M Suriyamoorthy

Background

M Suriyamoorthy trained at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai, and went on to become a State Lalit Kala Akademi scholar and a National Scholar at the M.S. University, Baroda. He received a Senior Fellowship from the Department of Culture, Government of India, and has been recognised with more than 47 national and international awards over his career.

He is associated with the Madras Group, the circle of artists who developed under the guidance of K.C.S. Paniker and who shaped the wider Madras Art Movement and the Cholamandal Artists' Village. His paintings are held in various museums and fine arts academies, including the Tamil Nadu archaeological department's collection.

Style

Suriyamoorthy's work is known for its regional and folk imagery, drawing on traditional South Indian sources such as temple murals, kolam floor patterns, and textile motifs. His compositions often use tightly interlocking geometric divisions filled with scenes of daily life, ritual, and deities — with female figures, from goddesses to housewives, appearing frequently throughout his work.

He is especially known for an unconventional approach to materials: preparing many of his own pigments from natural sources such as ground seashells, tree bark and gum, and holy river waters, a practice he developed after his father's Siddha medicine practice closed. His output spans oil, acrylic, watercolour, pastel, and ink across paper and canvas.

At Art Le Stay

Several of M Suriyamoorthy's paintings are part of our on-site collection. You can view them, with sizes and indicative pricing, on our Art Gallery page.