Breaking the mould

You won’t find any repetitions in Raghahavachary Kamsali’s work because whether it is his paintings or his sculptures, the artist believes that people need “something different and not the usual monotonous art”. Originally from Mahbubnagar district, Raghava moved to the city in 1998, “I came here to complete my Bachelors in Fine Arts from JNTU,” he says. After that, he left for Baroda to pursue his Masters. Raghava doesn’t stick to a particular genre. Though he primarily works with acrylic, his subjects cover a wide spectrum. “I always take inspiration from my surroundings,” he explains, adding, “I take inspiration from places I visit. People, trees everything and anything interests me.” And ask him whether he prefers painting over sculpture and he says, “I’ve always believed that they are both the same thing. Painting is just the 2D version of sculpture and I love both.” While personally Raghava is happy with his work, he believes that there is a need for people to change their outlook towards art. “When you compare Hyderabad to other cities, people here want to stick to a particular style. There is no scope to experiment. Because if an artist experiments, he or she will not have any takers for his or her art,” he says. “For an artist,” he says, “It is very important to find a ground to sell and finance is one issue I’ve been struggling with.” Despite having exhibited his works in different galleries, Raghava reveals a sad reality which most artist suffer from: “There is always a lot of response to the art, but sadly no sales,” he points out. “Artists need encouragement,” he adds, “While there are emerging artists whose work is interesting, sadly due to the lack of support, many just die away.”