Badri Narayan

Storytelling comes naturally to me, I have loved telling stories since my childhood. 

Born in July 1929 in Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, self-taught artist Badri Narayan has been painting for over 45 years. During this time, he has worked as an art teacher and artist but has always been a deeply introspective individual. This self-reflection and autobiographical perspective is the most consistent theme in Narayan's work. 

The artist's paintings are narrative, and titles such as Queen Khemsas's Hamsa Dream and Meeting in the Middle of the River are the starting points for unraveling the complexities presented by the paintings to interpret and understand them. Symbolism is a recurring feature of his works, although he sometimes uses popular icons of Indian culture such as Ganesha. He explains: "I have collected the images that are around me, that I was born into, and they come naturally to me." Narayan draws heavily on Indian mythology and metaphors and acknowledges the influence of the Indian tradition of miniature in his works. The artist believes in the two-dimensionality of painting and prefers to work in a smaller format, which he finds practical and suited to watercolors, which have been his preferred medium for several years. Narayan has also worked with etchings, woodcuts, and ceramics, and illustrated a few children's books. 

Narayan's first solo exhibition of paintings was held at the Hyderabad Art Society in 1954. Since then, he has had over fifty solo exhibitions, including several exhibitions at the Pundole Art Gallery, in Mumbai. He has also exhibited his work at Mon Art Gallerie, Kolkata, Sakshi Art Gallery, Bangalore, and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. 

Badri Narayan's work has also been featured in several group exhibitions, the most recent being The Root of Everything at Mementos Gallery, Bangalore, in 2009, Different Strokes presented by Tulika Arts at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007-08, Journey 2 at Art and Soul Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007, and Spectra at Gallerie Zen, Bangalore, in 2007. He has also participated in the Bharat Bhavan Biennial, Bhopal, in 1992, the 7th India Triennial, New Delhi, in 1991, the 1st and 2nd International Triennial, New Delhi, in 1968 and 1971 respectively, the 5th International Biennial of Prints, Tokyo, in 1966-67, and the 2nd International Biennial, Paris, in 1961.

Badri Narayan passed away on 23 September 2013.

BORN

July 22, 1929, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh

DIED

September 23, 2013, Bangalore

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

Self-Taught Artist

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2012 The Viewing Room, Mumbai

2007, 2008 Mon Art Gallerie, Kolkata

2006 Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai

2004 Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai

2002 Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai

2002 Gallerie 88, Kolkata

1999 Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai

1993 Pundole Art Gallery, Bombay

1991 Sakshi Gallery, Bengaluru

1985, 1986 University of North Dakota, USA

1964 Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay

1963 Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2012 Aqua, Gallery Beyond, Bombay

2010 Black is Beautiful, India Fine Art, Bombay

2009 Sacred and Secular, India Fine Art, Bombay

2009 The Root of Everything, Gallery Mementos, Bangalore

2007, 2008 Different Strokes, presented by Tulika Arts at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay

2007 Journey 2, a charity art exhibition for Passages, Gallery Art and Soul, Bombay

2007 Art for Concern, the annual charity auction 2007, Bombay

2007 Spectra, Gallerie Zen, Bangalore

2002 Legacy of Art, commemorating 50 years of Jehangir Art Gallery, Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay

1998 50 Years of Art in Bombay, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Bombay

1998 Jehangir Nicholson Collection, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Bombay, New Zealand Delhi

1997 Image Beyond Image, Glenbarra Museum traveling exhibition, Japan

1997 Japan Collection, New Delhi, Calcutta, Bangalore, Bombay

1996 Perspecta, organized by Gallery 88 at the Oberoi Hotel, New Delhi

1996 Contemporary Indian Painters, Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay

1990 Work of the Indo-German Artists Camp on War and Peace, Max Mueller Bhavan, Calcutta

1988 Art for CRY, Bombay, Calcutta, New Delhi, Bangalore

1985 Collectors Choice, Gallery Chemould, Bombay

1982 Indian Art Today, Darmstadt

1980 Four Indian Artists, Surya Galleries, Freinsheim

1979, 1980 Indian Art of the Present Day, Landau

1972, 1973 Indian Graphic Art, Warsaw and Paris

1972 25 Years of Indian Art, New Delhi

1971, 1972 Indian Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Kyoto, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, San Salvador

1966 75 Years of Painting in Western India, Bombay

1966 First Bombay Arts Festival, Bombay

1966 Current Art in India, Newcastle, Ghent

1965, 1966 Travelling Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art, East Africa, Nairobi, Kampala, Dar es Salaam

1965 Graphic Arts from the Five Continents, Leipzig

1964 International Graphic Arts, National Museum, Prague

1963 Vitrum Studio Exhibition, Galerie Vanier, Geneva

1963 Air India Art Exhibition, Perth

1962 Exhibition of Indian Artists, Moscow

1960 Exhibition of Indian Art, Villa Huegel, Essen

1957 First Exhibition of Asian Artists, Tokyo

1955 Exhibition of Indian Art, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia

1949 All-Indian Art Exhibition India, Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad

PARTICIPATIONS

2012 Small is Beautiful, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai

2012 Art for Humanity, Coomaraswamy Hall, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai

2011 Manifestations V, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi

2008 Moderns, Royal Cultural Centre, Amman, Jordan, organized by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, in collaboration with Embassy of India, Amman, Jordan

1992 Bharat Bhavan Biennale, Bhopal

1991 7th Triennial of India, New Delhi

1989 Centenary Exhibition, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

1987 Indian Art Exhibition, Festival of India, Moscow

1976 Contemporary Indian Art, 25th Pugwash Conference, Chennai

1971 2nd International Triennial, New Delhi

1968 Golden Jubilee Exhibition, Art Society of India, Mumbai

1968 1st International Triennial, New Delhi

1966, 1967 5th International Print Biennale, Tokyo

1961 2nd International Biennial, Paris

HONORS AND AWARDS

1990, 1991 Gaurav Puraskar, Government of Maharashtra State

1987 Padma Shri, Government of India

1984, 1986 Higher Fellowship for Outstanding Artists, Government of India, New Delhi

1968, 1969 Critics' Award, Artists' Centre, Bombay

1965 National Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1962, 65, 66, 67, 69,70 Lalit Kala Academy of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad

1962, 63, 66 All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi

1957, 58, 59, 70 Bombay Art Society, Bombay

1949, 54, 60, 62 Gold Medal, Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad