No one captures the stark beauty of daily rural life like Laxman Aelay. One of the best-known artists of our time, his is a distinctive style and one that has led him to reach a stellar position.

Whether it is the use of monochromes or being partial to earthy shades from his colour palette, there is great depth in the simplicity of Aelay’s works. The slice of life scenes that he brings alive on his canvas take the viewer down memory lane –reviving memories of a fleeting glance of a village from the window of a train during a childhood journey, perhaps; or the story weaved into the dogeared pages of a well-loved book. The lightness of his strokes pay tribute to the burden his subjects carry with ease.

Through his starkly monochromatic works, created using just paper, pen and ink, Aelay welcomes the viewer into the world of his muse. In his most recent 'Poolamma Series', Laxman Aelay is experimenting with hyperrealism, using big and bold colours to create strikingly exquisite paintings, establishing that he is equally at ease with monochromes and colour.

Aelay was born in 1965 at Kadirenigudem village of Telangana. He too started his artistic journey as a sign board artist and illustrator before coming to the mainstream art. Now, Awarded PhD from The English and Foreign Languages University, Laxman completed his Masters in Painting from Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, Hyderabad and worked as an Art director for films. He obtained a BA in Painting from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University College of Fine Arts in Hyderabad. His body of work has found acclaim at several exhibitions, both solo and group; and his work has achieved an iconic status; not just in India, but across the world.