Mahadeva Shetty KC family holds Varna Siri exhibition

Artist Mahadeva Shetty KC is holding an art exhibition ‘Varna Siri’ along with his artist wife Ms. Madhavi ML, and artist daughter Ms. Rachita M. Shetty at the Bengaluru Art Gallery of Yuva Patha in Jayanagar, Bengaluru. The 15 days exhibition began on the state formation day 01 November.

Art, culture, and heritage: The exhibition on the eve of Rajyotsava celebrations is also coupled with the theme of highlighting the art, culture, and heritage of the state. Hence, Mahadeva Shetty KC presents paintings depicting ancient monuments while Ms. Madhavi ML exhibits are of fading leather puppets in a picturesque way. Ms. Rachita M. Shetty’s paintings are based on realistic antique pieces.

Treat to the eyes: The paintings of Mahadeva Shetty KC are literally a visual treat. At times one gets confused as to whether they are paintings or photographs as the choice of colors enriches the quality of monumental structures. Paintings of leather puppets by Ms. Madhavi ML are a feast with primary colors Red, Yellow and Blue dominating all around. Real objects in a magnified fashion revealed by Ms. Rachita M. Shetty also give an impression of doubting whether they are enlargements of photographs.

Unique artists’ family: Mahadeva Shetty KC boasts of a unique family of artists. He is serving as the Principal of Sree Kala Niketan School of Art in Mysuru while his wife Ms. Madhavi ML is presently working as an Art Teacher at Government Maharani D.Ed College in Mysuru. The artist couple’s daughter Ms. Rachita M. Shetty is working as an Art Teacher in the Chrysalis High school in Bengaluru.

A humble gentleman: Mahadeva Shetty KC is an unassumingly humble gentleman to the core with artistic instincts deeply ingrained in his personality. Born in Katihalli of Hassan district, he did Diploma in Art Master and a Diploma in Drawing & Painting from the Ravindra Kala Niketan School of Art, Tumakuru. Later he completed a Master of Visual Art from the Kannada University, Hampi.

Mahadeva Shetty KC

An inclination towards Leather puppets: Ms. Madhavi ML, the better half of Mahadeva Shetty KC was born in the historic place Madhugiri in the Tumakuru district. A talented artist, she also did Diploma in Art Master from the same Ravindra Kala Niketan School of Art in Tumakuru. She stood first in the Master of Visual Arts from Allamaprabhu Kala Prathishtana in Mysuru.

Ms. Madhavi ML

Ms. Rachita M. Shetty, a born artist: It’s no exaggeration, if Ms. Rachita M. Shetty, daughter of the artistic couple can be termed as a born artist. Born and brought up in the cultural capital city of Mysuru she completed a Bachelor of Visual Art-Painting from the Kalaniketan School of Art, Mysuru. She moved to Bengaluru to do her Masters's in Visual Art-Painting at the Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat.

Ms. Rachita M. Shetty

Exhibitions across the state and country: Mahadeva Shetty KC’s works have been exhibited across the state and country. He has taken part in several group exhibitions repeatedly within the state including Tumakuru, Mysuru, Dharwad, Gulbarga, Bengaluru, and Mangaluru apart from Nagpur, New Delhi, and Kolkata at the national level.

Camps and workshops: The number of camps and workshops attended by Mahadeva Shetty KC constitute an ever-increasing list of places. Tumakuru, Hampi, Gulbarga, Madhugiri, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Davanagere, Srirangapattana, Sringeri, Mangaluru, Udupi, Mandya among many a other.

Award since student days: Mahadeva Shetty KC has been bagging awards right from his initial days in painting. He was awarded the Best Worker RKN Award at Tumakuru for the years 1990-1992. From 1993-1996, he won the Mysuru Dasara Award, the state-level exhibition award at Mandya in 1994, and the annual Karnataka Lalit Kala Academy Award at Bengaluru in 1996.

Private collection worldwide! Mahadeva Shetty KC’s drawings, paintings, and artworks are on display at several institutions like Karnataka Lalit Kala Academy in Bengaluru, Folk Museum of Sutturu in Mysuru district, Ravindra Kala Niketan School of Art at Tumakuru, Sree Kala Niketan School of Art at Mysuru, Kuvempu Museum at Kuppalli in Shivamogga district. Other than these institutional collections his artifacts’ have been procured for private collections in India and across the globe!

Group exhibitions: Ms. Madhavi ML has also taken part in several Group exhibitions across the state and they include the ones in Tumakuru, Dharwad, Mysuru, Madhugiri, Bengaluru, Mandya, and Kolkata. She has also attended camps and workshops in Tumakuru, Hampi, Gulbarga, Madhugiri, Melkote, and Mysuru.

Ms Madhavi ML's painting

Best Worker Award: She has been presented with the Best Worker Award for the years 1990-1992 from RKN Tumakuru, and Mysuru Dasara Award for the years 1993 and 1994.

Artwork collections in India and abroad: Ms. Madhavi ML’s artworks are in the collection of Karnataka Lalit Academy Bengaluru, Folk Museum at Sutturu in Mysuru district, Ravindra Kala Niketan School of Art at Tumakuru, Sree Kala Niketan School of Art at Mysuru. Her artifacts’ are also treasured among many a private collection in India and elsewhere across the world.

An upcoming Artist: Ms. Rachita M.Shetty for being blessed with artistic parents and having a long way to go and perhaps with the artistic family background, she is bound to grow in leaps and bounds in the art world.

Group Exhibitions from student days: She has been participating in state-level Group Exhibitions from student days. Some such exhibitions include those at Biligiri Rangana Betta, Sree Kalanikethana School of Art in Mysuru, and Mysuru Dasara Exhibition in Mysuru.

Painting Workshops and Camps: Her camps and workshops include those held in Mysuru, Chitradurga, Sravanabelegola, Adichunchanagiri, and Baby Betta in the state, and Ajanta and Ellora in Maharashtra. She is a recipient of the Mysuru Dasara Kala Mahotsava Award.

House becomes Folklore Museum! Apart from the whole family is a team of multi-talented artists, perhaps the highlight happens to be their Mysuru house cum folklore Museum! Well, you may not believe it, but yes it is a fully-fledged Folklore Museum. Maybe, you need to have enough time to go through, understand and enjoy the same. All of us will definitely have the inclination to collect something which looks interesting and you will take pride in boasting of the same to your guests. But anyone dedicating the whole first floor of their living house for collecting and exhibiting rural artifacts’ is something unseen and unheard of? And it goes without saying such a gigantic task can only be thought of accomplishing with the same proportion of genuine interest, dedication, and commitment from all three members of the family. Let there be no doubt that their house cum folklore Museum will soon transform into a must-visit site for all art connoisseurs visiting the tourist city of Mysuru. What all is in their unique Museum, is bound to become another interesting subject for a separate write-up.

-Manohar Yadavatti