An abstractionist known for his brilliant colour compositions, Achuthan Kudallur was an important figure in the contemporary abstract art landscape of India. He was an engineer-turned-writer-turned artist, who contributed in drawing international attention to the seminal Madras Art Movement in the 1990s.
Kudallur was born in the eponymous village of Kudallur in Kerala in 1945 and moved to Chennai in 1965 to study civil engineering. He soon joined evening classes at the Madras Art Club in the Government College of Fine Arts. He started working at the Public Works Department in Chepauk, then Madras, and soon became a published author in Malayalam. His friends from that time, artists such as R. B. Bhaskaran, remember him being a talented artist even when he had not yet turned to the profession full time.
Known to be temperamental, Kudallur’s canvases always brought alive a room with their deep and saturated yellows, blues and greens, though he remained partial towards the reds throughout his life. He moved from figurative to abstract art in the late 1960s-early 1970s. His art was nurtured by his lifelong interaction with the likeminded friends he had amongst writers, artists, filmmakers and other intellectuals.
He participated in several group exhibitions in India and abroad, and held many solo shows as well; important participations include Print Biennale in Bhopal in 1988 and 1990, VIIth Triennale in New Delhi in 1991, and the 3rd Asian Art Show in Fukuoka, Japan, to name a few.
Kudallur lived in Chennai throughout his life, where he passed away on July 18, 2022.