ARTIST, ACTOR & ORATOR SIVAKUMAR’s PAINTING EXHIBITION INAUGURATED AT LALIT KALA ACADEMI
Chennai, 24th October 2016: The Painting Exhibition of eminent artist, actor and orator Sivakumar was inaugurated today at the prestigious Lalit Kala Academi by well-known artist and former Principal of Government College of Arts & Crafts Mr. Alphonso Das in the presence of Artist Mr. Sivakumar, Artist Mr. Maniam Selven, Artist Thiru AP. Shreethar and Film Actor Karthi.
Artist Sivakumar has drawn hundreds of paintings during the period 1958 to 1965 and preserved them. This exhibition comprises of select 100 paintings out of them, sketched during that period. The collection comprises variety of drawings including pencil drawings to crayon sketches to water color paintings, oil paintings and portrait sketches of eminent personalities and many important locations across the country.
The painting exhibition is organized by Artist Sivakumar’s sons Mr. Suriya and Mr. Karthi as a part of the celebrations, on the occasion of completion of 75 glorious years by their father Artist Sivakumar on October 27, 2016.
Commenting on the painting exhibition, Artist Sivakumar mentioned, “The period 1959 to 1965 was the best period in my life when I studied at Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai. My feelings were akin to that of a dove that leaves its cage for the very first time and spreads its wings in flight in the wide open skies, experiencing great awe and wonderment! The six years that I spent in that College, with peers, both boys and girls of my age, who were equally talented in the Arts, was undoubtedly the Spring-time of my life!
With no qualms about any future plans, at the break of dawn, with just a paper and brush, like a nomad I wandered the streets of Chennai, Madurai, Trichy, Tanjore, Kanyakumari,
Tirupati, Tiruvannamalai, Ajanta-Ellora, Delhi and Agra, drawing sketches, eating only what I was able to get and sleeping on platforms for many days. I adore those sketches and paintings as much as my own children!
The total cost of wandering all over India for seven years and drawing my sketches, was a mere seven thousand and five hundred rupees. Compare that to the present day – the cost of lunch for a family at a five-star hotel alone is more than ten thousand rupees! Though to survive, I ate three simple meals a day, owned only few sets of clothing and slept on the floor much like a sparrow or saint, those years remain precious to me as I had noble goals and felt proud about my achievements through paintings.
I am delighted my sons Suriya and Karthi have taken up the responsibility to organize this painting exhibition on the occasion of me completing 75 years, after 50 years of drawing those sketches and giving me the biggest happiness in my life. I feel reborn with my art being celebrated, about which I was always proud more than my any other achievements. I will be happy if the future generation is benefited through this painting exhibition.”
About Artist, Actor and Orator Sivakumar: Sivakumar commenced his career as an artist and moved to the film industry as an actor in 1965 with the film ‘Kaakkum Karangal’. He acted in 192 films and more than 170 out of them were as lead hero. He won twice Tamil Nadu State Government awards as Best Actor and twice Filmfare awards as Best actor in addition to receiving ‘Sivaji Ganesan’ Award from TN State Government and Life Time Achievement Award from Filmfare. His sons Suriya and Karthi are leading heroes of South Indian cinema. Sivakumar chose to leave the film industry in 2001 and focused on Television industry for a period of 4 years and after completing 40 years in the film and television industry, moved to his next role as an orator. His speeches on 13 topics are very popular among lakhs of people and his two speeches on epics ‘Ramayanam’ and ‘Mahabharatham’ remain master piece speeches, unparalleled.
The painting exhibition will be held at Lalit Kala Academi, Greams Road from 24th to 26th October. The closing ceremony will be attended by Actor Suriya. On October 27th, a Coffee Table book comprising around 140 paintings of Artist Sivakumar is going to be released for the benefit of future generation, on the occasion of him completing 75 glorious years.
