Ratheesh T. (b. 1980) is a Trivandrum-based painter whose practice draws on observations, experiences and the layered histories of his environment. Working primarily in large-scale oil painting, he creates meticulously detailed scenes where people, animals, objects, and landscapes intersect, turning familiar moments into allegories of conflict, belonging, and coexistence. His compositions blend realism with dreamlike symbolism, reflecting sociopolitical tensions alongside intimate familial relationships. Trained at the College of Fine Arts, Trivandrum, Ratheesh has become a distinctive voice in contemporary Indian painting. His recurring portraits and dense landscapes function as visual chronicles of lived experience and community.
Ratheesh T.’s work emerges from a sharp awareness of social fractures and political anxieties in contemporary India. His paintings trace how Brahminism patriarchy, long woven into the social fabric, now manifests openly through religious communalism. Across his canvases, figures adapt and endure, wearing whatever costume survival demands. They may be migrant workers, mythological archetypes, or ordinary citizens navigating the churn of history, carrying memories and everyday improvisations.
Events such as Kerala’s devastating floods in 2018 revealed solidarities beyond caste and religion, while the Covid-19 pandemic exposed how a society divided by religious, social, economic, and political differences struggled to sustain basic human values. Ratheesh finds in these moments both tragedy and revelation. In the breakdown of systems emerges an ethos of care. Through irony and tenderness, his work illuminates the fragile interdependence of nature, society and politics.
Image: Ratheesh T., The Indian garden with unknown flowers (2025). Oil on linen. 549 x 305 cm triptych, 182 cm x 305 cm each. Courtesy of Galerie Mirchandani+Steinruecke. Installation view of Amphibian Aesthetics at the Ishara House, Kochi, Kerala, 2025-26. Photography by Biju Ibrahim
