Baadal Nanjundaswamy

Baadal Nanjundaswamy (Kannada: ಬಾದಲ್ ನಂಜುಂಡಸ್ವಾಮಿ) is an Indian painter. An alumnus of Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA), he is most popular for his street art and 3D paintings. He splits his time between Bangalore and Mysore.

Early life and career

Baadal Nanjundaswamy (Birth name: Nanjundaswamy Nanjaiah) was born in 1979 to Narasamma and Nanjaiah in the Kukkarahalli area of Mysore district. The name 'Baadal' is from a year's stint in Rangayana.

During his schooling years, he was drawn to painting and literature. Having limited sources of income didn't stop him from getting the education he wanted. To earn the required fees for university education, he converted a petty shop that was bought on borrowed money into a painting workshop of sorts and sold his paintings. After graduation, Baadal worked with Ogilvy & Mather in their Bangalore office as a visualizer for three years. He then chose to work as a freelancer. He works as an art director for Kannada films, plays, documentaries, short films and also does design work for independent projects. Lucia, Lifeu Ishtene, Prakruthi and Police Quarter are some of his notable works as an art director.

He has several Black and White wall portraits to his credit. Sachin Tendulkar’s portrait in the Students' Activity Center in IIT Powai is one of them. He is wellknown for his 3D paintings, murals, sculptures, and art installations.

Baadal has also written short stories in Kannada which have been published in leading newspapers and magazines. Not surprisingly, he finds the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and particularly the magic realism element in his writing very interesting.

Art exhibition

He prefers travelling by train compared to the other modes of transport. During these travels, he commenced on a series of sketches beginning in 2012 using colored gelpens as the only instrument. Forty such sketches done during train journeys and outside were displayed an exhibition titled 'Colors and beyond' in the Suchitra art gallery in 2012. The subject of these paintings are ‘slice-of-life’ scenes as observed by the artist. Another one of his solo exhibitions called ‘Machine Manushya’ was held in Sabarang art gallery, Mysore in September 2013. His paintings have been a part of other collective exhibitions. Besides the paintings, there are various art installations by him at Kalamandira, Mysore depicting political and cultural themes.

Street art

The most popular among his works are the street art work done to highlight the disorderly condition of roads in Bangalore and Mysore. Most of them have gone viral on social media, reported by newspapers across the world, and proved to be successful. This work of his is appreciated for the satirical thought, quick execution and for influencing the civic authorities in a manner that nothing else would. This work is done on his personal time and expense.

• The model 'Crocodile installation' in a pot-hole on one of the roads in Sultanpalya in Bangalore in June 2015 resulted in the huge pothole being closed the next day.
• Painting Yama's face around an open manhole in June 2014 also proved good for the resident of the area in RT Nagar, Bangalore.
• Apart from these, he has undertaken such work with seasonal themes during Christmas 2014, India's Independence day 2014, Deepavali 2014 and many other occasions.

Awards and recognition

• Gold medallist of the Bachelor of Fine Arts 2004 batch from Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts, affiliated to the University of Mysore
• Pragati Paratishtana honoured him with the 'Pride of Mysuru' award, April 2015.
• Appointed President of the sub-committee of Handicrafts & fine arts by the Government of Karnataka for Dasara celebration in Mysore, 2014

References

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