Biren De (1926–2011) was an Indian

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

, known for his paintings with tantric influences. His paintings were characterized by symmetrical patterns of geometry and the presence of tantric symbols such as

mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

phallus A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisel ...

and

vagina In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...

, reportedly representing masculine and feminine energies of the universe. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 1992.

Biography

Biren De was born in Faridpur, in the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

(now Bangladesh) on 8 October 1926. He relocated to

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

along with his family and joined the

Government College of Art & Craft The Government College of Art & Craft (GCAC) in Kolkata is one of the oldest Art colleges in India. It was founded on August 16, 1854 at Garanhata, Chitpur, "with the purpose of establishing an institution for teaching the youth of all classes ...

, Kolkata in 1944 for his graduate studies but did not accept the graduate diploma, citing a rift with the then college principal. He moved to New Delhi in 1949 when he was commissioned for a mural at the

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

. His first overseas exhibition was held at

Salon de Mai The Salon de Mai (the '' May Salon'') is a group of French artists which formed in a café on the Rue Dauphine in Paris in 1943 during the German occupation of France.Ferrier, Jean-Louis. (Ed.) (1999) ''Art of the 20th Century''. Paris: Chene-Hache ...

, Paris, in 1951. Returning to India, he joined the

College of Art, Delhi College of Art, New Delhi, established in 1942 under the arts department of the Delhi College of Engineering now the Delhi Technological University (DTU), is an art college for advanced training in Visual Art. It is run by the Government of ...

, in 1952, as a member of their faculty and stayed at the job till 1963. During his tenure at the College of Art, he spent one year in New York, on a Fulbright Scholarship. It was after this period, his paintings started to depict tantric symbols. In 1966, his works were exhibited at the Kumar's Gallery, New Delhi and

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the Roy ...

, London. His works have since been displayed at several places including

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Berlin State Museum The Berlin State Museums (german: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) are a group of institutions in Berlin, Germany, comprising seventeen museums in five clusters, several research institutes, libraries, and supporting facilities. They are overseen ...

and the

National Gallery, Prague The National Gallery Prague ( cz, Národní galerie Praha, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Cze ...

Royal Academy of Arts, London The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

, Tokyo festival of India of 1988, and at the biennales in Venice, Tokyo, São Paulo, Mainichi and Sydney. De received the

Lalit Kala Akademi The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art (LKA) is India's national academy of fine arts. It is an autonomous organisation, established in New Delhi in 1954 by Government of India to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, i ...

National Award in 1958 which he received a second time in 1964. The Government of India included him in the Republic Day honours list for the civilian award of the

in 1992. He was elected as the Fellow of Lalit Kala Akademi in 2006. He died on 12 March 2011, at the age of 84.

Exhibitions

List of selected exhibitions: *

, Paris - 1951 * Freemasons Hall, New Delhi. - 1952 *

All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society The All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS) is an independent arts organisation in India, founded in Delhi in 1928. In the decade after Indian independence, many of its functions were transferred to three national academies: Lalit Kala A ...

(AIFACS) - 1953, 54 and 56 *

, New Delhi - 1953 and 64 *

Mainichi The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (prev ...

Biennale, Tokyo - 1959 and 61 * Contemporary Art from India,

Museum Folkwang Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patr ...

, Essen - 1960 *

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

Biennale, Brazil - 1961 *

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Biennale, Italy - 1962 * Ten Contemporary Indian Painters,

Cambridge–MIT Institute The Cambridge–MIT Institute, or CMI, was a partnership between the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 2008 CMI issued a "final report" describing it ...

- 1965 *

, London - 1966 *

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

International Show, USA - 1967 * International Triennale India, New Delhi - 1968, 71, 75, 78 and 82 * Contemporary Indian Painting exhibition,

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

- 1971 * Contemporary Indian Painting exhibition,

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

- 1971 * Contemporary Indian Painting exhibition, -

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

1971 * Chanakya Gallery, New Delhi - 1971 * Contemporary Indian Art, USSR - 1972 * Contemporary Indian Art, Greece - 1972 * 25 Years of Indian Art, New Delhi - 1972 * 25 Years of Indian Art,

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

- 1972 * 25 Years of Indian Art,

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

- 1972 * Sydney Biennale, Australia - 1973 * Contemporary Indian Painting, Washington DC - 1973 * Contemporary Indian Painting,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

- 1973 * Contemporary Indian Painting,

- 1973 * Gallery Chemould, Bombay - 1973 * Gallery Chemould, Bombay - 1974 * Indian Painting Today, Belgium - 1973 * Indian Painting Today,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

- 1973 * Indian Painting Today, Bulgaria - 1973 * Indian Painting Today, Belgium - 1974 * Indian Painting Today, Yugoslavia - 1974 * Indian Painting Today, Bulgaria - 1974

References

External links

Biren De - An Innovative Journey of Five Decades
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:De, Biren Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 1926 births 2011 deaths People from Faridpur District 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis Indian male painters Government College of Art & Craft alumni 20th-century Indian painters Artists from Kolkata Painters from West Bengal Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi 20th-century Indian male artists

Biography

Exhibitions

See also

References

External links