Yusuf Arakkal

Yusuf Arakkal (1945 – 2016) was born in Chavakkad, Kerala, and spent his youth in Bengaluru. He studied painting at
Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath and specialised in graphic printmaking at The National Academy Community Studios,
Garhi, New Delhi. His practice included murals, printmaking, sculptures, and writing. Preoccupied with the human
condition, urban loneliness, poverty, and struggle, his work is poignant and critical of the state of society.

 Among several awards, he won the Lalit Kala Award in 1979 and 1981, and in 2005, he won the Lorenzo-De-Medici Gold
medal at 5th Florence International Biennale of Contemporary Art, Italy, as well as Varnashilpi Venkatappa Award, the
highest award given by the Government of Karnataka for art.