Thota Vaikuntam hails from Andhra Pradesh, in South India, and finds his inspiration in the rural areas of the state. Men and women of his village are often the central characters of his work. Thota Vaikuntam completed his Bachelor’s degree in Art at the College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad, and his Master’s from M.S. University, Baroda. He has received multiple awards, including the Bharat Bhavan Biennale Award. Telangana women, in particular, are frequent subjects for his works.

Vaikuntam’s art has a sense of strength to it, a power that emanates from the paint or charcoal that he applies to the surface, from his controlled lines, and from the fine strokes that he executes. He generally uses only primary colors, as he believes that composite colors do not exist in nature and are, therefore, unnatural.