Born in Kerala in 1960, he has a BFA in Painting from the College of Fine Arts in Trivandrum apart from a Post Diploma in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University, Baroda A rather long hiatus in his painting career (1991-1997) was followed by a stint as a set designer for a TV channel

During the 1980s, Jyothi Basu created portraits of his acquaintances, coworkers and even self-portraits A seated figure is depicted reading in concentration in Chittrabanu's 1983 charcoal drawing Yohannan (1986) emphasises the silhouette of another seated figure by varying the outline's weight

Later, the artist started focusing his style which emphasised themes of death and resurrection in his works His work ranges from charcoal and pastels on paper to oil on canvas, highlighting the capacity of the individual to get over their own hurdles and learn to face new ones head-on rather than stooping in front of them The isolated and bent trees appear to underline this, and the landscapes show the vital path that one needs to take

 

His first solo exhibition ‘Healing Properties: VN Jyothi Basu’s Landscapes of the Self’ by The Fine Art Resource at Artists’ Center, Mumbai in 2003 provided him with a breakthrough as an artist He has participated in shows like 'Anticipations' by Jehangir art gallery (2004); 'Bombay x 17' by Bose Krishnamachari; 'Painters with Fishermen'(Trivandrum), and 'Questions & Dialogue' by Radical group (1986) among others His works point to a futuristic reality - partly palpable, partly virtual – as for him, the painting is an anthology of details that needs to be read and decoded 

 

Jyothi Basu lives and works in Mumbai