K. Laxma Goud (b. 1940)

Acquired from Sakshi Gallery

There are minor undulations along the upper edge of the paper. The surface of the work is textured due to the medium. This work is in good condition, as viewed.
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The present work is one of the largest drawings executed by Laxma Goud to come to the market and is a rare example of his dexterity in a larger scale format. Goud’s work most often represents traditional people amidst the rural landscape of his native Andhra Pradesh, as seen in this work. This arresting composition also reflects Goud’s signature subtle eroticism, as the couple at right defies decorum. This work is characteristic of Goud’s subdued pastel palette and distinct use of line, as his painting practice is rooted in a lifelong passion for the purity of drawing. He believes that “‘drawing is very pure.’ It requires only the simplest tools. The process is meditative, spiritual, seductive, and elevating; it is both sensual (gratifying to the physical senses) and sensuous (aesthetically pleasing). Goud wants viewers to experience these pleasures, too: ‘I want to seduce them with my line.’” (Susan S. Bean, Midnight to the Boom: Painting in India after Independence, 2013, p. 148). Goud studied mural painting under K.G. Subramanyan as a postgraduate at the M.S. University in Baroda after completing his Diploma in Drawing and Painting from the Government College of Fine Arts and Architecture in Hyderabad in 1963.