Akkitham Narayanan is a Paris-based Indian painter from Kerela. He studied art at the Madras College of Art and Craft under the tutelage of the noted painter K.C.S.Panicker where his art philosophy was truly shaped.
With a predisposition towards the purity of geometry, he creates a fusion of Indian tantric art and European geometric art. He oversees the picture plane with a classification of space through lines, angles, squares, rectangles, and so on. He creates the feeling of light by applying a thin coat of oil paint on the canvas and then erasing it. Using this technique to blend the colors, he creates an illusion of watercolors and perhaps also retains the texture of the canvas. The color settles in the weave and lends the painting its texture. The technique thus lends a three-dimensional feel to the work. To break the monotony, he uses a knife to carve or draw lines and write out from the scriptures while the paint is still wet. The blending of triangles and rectangles has a lyrical, emotive touch. His colors come from the mural paintings that had inspired him during his childhood days. The color black that he uses on the canvases too reminds one of ancient Indian wall paintings and murals.
Narayanan received the state award of the Lalit Kala Academy. He was also honored by the Raja Ravi Varma award. Narayanan's paintings are on display at various museums and galleries in many countries such as India, France, Japan, Poland and Germany. The artist lives in Paris.