When Swaminathan’s art took the Indian StartUp Ecosystem with a storm!

Selling an artwork or two is always a special moment for an artist who brings life into a blank canvas with his heart, soul and time. It's difficult to gauge just how magnificent and excited they feel to know that another human loved their piece of art just as much as they do. Now imagine this profound feeling multiplied manifold! How exuberant a feeling would it be for an artist to sell 7 artworks all at once! 

It's inconceivable as much as it is rare. But Swaminathan Manivannan is known for achieving all things rare and magical. While this is yet another milestone in Swaminathan’s years old journey as an artist, it is certainly not a first! 

A true yogi in his nature, when asked about how he felt about selling 7 artworks all at once, Swami succinctly answered, “Super!”

Watch his happy reaction along with his mother's heartfelt speech here. 

Swaminathan Manivannan resides in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. After getting diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, he joined the popular institute, Vidyasagar at the tender age of 8. His natural flair for art and colors was as evident as the daylight and was instantly grasped by his parents and his school mentor alike. Initially he started drawing patterns and pictures for three letter words. Every day, after returning from  school, he used to draw the portraits of our great leaders. He did all of this with a lot of passion. And never took his pen off without completing the work. That’s when all the people around him joined forces to help him evolve, practice and develop his painting and coloring skills better. 

And it was no wonder that Swaminathan entered his state of flow and frankly never left there. 

Through his years of recreating images in his own unique perspective, he became one of the best line artist there is. As his artworks gained popularity, they started appearing on logos, calendars, and as paintings at corporate offices and in corporate brochures. The paintings that hang on the walls of Ashok Leyland's new corporate office at Guindy, Chennai were done by Swami and some other students of Vidyasagar, under the able guidance of Artist Jacob Jebaraj from the Cholamandal artist's village.

Aptly following this same pattern of getting bigger and better with time, Swaminathan sold 7 artworks to our art patrons Gokul, Sanjana and Jayadev. These artworks have proudly reached some of the biggest names in the Indian Startup Ecosystem including CXOs, Founders and Investment Bankers. 

Upon gifting these incredible pieces of art to all their dear and loved ones, Sanjana and Jayadev said that, “Art is for us a way to celebrate something meaningful and beautiful in our everyday life. All the art in our home and life tells the story of beauty and grit. Nothing embodies that more than Swaminathan’s work and the work of all the artists on Atypical Advantage.”
 

The true beauty of how passionately these paintings were done by Swaminathan, how zealously they were picked by Gokul, Sanjana and Jayadev and how serendipitously they ended up adorning the homes of the biggest names in India, is something that moves us and awes us at the same time.

When asked about what attracted her to purchase so many of Swami’s art pieces at once, Sanjana responded, “There is a unique style, relatable subject and beautiful execution unlike anything we have seen before. Each piece moved us in ways we cannot explain and brought us joy and happiness.”

And Just like Swaminathan’s journey starting from being an artist with autism in search of the right kind of opportunities for displaying his magic to being a full force of art in himself, we at Atypical Advantage have the privilege of witnessing numerous stories of artists with disabilities beautifully transforming into their best self and that drives us to always do the best, come what may. 
 

Whether its by executing one of their kind art exhibitions, bagging some of the most reputed hospitals in the country for displaying atypical art or by helping individual artists with disabilities making big sales, we are ecstatic to see our good intentions gather mass and start snowballing in a serendipitous speed. And while so many incredible things are happening all around us, the news of an artist selling one, two or even seven artworks from our website is always just as special and meaningful.