Krishen Khanna (born 5 July 1925) is an Indian artist. He attended
Imperial Service College
The Imperial Service College (ISC) was an English independent school based in Windsor, originally known as St. Mark's School when it was founded in 1845.
In 1906, St Mark’s School absorbed boys from the former United Services College, which ha ...
in England and is a self-taught artist. He is recipient of the
Rockefeller Fellowship
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
in 1962, the
Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
in 1990, and the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
in 2011.
Early life
Khanna was born on 5 July 1925 in
Lyallpur
Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...
(now
Faisalabad
Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
). In 1938 Khanna travelled from
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
to Britain on
RMS ''Strathmore''. After attending the
Imperial Service College
The Imperial Service College (ISC) was an English independent school based in Windsor, originally known as St. Mark's School when it was founded in 1845.
In 1906, St Mark’s School absorbed boys from the former United Services College, which ha ...
from 1938 to 1942, Khanna enrolled at Government College, Lahore, from 1942 to 1944. In 1946 he started working with
Grindlays Bank
The historic overseas bank was established in London in 1828 as Leslie & Grindlay, agents and bankers to the British army and business community in India. Banking operations expanded to include the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and elemen ...
for 14 years. In 1961 he resigned from the bank and devoted his full-time to art.
A Far Afternoon: a painted saga by Krishen Khanna (2015)
A Far Afternoon — A painted saga by Krishen Khanna is a feature documentary directed by Sruti Harihara Subramanian and produced by Piramal Art Foundation. It is devoted to tracing the journey of Krishan Khanna as an artist, and delineates his career in an interesting manner.
The documentary is a filmmaker's attempt to memorialize the artistic process involved in the creation of the eponymous art work by veteran artist Krishen Khanna, and trace some of the influences upon the artist. A film in five parts, A Far Afternoon, delves into those influences that eventually rendered themselves on canvas. There is the vibrant city of Bombay, where Krishen Khanna found a home after the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...
cut him away from
his native land; there is in particular the strongly leftist Progressive Artists Group which flourished in the city for half a century following independence, and into which he was inducted; there is the baaraat (wedding procession), typical of Indian weddings, which is a recurring presence in his works; there is his choice of colours, predominated by many shades of yellow, blue and white; there is the influence of other artists and other art works that have brought him to this place and point in time. The music directors of A Far Afternoon the music duo Aravind-Jai Shankar are based out of Chennai, India. They have worked on national award-winning films, documentaries, advertising commercials, computer and mobile device games and numerous other projects encompassing the scope of music, sound design, and audio production.
The documentary received two National awards for Best Art / Cultural Film and the National Award for Best Music (Non-Feature).
It also received other accolades:
* 63rd National Film Awards — Best Art/Cultural film
* 63rd National Film Awards — Best music (non-feature film category)
* New York Indian Film Festival — Nominated for Best Documentary — May 2016
* 3rd Cinema Indien, Stockholm — Official selection — April2016
* All Lights India International Film Festival — Official Selection — November 2015
Awards, fellowships and honors
* Rockefellar Fellowship (1962)
* National Award Lalit Kala Academi (1965)
* Fellowship of the Council of Economics and Cultural Affairs, New York (1965)
* Gold Medal First Triennale of Contemporary World Art, New Delhi (1968)
* President's Award, International Festival of Art, Baghdad, Iraq (1986)
* Gold Medal First Biennale Of Art, Lahore, Pakistan (1986)
* Padma Shri by Gov't of India (1990)
* Padma Bhushan by Gov't of India (2011)
References
External links
Talkabout art and life with
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...
on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
Slide lectureon mural created at ITC Maurya, New Delhi on YouTube
Conversationwith
Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) is a private modern and contemporary art museum with locations in New Delhi and Noida. Established in 2010, it is India's first private museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art. The core collection of ...
on 96th birthday on YouTube
*Five part documentary on
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
:
Vol. I,
Vol. II,
Vol. III,
Vol. IV and
Vol. V (in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
)
Artists from Lahore
1925 births
Living people
Rockefeller Fellows
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts
{{india-artist-stub
Self-taught artists
Indian male painters
20th-century Indian male artists
21st-century Indian male artists