Devu Nenmara

Devu Nenmara is a painter, born in 1963 in Nenmara, Kerala. Hailing from a traditional weaver family, she grew up with an instinct for colours, shapes and patterns. Though she worked as a labourer throughout her life, she started painting during the Covid period, when confined to her home. With the materials provided by her artist son Unnikrishnan, her experiments with painting began.

Her early works were gouache drawings of trees, animals and lush terrains on art paper. Soon, she moved to acrylic colours, as each colour mixed with that of earth. Her paintings depict flora and fauna, festivities and rituals, labour and seasonal changes rooted in her village. Her canvases are dense with dotted, rhythmic patterns, drawn from an intimate connection with nature.

Devu Nenmara’s group exhibitions include Flowering Trees and 'Vining-Wands', a story of Two Women, their Art, Memories and Labour by artists, Madhavi and Devu Nenmara, Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi, 2025; 52nd state Exhibition of Art & Award Kerala Lalitkala Akademi, 2025; Karu group exhibition, Gallery Neighbour, Thiruvananthapuram, 2025; Me, Amma, we by Devu Nenmara and Unnikrishnan C, presented by Gallery Sumukha, 2024.

Devu Nenmara lives and works in Nenmara.