Krishen Khanna

Born in 1925 in what is now Faislabad, Pakistan, Krishen Khanna grew up in Lahore and studied art only after graduating from college in evening classes at the Mayo School of Art in that city. In 1947, Khanna's family moved to Shimla as a result of the Partition of India and Pakistan, and Khanna was deeply affected not only by the change in his personal life but also by the sociopolitical chaos that reigned around him. His early works are reproductions of the scenes that were indelibly imprinted on his memory during this period. 

The majority of Khanna's work is figurative; he chose not to explore the abstraction that most of his contemporaries delved into. In an interview with Saffronart, he said, Earlier I used to do abstractions and now I have moved on to human forms. I thought the person or the individual, the person in a particular situation who is influenced by the conditions around him, was being neglected. Now I want to highlight human beings caught in their particular condition. 

Bordering on the narrative, Khannas' work captures historical moments, as do the photographs, but the artist's technique is far from photographic realism. Khanna brings his observations to the canvas with spontaneity and exuberance, keeping the representative elements of his subject intact. The use of color and his expressionistic brushwork elevate the mundane to the level of creative challenge. 

Khanna, a largely self-taught artist, studied at the Imperial Service College, Windsor, England, graduating in 1940. After his family moved to India, a job at Grindlays Bank took him to Bombay, where he was invited to become a member of the now-famous Progressive Artists Group. The first exhibition featuring Khanna's works was one of this group's exhibitions held in 1949. In 1955, Khanna held his first solo exhibition at the USIS, Chennai, and has since been exhibiting his work widely in India and abroad. His solo exhibitions include Krishen Khanna Drawings & Paintings at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi in 2016, When the Band Begins to Play at Grosvenor Gallery, London in 2015, A Celebration of Lines at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai in 2013, Krishen Khanna A Retrospective presented by Saffronart, Mumbai at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in 2010, The Savage Heart at Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai in 2008, Krishen Khanna, Saffronart and Berkeley Square Gallery, London in 2005 and An Airing at Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai in 2004. His recent group exhibitions include Ideas of the Sublime presented by Vadehra Art Gallery at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in 2013, The Discerning Eye Modern Masters at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi in 2014 and The Art of Modernism presented by Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi in 2015. in 2013, and a Masterclass at Dhoomimal Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2011. 

In 1964, Khanna was an artist-in-residence at the American University in Washington, D.C. In 1965, he was awarded a fellowship by the Council on Economic and Cultural Affairs in New York, following on from a travel fellowship awarded three years earlier. In recognition of his immense contribution to Indian art, the Government of India has bestowed upon him several honors, including the Lalit Kala Ratna from the President of India in 2004 and the Padma Shri in 1990. 

Krishen Khanna lives and works in New Delhi.

BORN

July 5, 1925, Lyallpur, Punjab

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

Self-Taught Artist

1940 Imperial Service College, Windsor, England

Punjab University, Lahore

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2016 Krishen Khanna Drawings and paintings, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2015 When the band starts to play, Grosvenor Gallery, London

2013 A Celebration of Lines, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

2010 Krishen Khanna A Retrospective, presented by Saffronart, Mumbai at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

2008 The Savage Heart, Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai

2005 Saffronart and Berkeley Square Gallery, London

2004 An Airing Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai

2001 Kumar Art Gallery, New Delhi

2001 Saffronart and Pundole Art Gallery, New York

1995 Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

1994 Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

1991 Gallery Espace, New Delhi

1989 Centre for Contemporary Art, New Delhi. 

1986 Exhibition of drawings and paintings at the Sarla Art Centre, Chennai

1983 Exhibition of drawings, Garhi Studio, New Delhi

1980 Rabindra Bhavan, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1979 Dhoomimal Art Gallery, New Delhi

1975 Dhoomimal Art Gallery, New Delhi

1974 Black Partridge, New Delhi

1973 Pundole Gallery, Mumbai

1969 Photographs, Kunika-Chemould, New Delhi

1969 Experimental Photographs, Pundole Gallery, Mumbai

1966 Kumar Art Gallery, New Delhi

1965 Egan Gallery, New York

1964 Kumar Art Gallery, New Delhi

1964 Watkins Art Gallery, American University, Washington D.C. 

1962 Kunika Art Centre

1962 Leicester Galleries, London

1961 Ashoka Gallery, Calcutta

1961 Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

1960 Kumar Art Gallery, New Delhi

1960 Leicester Galleries, London

1959 Kumar Gallery, New Delhi

1958 Kumar Gallery, New Delhi

1957 All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi

1955 USIS, Chennai

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2013 Ideas of the Sublime, presented by Vadehra Art Gallery at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

2013 Edge of Reason and Beyond, into Pure Creation, presented by Indian Art Circle at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

2013 The Discerning Eye Modern Masters, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2012 Talking Heads, Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi

2011 The Art of Drawing, The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai

2011 Masterclass, Dhoomimal Art Gallery, New Delhi

2010, 2011 A Collection, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

2010 Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

2010 10 x 10, Gallery Threshold, New Delhi

2010 Black is Beautiful, India Fine Art, Mumbai

2010 Essential, Eclectic, Ephemeral, The Harrington Mansions, Kolkata

2009 Bharat Ratna! Jewels of Modern Indian Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

2009 Masterclass, The Arts Trust, Bombay

2009 Sacred and Secular, India Fine Art, Bombay

2009 Kalpana Figurative Art in India, presented by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at Aicon Gallery, London, The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) 

2008 Faces, Tao Art Gallery, Bombay

2008 Baisakh 08, Polka Art Gallery, New Delhi

2004 Concept and Form, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2003 Exhibition of Drawings, Pundole Art Gallery, Bombay

2003 Transition at UBS, London

2003 Of Memories, Dreams, Reverses, at Anant, New Delhi

2001 Living Legends of Indian Contemporary Art, Tao Art Gallery, Bombay

2001 In Conversations, Gallery Espace, New Delhi

2001 Indian Art Circle, Habitat Centre, New Delhi

2001 Saffronart and Pundole Art Gallery, New York

1999 Mahabharat, Gallery 7, Mumbai

1998 The Probing Eye, photography exhibition, Surendra Paul Art Gallery, New Delhi

1998 Drawings, Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai

1997 Tryst with Destiny, Art from Modern India

1947-1997, Singapore Art Museum, organized by Centre for International Modern Art (CIMA), Calcutta

1997 Six Modern Masters, Kumar Gallery, New Delhi

1996 Modern and Contemporary Indian Paintings, Sotheby's auction, London

1996 A Tree in my Life, Village Gallery, New Delhi

1996 The Moderns, inaugural exhibition, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai

1996 The Mahabharata, The Card Player and The Scribe, Kumar Gallery, New Delhi

1995 Indian Contemporary Paintings, Christie's auction, London 1995 Bombay, presented by RPG Enterprises

1995 River of Arte, Inaugural Exhibition, Arte Hoy

1994 Indian Drawing Today, All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), organized by Gallery Espace, New Delhi

1994 The Solids, the second Indian Drawing Biennale, exhibited as a guest special

1993 Reflections and Images, Vadhera and Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay

1992 Masters of Indian Art, Hotel Intercontinental, Bombay

1991 Remembering Kali Pundole, Pundole Art Gallery, Bombay

1991 Birla Academy of Art, Anniversary Exhibition, Calcutta

1991 Addressing Gandhi, traveling exhibition by Sahmat

1989 Timeless Art, Exhibition and Auction

1989 Sotheby's in Bombay

1989 Artists Alert, Sahmat exhibition and auction, New Delhi 

1984 Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery 7, Bombay

1982 Modern Indian Painters, Hirschhorn Museum, Washington D.C. 

1982 Contemporary Indian Art, Burlington House, London

1982 Myth and Reality, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, UK

1981 Inaugural Exhibition, Roopankar Museum, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal

1981 Indian Painting Today, Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay

1979 Modern Asian Art, Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan

1976 Picture Space, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1976 Indian Painting 1977, Chandigarh, organized by Black Partridge Gallery

1972 Art Now, Kunika Chemould, New Delhi

1972 A World Through Art, Ben and Abbey Grey Foundation, St. Paul, MN, USA

1971 Contemporary Indian Art, Renwick Gallery

1971 Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. C. 

