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Contact About Karpagam Elangovan
Karpagam Elangovan, also known as Madhana, is a fourth-generation Thanjavur painter from Tamil Nadu, India, hailing from the lineage of Shri Kumaraswamy and Shri Ramaswamy, famous gilders of Indian temples. While Thanjavur paintings are her main interest, she also works with other traditional Indian art forms, such as Mysore paintings, Kerela murals, Madhubani, Kalamkari, and Warli folk arts. Her mediums include poster colors, watercolors, gauche, and acrylics. She also works with clay to create images of Indian gods for Hindu festivals here in the US. Her workshop is in Herndon, Virginia.
The Fisherwomen of Chennai, or Jaws
- 2022
- Herndon, VA
- Canvas, Acrylic
Description: VA-resident artist Karpagam Elangovan describes the Fisherwoman of Chennai as an attempt to capture the daily life and struggle of fisherwomen who work along the coast of Chennai, selling their catch. The shark the woman is carrying symbolizes the “real” sharks these women face – the loan sharks or debt collectors who exploit high-interest money loans to these fisherwomen. These women must pay their debt collectors daily or go further into debt. The artist asks us to remember the life of these women, and how they carry their “life’s burden on their heads”.
A Pair of Fish
- 2022
- Herndon, VA
- Canvas, Acrylic, Paper, Poster Colors
A Pair of Fish is done in a style of Indian painting known as Madhubani folk art, traditionally created by the women of various communities in the Mithila region of India, located in Bihar. Madhubani paintings mostly depict people and natural objects like the sun, the moon, and religious plants or animals. This painting depicts a pair of fish, and fish have a special significance in Hinduism, as the first incarnation of Vishnu on Earth. According to legend, Vishnu, as a fish, guided the only human survivor to safety after the Great Flood.
