ViniV

The fingers behind Dexterism, an avant-garde art movement 

One could attribute this exciting take on life to Vini Venugopal’s fantastic journey so far. From starting out by helping a toddler with an artwork to finger painting a portrait of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, which was presented to the palace, Vini has carved her niche in the world of art within a short span.

Her latest exhibition, DEXTERISM, was held at the Naila Art Gallery, Riyadh, in 2020. The art show was a breathtaking amalgamation of Middle-Eastern culture, values, tradition and geographical landscapes. The event had the full backing of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which encouraged Vini to depict the true beauty of the nation through her fingers. Twenty-nine of her paintings were exhibited in honour of His Excellency Dr Ausaf Sayeed, the Ambassador of India to the KSA. The paintings were all done using oil paints, and a few of them were even reminiscent of Indian landscapes, which can be perceived as Vini’s way of staying true to her roots. One of her more popular and challenging works is considered to be the one she did of His Royal Highness The Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2019. Having never been to the palace, getting the background and the floor right was the hardest part for Vini. She had to conjure one up using the pictures and movies she had seen. But, she managed to produce a magnificent piece of work without compromising on the authenticity one bit.

An unconventional artist who needs nothing but her fingers, some colours and a vivid imagination to breathe life into a blank canvas, this Thrissur (India) native, who currently resides in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, discovered her love for art at the age of three. Always one with a sharp eye for colours and designs, she has experimented with different mediums like oil, acrylic, watercolour, pen and ink, and pastels. After completing her graduation from Bangalore University, she decided to pursue art as a profession. However, despite being a professional painter, it’s her tryst with a toddler that sparked Dexterism (finger painting), an avant-garde art movement she is pioneering at present. To help the kid, she practiced acrylic painting with her fingers. Her experiment received rave reviews, which pushed Vini to endorse the technique. Today, finger painting has become her signature style.

Dexterism

Progress is not inevitable. It’s up to us to create it. With this mantra in mind, Vini proudly calls her unique style an art movement called Dexterism, which uses fingers and not brushes to dream up aesthetic illustrations. Using her fingers helps Vini bring out the depth of the colours and the minutest of details beautifully on the canvas. She also hopes that more enthusiasts will back her in furthering the movement. 

To her, painting is synonymous with the unparalleled freedom of self-expression and a reflection of her emotions. Vini, through her works, wants to make thinking-out-of-the-box come easy to people, as it does for her. She firmly believes that creativity knows no bounds, and breaking convention is the first step to expanding one’s artistic horizon. Her works have shades of the all-time greats, including Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci and even Raja Ravi Varma.

Vini has been featured in art exhibitions across the world, starting from 2012. Her first-ever exhibition, Penart, a series dedicated to artworks made using pen and paper, was held at Lalithakala Academy in Thrissur, Kerala, India. It was in her second art show in the same venue that the magic of finger painting was introduced to the world. 

All said, when asked which among her works is her favourite, pat comes her reply, “Gehan’s Spa.” This canvas depicts a snapshot of a memory of her son dangling his feet in the pond while small fishes tickle his toes back home in Palakkad.

To all those aspiring artists bound by convention, Vini has a piece of wisdom, “Nobody can use up all their creativity. The more we use, the more we find. An artist depicts their passion for everything in the world and beyond to enthral the audience beyond their wildest expectations. Painting, for me, does that. And there is no reason it shouldn’t do the same for you.”