“he was alone.” Artist Premlata Seshadri discusses a mutual friend as she gently picks up a canvas spread in her home studio. “He had a lot of friends,” I replied politely. There is a thoughtful pause. “You can have lots of friends and still be lonely,” she retorts.
As she talks, she tackles the next large canvas, spreading it out on the ground so we can admire it together. Created in his characteristic minimalist style, it depicts two long-legged birds painted with precise lines and dots in black, then winged with a flurry of earthy brown lines. The work is enjoyable, and even a little cheeky: a refreshing break from art that takes itself too seriously.
Like an artist who writes poetry in his spare time, this work is thoughtful and perceptive.
I’m spending the morning with Premlatha in her tranquil home, located just minutes from the Cholamandal Art Village, where the Madras Art Movement emerged. We met at the launch of his retrospective work, currently running at Ashvita Art Gallery, titled The White House by the Sea. Beautiful and self-possessed, in a dainty string of pearls, she greeted fans politely, bursting into laughter only when she was chatting with her classmate Thota Tharini as they listened to stories of old friends.
Curated by Ashwin Rajagopalan, the show gives viewers a fascinating glimpse of his five decades of work across multiple mediums. The daughter of a former mayor of Bengaluru, Premalatha began painting in her childhood, and the 13 canvases in this exhibition trace her path, showing how she moved from restless oils and landscapes to restrained lines that pulse with energy.
Work of Premlata Seshadri Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Now in her seventies, she lives alone, enjoying the solitude of her white house by the sea, where the cacophony of birds comes every day. As one of his poems says: ‘Disgusting hoopoes, hunting, strutting/It’s a hot and violent summer/Crows and migratory hawks fight wildly for territory Cracked I’m feeling dizzy in my front yard.
She says, “We came here more than 40 years ago. My late husband, Mr. Seshadri, had land here, and I wanted to be free from landlords. There were casuarina forests all around us then. And our only neighbors were the Whitakers and Cholamandal artists of the Madras Crocodile Bank.”
This was about five decades ago. He worked continuously on his art for decades. She says, “Living here, my natural surroundings, my Injambakkam landscape… they influence my work. My art is a record of my visual vocabulary.” Then adds, “I like my privacy. I’m also alone in a sense. You need that privacy to be creative. That’s why Mr. Panicker started Cholamandal.”
Although Premalatha studied under KCS Panicker at the Government Arts College, Madras in the late 1960s, and is one of the few successful women artists of that generation, she still sees herself as an outsider. “There’s no such thing as fitting in. I come at the tail end of the Madras Art Movement. All of us who weren’t physically living inside the Artists’ Village area weren’t really in the class.”
However, she adds that it was an exciting time. “People were ambitious and trying to find an identity. This was the beginning of a distinctive Madras style. Intellectually these artists wanted to give an Indian visual representation of art, using their gifts as painters or sculptors. Their work was completely different from the strong European movement that had taken over the Western world. They were truly pioneers.”
Premlata, known for her powerful lines, says these are a distinctive feature of southern artistes. Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
Known for her powerful lines, Premlata says these are a distinctive feature of southern artistes. “He had a very good control of line. I think total abstraction developed only after a period of working with line. No matter how abstract the drawing, there is a division of color and that is line. Think of KM Adimoolam’s early line drawings, Achuthan Kudallur’s control of color and RB Bhaskaran’s individualistic forms… Young artists today are the beneficiaries of these artists.”
The fact that a group of some of the movement’s most prominent artists lived and worked together in Cholamandal helped to give impetus to the movement. “Panikar was the center. He was the voice for people who didn’t really know what direction to go, except to learn the skills that gave voice to their artistic abilities. He had a vision and he was very true to it. He also suggested crafts – and fine arts – would help support the artists who settled there.”
Premlata does not consider herself a part of this movement. “I’m an outsider, because I used to live here. But I’m a colleague and an alumnus of the Government Arts College. And I used to run a studio there.” However, she adds, “The collective was for people who lived there. It was very regional. Not entirely conducive to having a female co-worker.” She said there were two women who did memorable work: Anila Jacob and Arnavage Driver. She also talks about TK Padmini with admiration.
Class of 1970 Madras School of Arts on a nature study and painting trip. A little to the right is Tharani, P. Gopinath, Premlata Seshadri, Zarina. Peter Gangadharan, Dachu and Presanna seated. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy: Artist Peter Gangadharan
“The only art gallery in Madras was Sarala’s in Connemara,” she says. She added, “It was a struggle to get representation. It was a very lonely journey. And it certainly wasn’t financially viable.” Still, his style came out bright. “In the 60s I was fascinated by textures, then I abandoned them to concentrate on line. I created a series called Zen Water. These were depictions of things I associated with life in water: fish, turtles and other aquatic life.” Immersing herself in her surroundings, she also chooses to work with earthy colors: terracotta, black and white.
Reminiscing, she says that working alone benefited her art. “If I was in the Art Village, I would be a clone. I would probably be too influenced… Everyone has a visual vocabulary. My vocabulary is very different from my contemporaries. It’s not decorative. It’s very simple. And minimal.”
Half a century after the Madras Art Movement began, Premalatha is still working. As I leave, she starts drawing birds, content in her quiet white house by the sea. A reminder that solitude doesn’t have to be lonely; It can also be deeply inspiring.
White House by the Sea is on till October 31 at Ashvita, 2, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore.
published – October 08, 2025 04:43 PM IST