1970 Art Now, Kunika Chemould, New Delhi

1969 Contemporary Art, Dialogue between East and West, Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan

1969 Indian Painters 69, Max Mueller Bhavan & Birla Academy, Calcutta

1968 New Art Centre, London

1966 Lincoln Centre, New York

1965 Ten Contemporary Artists from India, University of South Florida, Tampa, Jackson Art Museum, Jacksonville, Delgado Art Museum, New Orleans, Hunter Gallery, Chattanooga, Colorado Fine Art Center, Colorado Springs, Long Beach, Art Institute, San Francisco, East Wing Center, Honolulu

1965 Ten Contemporary Painters from India, MIT, Cambridge, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton

1964 Six Artists in Black and White, Shridharani Gallery, New Delhi

1963 Contemporary Painters from India, Gallery 63, New York

1963 Eight Contemporary Artists from India, Lever House, New York

1959 Artists of Fame and Promise, Leicester Galleries, London

1959 Trends in Contemporary Painting from India, Graham Gallery, New York

1959 Modern Indian Art, Cairo

1959 Contemporary Art from India, Essen, Dortmund, Zurich

1959 Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery 59, Bombay

1956 Eight Painters, Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society Building, New Delhi

1952-53 Progressive Artists at the Madras College of Art, Chennai

1949 Progressive Artist Group, Chetna Restaurant, Bombay

1949 Progressive Artist Group, Artists' Aid Centre

SELECTED JOINT EXHIBITIONS

1985 Ram Kumar and Krishen Khanna, Gallery 7, Bombay

1954 Krishen Khanna and M F Husain at All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi

PARTICIPATIONS

2015 Abby Grey and Indian Modernism Selections from the New York University Art Collection, Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York

2014 Ode to Monumental Celebration, Visuality, Ideology, presented by Saffronart at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

2012 Synergy 2012, 12th Anniversary Exhibition, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai

2012 Crossings Time Unfolded, Part 2, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi

2011 Ethos V Indian Art Through the Lens of History (1900 to 1980), Indigo Blue Art, Singapore

2011 Manifestations V, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi

2011 Roots in the Air, Branches Below Modern and Contemporary Art from India, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose

2011 Time Unfolded, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art Art (KNMA), New Delhi

2011 Celebration 2011, Annual Exhibition, Kumar Art Gallery, New Delhi

2010 Art Celebrates 2010 Sports and the City, presented by Art Alive Gallery at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, coinciding with the Commonwealth Games

2010 Masters Corner, organized by Indian Contemporary Art Journal at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, India International Art Fair, New Delhi

2010 Contemporary Printmaking In India, presented by Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai

2010 Evolve 10th Anniversary Show, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai

2010 Annual Exhibition, Chawla Art Gallery, New Delhi

2008-09 Paz Mandala, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

2008 Harvest 2008, organized by Arushi Arts at The Stainless Gallery, New Delhi

1991 La Quinta Bienal, Havana, Cuba

1988 First International Biennale, Lahore, Pakistan

1988 Festival of India, Japan

1987 Festival of India, USSR

1987 Coups de Coeur, Geneva

1986 Baghdad International Art Festival

1982 International Triennial, New Delhi

1976 25th Pugwash Conference, Chennai

1975 3rd Triennial of Contemporary World Art, New Delhi

1970 Expo 70, Indian Pavilion, Osaka, Japan

1968 International Triennial, New Delhi

1965 Annual Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1962 National Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1962 Venice Biennale, Indian participation

1961 Tokyo Biennale

1960 Sao Paulo Biennale

1957 Tokyo Biennale

1946 Annual Exhibition, Punjab Art Society

HONORS AND AWARDS

2011 Padma Bhushan, Government of India

2004 Lalit Kala Ratna from the President of India

1997 Kala Ratna, All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi

1990 Padma Shri, Government of India

1989 Gold Medal, First International Art Biennale, Lahore, Pakistan

1989 Sahitya Kala Parishad Award, New Delhi

1986 President's Award at Baghdad International Art Festival

1965 Award, Lalit Kala Akademi Annual Exhibition, New Delhi

1965 Fellowship, Council on Economic and Cultural Affairs, New York

1964 Artist-in-Residence, American University, Washington DC. 

1962-63 Rockefeller Council Fellowship, New York

1962 Council on Economic and Cultural Affairs Travelling Fellowship, New York

1955 Honourable Mention, Bombay Art Society Award, Bombay

1955 Government of Saurashtra Award for Oil Painting

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