Anand Manchiraju

I was born in Eluru, AP, India. Since childhood, I used to observe my father Sri M.S. Murthy, while he was painting and when he finished his work, I used to clean his brushes. Often, I used same brushes to come up with my own art. I followed my passion for art and developed my unique style. In a career spanning more than 50 plus years as a professional artist and have done over 3000 artwork on various subject matter such as landscapes, portraits, still life, nudes, animals, travel, and botanicals, on different media such as oils on canvas, acrylic on canvas, water colors on paper, etc.

I studied photography in the JNTU Government College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad and furthering my education by taking Color Photo Technology at the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun. Upon graduation, I joined Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited, Rishikesh Uttaranchal, as Artist and Photographer. I have also been serving as the President of Andhra Academy of Arts, Vijayawada for three decades for the cause and propagation of art.

Living close to Himalayan mountains I got inspired by the splendours of nature and Ganga river. As a result, nature is often the centerpiece of my work. My sense of the personal, cultural and world view can be seen in my painting on Indian Tribes and Tribal Dances, Gods such as Siva, Krishna, Ganesha, Buddha, Saints, etc. Using photography skills and my innate innovativeness, I have extensively experimented using photo chemicals on bromide and painting on used X-ray film after treating them. I am one of the very few in the world to do artwork in this medium. In recent past, I have travelled around the world visiting my children. Hence city abstracts have also become a recurrent theme.

My work has been exhibited in many prestigious galleries in India. My first exhibition was in the Raj Bhawan, Hyderabad in the year 1968. Since then, I have exhibited my work at Jehangir Art Gallery (Mumbai), Nehru Centre (Mumbai), Bajaj Art Gallery (Mumbai), Lalit Kala Academy (New Delhi), India International Center (New Delhi), Triveni Art Gallery (New Delhi), Academy of Fine Art (Kolkatta), Lalit Kala Academy (Chennai), Muse Art gallery (Hyderabad), State Gallery of Fine Arts (Hyderabad). I have received several state and national level awards. These exhibitions received critical applause from the press & T.V media as well as enthusiastic response from the art lovers. My artwork is in private collections and galleries around the world.

More recently, I have also participated and exhibited in several international juried exhibitions both online and offline such as Studio Montclair NJ; Fusion Art, Palm Springs, CA; Art impact International; Awesome Art Inc; Youth for Human Rights, Washington DC; Artivita Online Art; Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery; The Contemporary Art Gallery Online; Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA ; Chico Art Center, Chico, CA, and many others.

When I reflect upon my long association with art, I find that the creative process is just as intriguing and rewarding as the final outcome of my projects. This desire to create has always been strong even when others have tried to dissuade me. The internal push to create has given me an appreciation for the process of exploration, patience and the beauty of art. I believe this creative and explorative journey has become about freedom to create and the freedom to express myself.