suresh babu maddilety

Biography

Suresh Babu Maddilety (b. in 1971, in Medukurthi/India) is a multidisciplinary artist working with video art, paintings, and installations. He graduated from the College of Fine Arts in Hyderabad and received an MFA from the University of Hyderabad in 1998.

In his practice, he combines science and philosophy into visual manifestations using digital media, text, photography, paint, found images and trivial objects. He draws inspiration from the inherent qualities of different elements, the interplay between continuity and change, recurring conditions, where every decay becomes new life, the patterns that link all things, and how even the smallest changes contribute to a larger whole, and how all these procedures constitute our world and the universe around us, marked by their transient yet ever-evolving nature.

His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, earning him top honour at the 47th All India Art Exhibition by the Hyderabad Art Society in 1988. He is the finalist in;  Goes: Art, On Screen Festival (2024), The Ars Electronica (2021), Mellow Art Award (2021), Art Slant Prize (2018), Arte Laguna Prize (2015) among others. He is currently based in Hyderabad.

Artist Statement

I combine science and philosophy into visual manifestations using digital media, text, photography, painting, found images and trivial objects.

I am fascinated by how things change over time in a cyclical nature, such as how things transform in the cycles of seasons or from seed to tree and vice versa. I use art to explore these ideas and I think of my art like a puzzle. I am always searching for connections between different ideas and materials. I believe that everything is connected and constantly changing.

My art practice is rooted in the theory of Conformal Cyclic Cosmology (CCC), as conceived by physicist Sir Roger Penrose. This cyclical view of the universe challenges the linear narrative of the Big Bang, proposing an endless cycle of beginnings and endings, my practice aligns with the universe’s infinite cycle of beginnings and endings. I view my work as an ongoing project, part of a larger task within artistic discourse and practice.

My methods combine focus, spontaneity, and exploration through experimentation and observation. I blend materials in video art with care, embracing chance. My art reflects how even the smallest things, like atoms, are part of a bigger picture. I consider the image a visual depiction of atoms. Using various techniques, such as digital collage, new media, and traditional painting, I playfully transform the fundamental elements of matter and the cosmos—atoms and galaxies—into recognizable figures, objects, and landscapes. By viewing all materials as atoms, I explore how mediums naturally change over time. I keep my art pieces to embody the seed of never-ending transformation.

I view my art as ongoing experiments, not finished products. I am driven by the perpetual cycle of matter’s evolution, continuously moving forward into the future. My aim is to spark curiosity and inspire others to explore.

Artwork Descriptions

1.  Social Liquids

2. Universe Constructivism

3.  Microscopicism

4. Pronouncism

5. Found the Space for Art

6. Man-made objective art

“Socia Liquids” is an ongoing video art series comprising 11 works created between 2015 and 2024, each around 10 minutes long and available on YouTube. Maddilety explores the concept of combining diverse substances—ranging from municipal water to dog faeces —to create new materials, capturing his spontaneous interactions with these elements in each video. Inspired by material transformations, Maddilety dissects cultural meanings associated with social commodities, viewing substance blending as an art form. He invites viewers to reflect on the fluidity of existence and limitless potential for creation.

“Universe Constructivism” (2023) by Suresh Babu Maddilety is a digital media artwork series that transforms NASA galaxy photos into new visual narratives using New Media techniques and Photoshop. The series features pieces like “Universe Constructivism 01,” depicting a house, and “Universe Constructivism 02,” showcasing a mountain and lake landscape, all crafted from galaxy images.

Inspired by the Land Art movement, Maddilety arranges galaxies as his building blocks, creating intricate, cosmic compositions. His work envisions a Galaxy Art movement where artists use galaxies instead of land, pushing creative boundaries into the cosmos. These artworks evoke cosmic grandeur, inviting viewers to marvel at the universe’s splendor and contemplate future scientific and artistic possibilities. Maddilety’s meticulous process, involving mining and arranging galaxy images, reflects the laborious nature of shaping landscapes in Land Art, showcasing his dedication and the intricate details of his creations.

“Microscopicism” is a research-based conceptual project. The starting point was the question of how to conceive a traditional still-life study within the microscopic world of an actual atom, challenging stereotypical connections between reality and tangibility.

“Microscopicism” explores the unseen material world around us. Scientists deal with these mediums to understand how our universe, ecosystems, and bodies function. Maddilety approaches the same topic, but his departure point is the visual representation of microscopic objects, allowing us to view and manipulate these elements for art with the naked eye. While scientists must be pragmatic and maintain a rigid systematic procedure, he allows himself to employ a more creative and insightful process to examine similar hypotheses.

Microscopicism is a way to describe the minutest qualities in the universe in a manner that makes processes, like photosynthesis and cell cycles, visible to the naked eye. He hopes that in the future artists will be able to visualize these phenomena for everyone to see in plain view.

