THE ESTATE OF BALRAJ KHANNA
1939-2024, PakistanBalraj Khanna (b. 1939, Jhang - d.2024, London. Lived and worked in London) a versatile creative talent, excelled as an artist, writer and curator. Relocating to London in 1962 to pursue a literature degree at Oxford University, he instead focused on painting and developed a rhythmic style of abstraction that was indebted to nature. Atop layered pigment, sometimes given texture by sand, seemingly weightless and shape-shifting forms evoked memories of the rural landscapes associated with his childhood in Chandigarh, Punjab. Later utilising stencils and spray paint, the works hinted at a microcosm of life both on earth, in the ocean and beyond.
Balraj Khanna received his MA from Punjab University in Chandigarh.
His work has been exhibited widely, in solo and group shows, including: Tate Britain, London (2024); Hastings Contemporary, Hastings (2018); Museum of Modern Art, Wales (2013); Hayward Art Gallery, London (2006-07); Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford (2005); Royal Festival Hall, London (1997); Huddersfield Art Gallery, Huddersfield, Arnolfini Arts, Bristol, Holden Gallery, Manchester (1991-92); Tokyo Biennale, Tokyo (1984); Barbican Arts Centre, London (1982); Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris (1981); Serpentine Galleries, London (1979); Commonwealth Institute, London (1970); Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford (1968).
Public collections that hold Khanna’s work include, Arts Council Collection, London; Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford; British Museum, London; Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon; The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris; National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; Tate Britain, London and Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Khanna published numerous works of fiction and non-fiction, focused on Indian art. He was awarded the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize from the Royal Society of Literature and the Mahatma Gandhi Prize for Literature from the Greater London Council.
Khanna’s curatorial career was equally distinguished, including exhibitions such as, Kalighat Paintings (1993-94), Krishna the Divine Lover (1997-98) and Human and Divine: 2000 years of Indian Sculpture (2000). He founded Horizon Gallery in London and served as Chairman of the Indian Arts Council, UK, from 1983–88.
Courtesy Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai.
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