User:JohnyML/sandbox

JohnyML- a brief bio-sketch

Born in Vakkom, a village in Trivandrum, Kerala, JohnyML obtained a masters degree in English Language and Literature from the HH Maharaja’s College (University College), University of Kerala in 1992. He went on to pursue another masters degree in Art History and Criticism in the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S.University, Baroda. Later he was awarded with Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarship to do a post graduation in Creative Curating at the Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK. He has been curating shows since 1997 and has been quite active in art criticism in Delhi. He was a contributing columnist to Hindustan Times, Indian Express and the Hindu Business Line. He was a special correspondent with the www.tehelka.com.

In 2005 JohnyML Initiated www.mattersofart.com, India’s first online magazine on art. Later in 2006, he started www.artconcerns.com. He has worked as a guest editor in Art Etc. Magazine published from Kolkata. He was the editor of Art and Deal. Also he was the Project Director of the United Art Fair 2012.

JohnyML has curated more than forty shows. Expressions at Tihar, Video Wednesdays at Gallery Espace, Freedom to March, If I were a Saint, A4 Arple, Paper Flute, The People, Twilight Zone of Great Indian Digital Divide, Fibre Glass, New Gujarat Contemporaries, Vibrant Gujarat Mural Project are some of his projects. He was an advisor to the India Art Festival, Mumbai.

JohnyML has been invited to give lectures in most of the eminent institutions in India. He is a visiting Professor at the National Institute of Design and CEPT in Ahmedabad. Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademy, Kerala Lalit Kala Akademy and several other public and private institutions invite him to give lectures in Art History.

As a well known scholar, JohnyML has written a few books that include the monographs on K.S.Radhakrishnan, B.D.Dethan and C.N.Karunakaran. His selected essays have been collected and published by Kerala Lalit Kala Akademy under the title, ‘By All Means Necessary’. His study on bronze sculptures has been published by Uttarayan Foundation, Baroda. He also written a book on Ramkinkar Baij, titled, ‘Straight from Life’. He was the assistant curator of the Ramkinkar Baij Retrospective at the National Gallery of Modern Art, curated by noted sculptor, K.S.Radhakrishnan.

JohnyML has directed three documentaries on Jeram Patel, N.N.Rimzon and Sanjeev Sinha. He is a contributing columnist in ‘Vibrant Keralam,’ an international magazine for non resident Indians edited by Sabin Iqbal. JohnyML is an active blogger and he could be seen blogging at johnyml.blogspot.com. He translates international literature into Malayalam for the major publishing house, DC Books, Kerala. He has translated the works of Orhan Pamuk, Paulo Coelho, Sandor Marai, Philip Roth, Roberto Bolano and Anita Nair.