“Pronouncism” is a video artwork that combines audio, video, and text elements. In the video, we hear an AI software’s voice pronouncing made-up words typed by the artist. Using the Telugu alphabet, native to Andhra Pradesh in South India and Maddilety’s mother tongue, the artist randomly typed letters, allowing the software to vocalise them. The resulting words are absurd.

“Pronouncism” opens up a discussion on our unique routes of thought and how we use our languages, challenging the significance of pronunciation and questioning the meaning we assign to specific sounds and words. Inspired by text art, Suresh explores the concept of using linguistic elements, asking why we use words from language in text art but not the pronouns from abstract words.

“Art in the Moon” and “Art in the sun” are a video art created using Windows 3D software, part of the series “Found the Space for Art.” This series explores the concept of creating art within found objects, such as rocks, mountains, the Sun, the Galaxy or even the human body. In this video, the Moon and sun serves as the backdrop. Maddilety embed art within physical matter, and unexpected places like mountains, celestial objects as a form of artists’ experimentation. The drawing itself is not significant; rather, it is the exploration and potential of these new spaces that matter. 

Inspired by the idea of an empty canvas, Madilety visualizes new spaces for artistic experimentation, questioning and challenging traditional surfaces and visual representation processes. He questions the conventional use of surfaces like canvas, likening his approach to graffiti artists who seek unexpected locations. However, Madilety goes further by proposing experimental and innovative techniques to embed his art within found objects. His work takes viewers on a journey through his interest in the future, philosophy and science. 

“Man-made objective art” is a series of 30 colourful and bright paintings on square canvases, created between 2019 and 2023.  Inspired by the philosophy of “materialism” where abstract matter is primary, and nature and man-made objects are secondary, Maddilety’s “Man-made objective art” redefines creations.

If we go in-depth about materialism, the primary matter is built by atoms. Maddilety’s concept of “Man-made objective art” redefines creation, envisioning man-made objects as fundamental units akin to atoms. In his art, he reverses natural processes, crafting trees from tables and vines from wine drops. He believes these paintings are like drafts, and in the future, they will be brought to life through quantum technology or nature will bring them to life on its own.

CV

SURESH BABU MADDILETY
Born 1971, Medukurthi, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Lives and works in Hyderabad.
https://artsted.com/profile/portfolio

EDUCATION:
Graduation: 1986-1992; B.F.A J.N.T.U. College of fine arts, Hyderabad.
Post-Graduation: 1996-1998; M.F.A University of Hyderabad.

FINALIST:
NEULAND Gallery video screening in Bochum, 2024-Germany.
U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad on India-US Space Cooperation contest 2024
Special prize winner, Mellow Art Award 2021
For video work in IAR International Artist Residency 2020- Napoli (Italy).
For installation work in YICCA Art contest 2017/2018 – Milan (Italy).
1st 2018 Art Slant Prize juried winner, USA.
For installation work in YICCA Art contest 2017- Rome (Italy).
For installation work in Art Laguna Prize 2015- Venice (Italy).
For installation work in Premio Combat Prize2015- Livorno (Italy).

SELECTED FOR ART FESTIVALS:
Goes:Art, On Screen festival 2024, Vienna, Austria.
The Ars Electronica Festival 2021, Austria.
Festival DeSidera, Italy.

ARTISTS SELECTION FIRST PHASE:
Air Land 3.0 INSIDE LAND organized by the Quasi Quadro association, 2020, Turin (Italy).

AWARDS:
47th All India Art exhibition by the Hyderabad art society, 1988.

ONE MAN SHOW:
On 13th Sep 1998, at C.I.E.F.L, Hyderabad.

GROUP SHOWS:
MOTILE ART the 4th International Online Art Exhibition 2024, India.
CISTA ARTS online group show Metamorphosis: Exploring Transformation Through Art, online group show 2024, London.
ICAC art gallery group show, 2022, Ahmedabad, India.
Round Lemon international online show2021- UK
PITCH collective video mapping, 2021- Russia
Finalists Exhibition -YICCA Art contest 2017/18- Milan (Italy).
Finalists Exhibition – YICCA Art contest 2017/- Rome (Italy).
Finalists Exhibition – Art Laguna Prize 2015 -Venice (Italy).
Finalists Exhibition – Premio Combat Prize 2015- Livorno (Italy).
International Gallery Of The Arts (IGOA). online exhibition 2017.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCY:
Artist Residency Programme By Kerala Lalit Kala Academy, 2017, India.

PUBLICATION:
Abirpothi, India’s only daily art newspaper, 09/10/2024, 2024.
Artists of the Month, October 2021, Wendy.network.
Artist profiles, May 1918, ArtSlant.
Wotisart Magazine,12th August 2017.
ART Habens, 1916.

EXHIBITION PARTICIPATION:
J.N.T.U. College of Fine Arts Annual Exhibitions;
1988,1989,1990,1991.
All India Art Exhibitions, The Hyderabad Art Society;1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994.
P.S. Telugu University Exhibition of Art, Hyderabad; 1997.

ARTIST CAMPS: Andhra Pradesh Young Artists Camp by A.P. Govt., 1997,1998,1999,2000