Shibu Natesan

Shibu Natesan was born in Trivandrum in 1966. His early inspiration came from his father who was also a painter. He graduated from the College of Fine Arts in Trivandrum before completing his Masters from MS University in Vadodara. 

Shibu Natesan belongs to a generation of artists from Kerala of the early eighties, a time of continuing change and rebellion against a bureaucratic and stultified art establishment. The films of John Abraham and G. Aravindan were one aspect of the cultural climate of the time, and formative, along with translations of Latin American and African literature, of the minds and attitudes of young artists. His first significant body of work, a series of paintings entitled "The Futility of Device" derives from a feudal history excavated in painstaking detail, the relics displayed in the grim chambers of memory, symbols of aggression which repeat themselves with oppressive regularity. The atmospheric quality of these works, some of them based on photographs of archaeological remains such as the caves at Ajanta, is heightened by the use of metallic paint on canvas.[Text Wrapping Break] 

He has held several solo exhibitions and group shows across India and abroad. Solo exhibitions include ‘Existence of Instinct’, New Delhi in 2005; ‘Linkage’, Amsterdam in 2001 & 1997; ‘Paintings’, Bangalore in 2002; ‘Missing’, Mumbai in 1999; ‘Nature Morte’, New Delhi in 1997; ‘Futility of Device’ in Mumbai in 1995. He was awarded a gold medal from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 1991, and the “Uriot Prize’ from the Rijksakademie van Beeldande Kunsten in Amsterdam, in 1996. He lives between Vadodara and London. 

His exhibits with us are two Oil on boards made in 2021, one of which is titled Fallen Bangles.