V.M. Raikar
 
Metal Mural Artist V.M. Raikar was born in the small temple town of Ankola in Uttara Kannada district of Karanataka , India.on the Konkan coast of India. Ever since his childhood days, Art was his prime obsession. He was fascinated with the rich art sculptures which adorned the hallowed portals of ancient Indian Temples.

In the ‘50s, Mumbai saw the emergence of the Progressive Artist Group which was instrumental for the rejuvenated contemporary art movement post independence. The six renowned founder members, namely, K.H.Ara, S.K.Bhakre, M.F.Hussain, H.A.Gade, S.H.Raza & F.N Souza were the role models who spurred Vinayak Raikar to plunge headlong in the pursuit of Fine Arts.

In 1955 he joined Sir J.J.School of Art , Bombay , which was the Mecca of Indian Art in those times. He successfully graduated with a Certificate course in Gold & Silver embossing in 1959 and went on to be awarded with Diploma in Fine Arts in the year 1961.

From 1961 to 1965 Vinayak Raikar joined the famous Vitrum studio as a Ceramic & Mosaic artist. He was fascinated with the ceramic paintings which were just catching up in India and this four years stint at the studio helped him to leverage his skilled craftsmanship. I also later paved the way for his recognition as a master craftsman with the All India Handicrafts Board, Bombay, India.

Though, an introvert like most artists, Vinayak Raikar loved teaching and made up his mind to take to teaching as a full time profession. He joined the Vocational School of Arts & Crafts in Dharwar, Karnataka (India) as a Director of Design. After a brief stint, he decided to take up a full time teaching assignment in India’s oldest public school, The Rajkumar College, Rajkot in the state of Gujarat (India). The quiet serene campus surrounding was just what he needed to devote ardently in the pursuit of metal mural art.

Coming from a family of goldsmiths, metal art was an inborn forte. There were very few contemporary Indian fine artists who practiced fine arts in the metal medium. Vinayak Raikar decided to foray in this particular discipline in spite of the arduous labour involved in metal art vis a vis canvas painting. As cited earlier, he was deeply influenced by the artistic motifs of Indian temple art, though at a later stage he did switch tracks to his own creative style. A majority of his collection is centered on the mystical and revered Indian diety – Ganesha – the elephant headed god from Hinduism. Nagas or the snake gods have also been his favourite mural subjects. All his works are masterpieces in its own and the ornate metal engraving & embossing and design are indeed a visual treat and surfaces out the master craftsman in him. He has also pursued abstract art in the metal medium. Most of his works are based on aluminum medium though he is equally adept at copper embossing. He loves to add an element of antiquity to his murals which can be seen with his colour composition & grain finished texture in all his works. He has to his credit some five one man shows in some of India’s prestigious Art galleries. His works have been picked up by renowned private art collectors & government institutions both in India & abroad.

He was equally proficient in canvas painting and went on to bag the first prize in Portrait painting at the annual Lalit Kala Akademi Art exhibition held in Bangalore in 1966. He is also an accomplished photographer after having completed a Diploma certificate course in practical photography from the British Institute , International Correspondence School, Mumbai (India).

He is now living a retired life in his home town Karwar, Karnataka after having spent some 30 odd years of his active life devoted to teaching Fine arts. He has been an inspiration to his students especially in the realms of metal mural art.
 
Date of Birth:    05 February 1928
 
Associations:
 
Awards:
Yes Karnataka state(India) award for best potrait painting.

Cash Prize for excellence in Art and Metal in the Second Art Exhibition of the Sir J.J. School of Arts & Crafts, Mumbai held in 1957.

First Prize for Art on Metal Work in the Third Art exhibition of Sir J.J. School of Arts and Crafts, Mumbai held in 1958.

Cash Prize for Metal Work in the Art Exhibition of Sir J.J. School of Arts & Crafts, Mumbai held at Sanskar Kendra Ahmedabad in 1959.

First Prize for oil Portrait painting at Lalit Kala Academy Art Exhibition held at Bangalore in 1966.
 
Commissions: Purchases made by some Govt. agencies including Air India and private individuals and institutions both in India and abroad.
 
Education:
Diploma in Fine Arts from Sir J.J. School of Arts and Crafts, Mumbai (India).

Govt. Scholarship (1959) for three years Diploma course in Metal Embossing with special reference to Gold and Silver work from Sir J.J. School of Arts & Crafts, Mumbai (India).

Diploma in Practical Photography from the British Institute, International Correspondence School, Mumbai (India).
 
Group Exhibitions: N/A
 
Solo Exhibitions:
First One Man Show at Kamalanayan Bajaj Art Gallery, Mumbai, India, on 05th May, 1980.

Second One Man show at Jehangir Art Gallery on 02nd November, 1982 at Mumbai, India.

Third One Man show at the Taj Art Gallery, Taj Hotel on 17th October, 1983 at Mumbai, India.

Fourth One Man show at the Taj Art Gallery, Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai, India on 9th June, 1986.