Venkat, has been painting since the young age of seven. Through his artistic journey of three decades, Venkat has integrated both modern and traditional stylistic influences in his work. He believes an artist must bring a certain freshness to the time honoured themes. “When one looks at my paintings, one must feel they are traditional but at the same time, there has to be a contemporary elements in them,” he says.
Venkat has exhibited extensively within India, as well as internationally (Canada, USA, Europe). He has participated in numerous workshops and symposiums to promote the Gond art form. He was awarded the Rajya Hasta Shilpa Puraskar by the Madhya Pradesh Government in 2002. Venkat has received the Karigar Sanskriti Award (West Bengal, 2010). He was also the coordinator for an animated film of a Gond folktale, made by Tara Douglas, which won an award in the Tallest Story Competition in Scotland.