About Krishen Khanna

Born in 1925 in Lahore, Krishen Khanna worked as a banker while he studied painting at evening classes conducted at the Mayo School of Art there. His paintings reflect the personal and socio-political changes taking place around him. Most of his works is figurative capturing moments in history, transferring his observations onto the canvas. His use of colour and his expressionist brushwork make the mundane rise to the challenge of the creative.

In 1962, Khanna was awarded the ‘Rockefeller Fellowship’. In 1963-64, he was ‘the Artist in Residence’ at the American University in Washington. Apart from several solo shows, he has participated in group shows like the ‘Tokyo Biennale’ in 1957 and 1961, the ‘Sao Paulo Biennale’ in 1960, ‘the Venice Biennale’ in 1962, and several others. In 1990, the Government of India awarded him with the Padma Shri; in 1997 he received the Kala Ratna from the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society; and in 2004 the Kala Ratna from the President of India. Khanna lives and works in New Delhi.