Akhilesh was born in Indore. His father was an art teacher in Madhya Pradesh. Akhilesh consciously resisted all attempts at becoming an artist initially but the final year of school saw his resolve weakening. He later moved to Textile Designing.
Akhilesh belongs to the breed of artists who come from the provincial towns of India - rooted in traditions and sporting a fresh outlook. He has been influenced by tribal and folk traditions of Madhya Pradesh; at the same time being aware of the trends in the Art World. Akhilesh's paintings appear to be a collection of beginnings. But there are no ends. His work gives a feeling of being left unfinished and yet it does not seem incomplete. It is not possible to look at it in terms of a beginning leading to an end. The way he uses lines may lend a certain linearity to his work but these lines seem to melt into the canvas, refusing to lend typical linear characteristics to his work. His paintings appear to be full of freshness and the colours resonate with emotions. He does not delve into virginal territory. Rather he sticks to familiar ground. It is his method of translating familiar territory on to canvas that imparts an individual characteristic to his work. His paintings do not scream for attention and have little to offer to the casual, hurried viewer. But for the patient observer, they are an enriching experience.
Lives and works in Bhopal.
Select Solo Exhibitions
2007 Algebra of Eros, Bodhi Art, Singapore
2006 Gorbio, France
2005 8301 River Road MD, Washington
Roop Ekadash, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
2004 Turbulent, Time and Space Gallery, Bangalore
2003 Warm Bodies, Apparao Galleries, Chennai
2002 Colour Signs on Void, Alliance Françoise de Bhopal
2000 Kagaj, GIFAEX, Indore Alliance Françoise de Hyderabad, Hyderabad
1999 Not only Papers, Art Indus, New Delhi
1998 Pastels, Art Indus Gallery, New Delhi
1997 Easel Art Gallery, Chennai Arts Studio, Indore Benarasm, ABC Art Gallery, Benaras
1996 By Art incorporated, New Delhi
1994 Deolalikar Art Gallery, Indore
1992 Visual Script, Etcetra, Mumbai
1990 Chitrakoot Gallery, Kolkata Sakshi Gallery, Chennai Chemould Gallery, Mumbai
1989 Deolalikar Art Gallery, Indore
1988 Deolalikar Art Gallery, Indore Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
1986 M.P. Kala Parishad, Bhopal Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai