced him to the art of sketching and made him aware of the possibilities of this medium. Over the years he is known to have moved from one medium to another with élan.

'Rustic', 'raw', 'potent' are the words that come to mind when looking at Laxma Goud's works. The portraits of men and women represent the dynamic Indian ethos rather than particular individual identities. The power of his lines in black and white or in color is eloquent in its expression. A recurrent theme with Laxma is that of the erotic, treated as an active and powerful aspect of male and female sexuality. Unlike the lovers of Khajuraho, Laxma's'nayaks' and 'nayikas' are raw and vivacious in their appeal. In his world, the tree spirits and those of the animal kingdom amalgamate to create a new fantasy.