Babu Eshwar Prasad (b. 1968, Hassan, Karnataka) came to Bangalore as a 12-year-old from his village, to discover that “every street was a source of thrill”. He completed BFA (Painting) from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat, Bangalore and MFA (Graphics) from M.S.University, Baroda.
His first solo show of paintings, “The Midnight Sun” (Sakshi Gallery, Bangalore, 1996) was followed by “Still Lifes of Emptiness” (Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat, Bangalore / 1999) and “Smiles and Shadows” (Sakshi Gallery, Bangalore / Bombay / 2002).”Time past, Time present, Time to come” (Bodhi Art, Mumbai/2007) Since then, he has participated in several group / curated shows in Bangalore, Baroda, Bombay, Chennai, Lucknow and New Delhi.
Babu was a recipient of Junior Fellowship and National Scholarship, Ministry of HRD, Government of India, and Karnataka Lalit Kala Academi award, among others. His works have featured in National Gallery of Modern Art, Karnataka Lalit Kala Academi, and several other public and private collections in India and abroad.
Babu’s other interests include sculpting, video art and conducting workshops for art students. His video film, “Notes from my Diary” was made as part of Max Mueller Bhavan’s video workshop with German artist, Norbert Meissner. His other videos “Splice” and “Dus ka bees” have been screened at several venues / festivals including Arad Biennele (Romania) and SAVAC (South Asian Visual Arts Collective), Toronto. Babu created a time-specific installation at KHOJ International Artists’ Workshop in Mysore in 2002, and participated in several other collaborative projects.
Babu lives and works in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.