g a l l e r y e l e n a s h c h u k i n a

Balraj Khanna

Balraj Khanna was born in the Punjab in 1940, and studied for an English Masters at Punjab University in Chandigarh, Northern India before coming to in 1962 to study English Literature at Oxford University. However, due to the turmoil caused by the war between India and China, he was unable to continue his studies. It was this twist of fate that led him to painting, eventually becoming, in Bryan Robertson’s words, “one of the most distinguished painters living in England.”

Entirely self-taught, Khanna is a highly original artist whose work encapsulates his own aesthetic approach and vision of life. He has developed a unique language of abstraction inspired by his childhood, nature, and concepts of creation. Khanna’s painterly world is populated by brightly coloured toys and puppets, joyfully boyant in shimmering seas of colour. The inclusion of sand, which Khanna mixes with the primer, and a meticulous spray technique, allow Khanna to achieve finely textured, luminous grounds where cut-out figures float weightlessly.

Khanna has been an influential player in the art world for over 50 years, as an artist, Indian Art expert, and curator. He is the author of one of the largest public artworks in the UK, the Curtain commissioned by Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre, was the curator of a series of seminal touring exhibitions of historic and contemporary Indian art, and his work was included in the celebrated exhibition Artists and Empire. Khanna is also a prolific and acclaimed author, whose book Nation of Fools was judged as one of the 200 best novels since 1950. Khanna’s latest novel, Line of Blood, was released in 2017. Selected Solo Exhibitions

2013 MOMA Wales, Machynlleth 2006 Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock 2006 Arushi Fine Art, New Delhi 2005 Museum, Cartwright Hall, Bradford 2004 Fosterart Gallery, London 1999 Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham 1997 Oldham Museum and Art Gallery, Oldham 1996 De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea, Susse 1994 Galerie 695, Frankfurt 1994 Galerie KaEins, Frankfurt 1994 Galerie Neunauge, Hanau 1994 Galerie Belleuve, Berlin 1994 MOMA Wales, Machynlleth 1992 Greenwich Citizens Gallery 1991 Travelling Retrospective: Arnolfini, Bristol; Art Gallery; Blackburn Museum; Holden Gallery, Manchester Polytechnic 1990 Royal Festival Hall, London 1988 Prema Arts Centre, Dursley 1987 Horizon Gallery, London 1987 American University - Europe, Bushey 1987 Nottingham Playhouse 1986 Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh 1986 Manor House, Illkley 1984 Air Gallery, London 1983 Lalit Kala Akademy, New Delhi 1983 Bede Gallery, Jarrow 1982 Ian Birksted Gallery, London 1980 October Gallery, London 1980 Timeaus Gallery, Birmingham 1976 Galerie d’Art Moderne, Reims, France 1976 Galerie Mozart, Metz, France 1975 Studio 4, London 1974 Galerie Transposition, Paris 1973 Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, London 1972 Herbert Benevy Gallery, New York 1971 Commonwealth Institute, London 1971 Compass Gallery, Glasgow 1969 Art Gallery, Bristol 1969 Gardner Centre, Brighton 1968 Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 1967 Kumar Gallery, New Delhi 1966 Anthony Tooth Gallery, London 1965 New Vision Centre Gallery, London 1962 Punjab University, Chandigarh Selected Group Exhibitions

2015 Artists and Empire, TATE Britain, London 2013 Indian Winter, Osborne Samuel, London 2009 Anglo-Indian Express, Grosvenor Gallery, London 2006 How to Improve the World - 60 Years of British Art, Hayward Gallery, London 2006 Sculpture, Painting, Prints, Osborne Samuel, London 2004 New Visions, Doncaster Museum 2000 Cultural Ties, West Zone Gallery, London 1999 Linhas de Sombra, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon 1996 100 Years of Indian Painting, Sotheby’s, London 1996 Permission to Speak, Arts Council Collection Touring Exhibition: Worcester Museum; Derby Museum; Peterborough Museum; Air Gallery, London 1995 Indian Winter, Kapil Jariwala Gallery, London 1995 Works from the Arts Council Collection, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, London 1992 Brighton Museum 1990 The Other Story, touring exhibition: Hayward Gallery, London; Cornerhouse, Manchester; Wolvwehampton Art Gallery 1990 The Tree of Life, touring exhibition: Cornerhouse, Manchester; Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield; Royal Festival Hall, London; Cartwright Hall, Bradford; Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne 1987 On a Plate, Serpentine Gallery, London 1987 Knowing Your Place, Ecology Centre, London 1986 New Vision, Warwick Arts Trust, London 1984 Contemporary Indian Art, Tokyo Biennale 1982 Between Two Cultures, Barbican Centre, London 1981 Tapissieres de la Manufacture Portalegre, Musee d’Art Moderne, Paris 1979 Summer Show 2, Serpentine Gallery, London 1978 Four Leading Indian Artists, India House, London 1974 Salon International, Paris 1974 Van Vliet and Treadwell Gallery, Amsterdam 1973 Dusseldorf International 1973 Brighton Festival, Brighton Museum 1973 Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, London 1971 Bradford Festival, Cartwright Hall, Bradford 1970 Galerie Transposition, Paris 1969 Walton Gallery, London 1968 EXPO Montreal, Terre des Hommes, Montreal 1967 Gallery Chemould, Bombay 1967 Clyti Jessop Gallery, London 1966 Arts of India, Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne 1965 2nd Commonwealth Biennale of Abstract Art, London 1965 Young and Established, Howard Roberts Gallery, Cardiff 1965 Anthony Tooth’s Gallery, London 1964 Six Indian Painters, India House, London Public Collections

Arts Council UK Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Bede Gallery, Jarrow Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre, Birmingham Bradford Museum British Rail, Southampton Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon City Art Gallery, Bristol Cocoa Merchants Collection, Plantation House, London Conquest Hospital, Hastings De Beers Collection, London General Motors, New York Hudderfield Art Gallery, Huddersfield Indian High Commission, London Institute of Education, London University Kennedy Centre, London Museum of Modern Art, Wales, Machynlleth of Modern Art, New Delhi The Nehru Centre, London Paintings in Hospitals UK Punjab Museum, Chandigarh Punjab University, Chandigarh St Mary’s Hospital, London The Tabernacle, Machynlleth Tapissieres de la Manufature Portalegre, Portugal Victoria and Albert Museum, London Ville de Paris, Paris

gallery elena shchukina 10 lees place, mayfair london w1k 6ll +44 (0)20 7499 6019 www.galleryelenashchukina.com