Born in Kerala, V.Viswanadhan was a student of K.C.S. Panniker at Govt. School of Arts and Crafts, Madras. He is also the founding member of Cholamandal Artists' Village, Madras. The artist has been living and working in Paris since 1968.

Viswanadhan’s Indian-ness is evident in the use of vibrant colours and in the meditative quality of his paintings. He uses casein as a medium which lends his abstract paintings with a depth is aided by a limited palette of  basic earth colours of Indian red, green, yellow and ochre. His origins as well as the vitality of India continue to inspire his work though he lives in Paris.

 In 1964, he received the National award by the Madras State Lalit Kala Akademi and in 1968 by the Kerala State Lalit Kala Akademi. He has participated in the 1967 Biennale at Paris and the 1975 Triennale at New Delhi. He has had solo exhibitions of his work in Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta as well as in Paris. He has participated in several international exhibitions including the Contemporary Indian Art, Exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum and Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. in 1982, Tantra, Aspect of Indian Contemporary Art, Institute for foreign Arts, Stuttgart in1983, the 15th International Art Exhibition, Tokyo in 1984 , Sand and Water, solo show at Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris in 1985. Viswanadhan has made three films based on the elements Sand (1982), Water/Ganga (1985 )and Agni/Fire (1989). 

Viswanadhan lives and works in Paris.