Kavitha Prasad, an accomplished artist , architect and educator combines ideas, shades, shadows and lines to create works with great emotional range and depth. Painting in watercolour from an early age, Kavitha has a unique style in this medium. “I love the way light reflects off the paper through the pigment,” she says of her fascination with watercolour. Her art speaks in many moods: reflective, reverent, whimsical, feminine, angry, outspoken, humorous, thoughtful, nostalgic and practical. Her eclectic use of pale and dark pigments, light and heavy overlays, flowing and almost grid-like lines, and small and large formats signify her as an artist who continues to evolve and experiment.
Kavitha was born in 1964 in Chennai into a family that treasures art and heritage. Kavitha’s passion for art was recognized at an early age by her mother Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, herself a doyen of traditional Indian art and restoration and a pupil of the eminent artist Mr.K.Sreenivasulu. Kavitha, under Mr.A.Anjaneyulu’s tutelage, began working with small format studies of nature, both landscapes and skyscapes. “Later I started painting larger watercolours, experimenting with the paper and pigments, to create more atmospheric pictures,” she says.
Kavitha was an all-rounder at Church Park, where she did her schooling. She studied architecture at the prestigious Anna University School of Architecture, and the level of detail in her work reflects her architectural training.
“Some of my works are architectural studies, delineated solid objects, street-side shops, and recycled scrap all composed as elevations that have been superimposed over one another creating a sense of depth, and a play of light and shadows on the objects, creating a sense of mystery,” she says.
Kavitha studied Visual Arts at the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation and is currently working at the Ceramic Studio at Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai.
A busy artist, architect and educator who relishes her art, Kavitha admires the watercolours of J.M.W. Turner, and the architecture of Antoni Gaudi. “I enjoy the quiet seclusion and introspective time painting gives me. I always feel invigorated later,” she says.
Kavitha’s evocative work has won her many admirers in India and abroad. Her watercolour and acrylic works are in the collections of the Corporate Office of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the Residency Hotel in Chennai, the ICF Museum in Chennai and private collections in India, Taiwan, Singapore, UK, USA, and the U.A.E.
BIO
ARCHITECTURE
1987 – 1988 Centre for Human Settlements, Anna University, Chennai, India.
1989 – 1991 Nataraj and Venkat, Architects, Chennai, India.
1991 – 2019 Design Associate, Architectural Management Services, Chennai, India
SOLO ART SHOWS
2004 Espresso Gallery, Bangalore, India.
2008 Shadow Spaces, Vinnyasa Premier Art Galery, Chennai, India.
2010 Shadow Spaces, Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi, India.
GROUP ART SHOWS
1998 Silent Expressions, Manasthala, Chennai, India.
2000 Spring Time, Lakshana Art Gallery, Hyderabad, India
2001 Southern Perspectives, Tillany Art Museum, Bangalore, India
2001 Mere, Apparao Art Gallery, Hotel Park Sheraton, Chennai, India.
2003 Salon de Printemps 2003, Societe Lyonnaise Des Beaux Arts, Lyon, France.
2003 Amarantos ’03, Moods & Revelations, Lakskhana Art Gallery, Chennai, India.
2005 Women@rt, Forum Art Gallery, Chennai, India.
2007 The Madras Canvas, Forum Art Gallery, Chennai, India.
2008 The Madras Canvas II, Forum Art Gallery, Chennai, India.
2009 The Madras Canvas in Short, Forum Art Gallery, Chennai, India.
2011 Paint and Perspectives- Women and their work, an exhibition by women artists, Gallery Sri Parvati, Chennai, India.
2012 - 2016: Visual Arts Department, Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts, Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, India
2016 Jaipur Art Festival, Jaipur, India.
2017 VSparc Art Festival 2017, VIT University, Vellore, India.
2017 5th Sculpture and Paint Art Camp, Chennai Rail Museum, ICF, Chennai, India.
2018 Coaches, Contours et Couleurs, Chennai Rail Museum, ICF, Chennai, India.
2018 VSparc Art Festival 2018, VIT University, Vellore, India.
2019 Kalanubhava, Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai, India.
2019 Representation: Nirupan, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi, India.
2019 Anubhuti: the experience, Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, India.
2019 North South Melange, Kala Srot Art Gallery, Lucknow, India.
2019 VSparc Art Festival 2019, VIT University, Vellore, India.
2019 Fida E Lucknow, Kala Srot Art Gallery, Lucknow, India.
2020 Mrittika Shristi Utsav, Hawrah and ICCR, Kolkata , India
2020 Art.is, VIII X VIII = VIII, Online art show
2020 The Local Art Festival, Artworld, Sarala's Art Centre, Chennai, India
2020 Un_lock Series, Online, Artworld, Sarala's Art Centre.
2020 Art.is, VIII X VIII = VIII, Dakshina Chitra, Chennai, India
2021 Talking Spaces, Forum Art Gallery, Chennai, India.
ART CAMPS AND WORKSHOPS ATTENDED
2010 Fresco Workshop by Prof. Bhawani Shankar Sharma at Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, India. 2013 Kerala Mural Workshop by Mr.AjithanPuthumana at Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai,
2013 Kalamkari Workshop by Sri C.Prabhakar at Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, India.
2014 Chinese Ink Painting by Mr. K S Srinivasa Murthy at NGMA, Bangalore, India.
2014 Print Making Workshop by Mr. K S Vishwambhara at Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, India.
2015 Sketching Trail by Prof. Francis D.K. Ching at Aarde Foundation, Chennai, India.
2016 Fresco Workshop by Prof. Bhawani Shankar Sharma at Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, India.
2017 Ceramic Mural Workshop by Mr. Biju at Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, India.
2020 International Ceramic Symposium and Workshop, Mrittika Shristi Utsav, Hawrah, India.
TEACHING, CONDUCTING WORKSHOPS
2008 – 2019External Examiner at School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University, Chennai, India.
2011 Sketching Workshop with Nizhal at IIT Saarang , Chennai , India.
2013 Chaired a Seminar on Scenario of Ergonomics in Interiors at Sri Kanaka Parameswari Arts and Science College for Women, Chennai, India.
2014 External design review for B.Arch. students at Hindustan College of Engineering, Chennai, India.
2014, 2019 External design review for B.Arch. students at Sathyabama University, Chennai, India.
2017 Sketching Trail an outdoor sketching workshop conducted by the Alumni Association at the
School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University, Chennai, India.
2017 Street Sketching workshop at VIT Artfest, Vellore, India.
2017 Water Colour workshop at VIT Artfest, Vellore, India.
2011 - 2019 Guest Faculty at School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University, Chennai, India.
Subjects – Art Studio, Basic Design, Architectural Design.
2017 Art and Design workshop at AICTE- QIP Sponsored One week Faculty development Programme on Architectural Design Pedagogy at Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, India.
2018 Board of Studies in Bsc Home Science – Interior Design & Decor at Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed College for Women, Chennai, India.
2019 External design review for travel documentation by second, third and fourth year B.Arch students at Vsparc, VIT, Vellore, India.
2019 Guest Lecture on ` Capturing the Essence of Travel “ at Vsparc, VIT, Vellore, India.
2019 Sketching workshop at VIT Artfest, Vellore, India.