Vasudevan Akkitham was born in 1958 in Kumaranallur, Kerala. He studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University in Baroda, where he completed both his diploma and post diploma. In 1988, he went on to pursue his MA from the Royal College of Art in London. His paintings create an imagined world, often resembling fragments of a dream, inspired by memories of his childhood in his hometown. His canvases feel like carefully staged scenes, where people and animals appear alongside everyday objects, creating a sense of calm mystery.

Vasudevan’s oeuvre often tells quiet, thoughtful stories about the connection between people and nature and how we see ourselves in the world. His paintings feature humans and animals placed in simple rooms or natural settings, almost like scenes remembered from long ago. The colours and compositions seem gentle at first, but there's a quiet complexity to them, something slightly out of place, as if the characters don’t fully belong in their surroundings. While his art might appear to deal with social themes, it's less about real-life detail and more about mood, emotion, and a sense of poetry.

The artist has held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in many group shows over the years. Notable among them are a 1993 exhibition in Faridabad held to support earthquake victims, and the Gadya Parr exhibition at Gallery Chemould in Bombay in 1989. His works are included in several respected collections, such as the Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi, the Madhavan Nair Museum in Cochin, and the Chester Herwitz Family Trust Collection in the United States.