Yusuf Arakkal
Encyclopedia
Yusuf Arakkal - Malayali painter based in Bangalore
, India
.
Yusuf Arakkal was born in 1945 at Chavakkad, Kerala
. His mother belonged to the royal family of Arakkal, the only Muslim royal family to have ruled Kerala and his father to Keyees, the well known business family based at Kozhikode
and Thalassery
. Yusuf lost both his parents at an early age.
Leaving the comforts of his house behind, the boy Yusuf left for Bangalore
, lonely but with a passion to become a painter. The hardships that he faced at Bangalore honed the artist in him and sharpened his sensibility. He took a diploma in painting from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat (KCP), Bangalore and later specialized in graphic print making from National Academy community studios, Garhi, Delhi
.
Recently, Yusuf Arakkal received the prestigious Lorenzo De Medici Gold Medal, at Florence Internazionale Biennale, in Florence
, Italy
for his work Bacon’s Man with the Child and Priest. The award is instituted in memory of the great Florentine statesman Lorenzo de Medici. Yusuf had produced a large collection of miscellaneous works consisting of drawings, paintings, sculptures, murals, paper works, prints, and writing.
He had won several other awards including Karnataka Lalithkala Academy award in 1979 and 1981, a national award in 1983, a special award at the third Asian Art Biennale Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1986 and the Karnataka Lalithkala Academy honor in 1989.
Arakkal's paintings are singularly expressionistic in style. In them one could trace the artist's "deep concern for man and society. Set against a dark, oppressive background are the faceless figures of ordinary people expressing brooding loneliness and despair brought on by a society obsessively drawn towards material success where ordinary people have no place".He has done many works in different media, canvases, sculptures with emphasis on tiger conservation..
There are many books and articles published on the creative world of Yusuf Arakkal in different languages.
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Yusuf Arakkal was born in 1945 at Chavakkad, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. His mother belonged to the royal family of Arakkal, the only Muslim royal family to have ruled Kerala and his father to Keyees, the well known business family based at Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
and Thalassery
Thalassery
Thalassery , also known as Tellicherry, is a city on the Malabar Coast of Kerala, India. This is the second largest city of North Malabar in terms of population. The name Tellicherry is the anglicized form of Thalassery. Thalassery municipality has a population just less than 100,000. Established...
. Yusuf lost both his parents at an early age.
Leaving the comforts of his house behind, the boy Yusuf left for Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, lonely but with a passion to become a painter. The hardships that he faced at Bangalore honed the artist in him and sharpened his sensibility. He took a diploma in painting from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat (KCP), Bangalore and later specialized in graphic print making from National Academy community studios, Garhi, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
.
Recently, Yusuf Arakkal received the prestigious Lorenzo De Medici Gold Medal, at Florence Internazionale Biennale, in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
for his work Bacon’s Man with the Child and Priest. The award is instituted in memory of the great Florentine statesman Lorenzo de Medici. Yusuf had produced a large collection of miscellaneous works consisting of drawings, paintings, sculptures, murals, paper works, prints, and writing.
He had won several other awards including Karnataka Lalithkala Academy award in 1979 and 1981, a national award in 1983, a special award at the third Asian Art Biennale Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1986 and the Karnataka Lalithkala Academy honor in 1989.
Arakkal's paintings are singularly expressionistic in style. In them one could trace the artist's "deep concern for man and society. Set against a dark, oppressive background are the faceless figures of ordinary people expressing brooding loneliness and despair brought on by a society obsessively drawn towards material success where ordinary people have no place".He has done many works in different media, canvases, sculptures with emphasis on tiger conservation..
There are many books and articles published on the creative world of Yusuf Arakkal in different languages.
Exhibitions
He has conducted many exhibitions both Solo Shows and Group Shows internationally besides more than 30 national shows. His international shows are listed below.Solo international shows
- 1992 - Relays De Monts - Siux, Limousin, France.
- 1993 - Gallerie Taormina Del Arte - Le Hwre, France.
- 1994 - Srijana Contemporary Art Gallery - Kathmandu, Nepal.
- 1994 - Art Forum Gallery, Singapore.
- 1996 - Wallace Gallery, Chelsea, New York.
- 1996 - Air Gallery, Dower Street, London.
Group International shows
- 1971 - Indian Artists at Belarus and Moscow.
- 1985 - Thirty contemporary Indian Artists at Habana, Cuba.
- 1985 - Contemporary Indian Art show at the National Museum Mexico City, Mexico.
- 1985 - Second Asian Art show, Fukuoka, Japan.
- 1985 - Indian Printmaking, Festival of India, USA.
- 1986 - Sixth biennale de beau Art, Beaumount, France.
- 1986 - Third Asian Art Biennale, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
- 1986 - Inaugural exhibition of the National Museum of Modern Art, Seol, Korea.
- 1986 - Sixth International Triennale, New Delhi, India.
- 1987 - Ninth International Biennale de São Paulo, Brazil.
- 1993 - Nine Indian Artists CCA Gallery, New York.
- 1994 - Indian printmaking show, Maltwood Art Museum & Gallery Victoria, British Columbia.
- 1994 - Indian Contemporary Art Show, Gallery Maya, Hong Kong
- 1995 - Heads and faces - an exhibition by Gallery Maya, Visual Art Centre, Hong Kong.
- 1995 - 'Save the children' auction by Sothebys, Bombay.
- 1996 - Indian Contemporary Art show, Nagai Garo, Tokyo, Japan
- 1996 - 32 Contemporary Indian artists - exhibition and auction by Christies, London.
- 1996 - Women in Indian Art, by The Gallery, Visual Art Centre, Hong Kong.
- 1997 - Auction of Indian Contemporary Art by Christies, London.