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Bhupen Khakhar
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Bhupen Khakhar is remembered as an iconoclast and a maverick, a man who never did what was expected, and who was open about his views on everything – from social sectarianism to his own homosexuality, all of which are reflected in his works. Born in 1934, Khakhar began his career in art fairly late in life, at the age of 38. Then a practicing chartered accountant, he joined the M.S. University at Baroda to study art criticism in his late...
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Bhupen Khakhar is remembered as an iconoclast and a maverick, a man who never did what was expected, and who was open about his views on everything – from social sectarianism to his own homosexuality, all of which are reflected in his works. Born in 1934, Khakhar began his career in art fairly late in life, at the age of 38. Then a practicing chartered accountant, he joined the M.S. University at Baroda to study art criticism in his late 1930s, and began his career as an artist creating collages from calendar art. He notes, "I was interested in the expressionistic style, which had no wit and humor. Now I am more involved in wit, painting people, and the environment around me."
Khakhar received international acclaim as an artist much before he got recognition in India, when British artist Howard Hodgkin helped him organize a solo exhibition in the late 1970s. Among his inspirations, the painter counts British artist David Hockney. Like Hockney's work, Khakhar's own initial paintings revolved around the everyday, 'insignificant man' trapped in an unremarkable existence. Khakhar also worked with his contemporaries in Baroda like Gulammohammed Sheikh, to evolve a visual language that combined traditional Indian art elements with contemporary themes.
Khakhar’s exploration of homosexuality is quite evident in paintings like 'You Can't Please All' and 'Two Men in Benares', prompting writer and painter Timothy Hyman, in his biography on Khakhar, to say, "He is possibly the most provocative painter in contemporary Indian art." The artist elaborates: "I have chosen homo-eroticism as a theme because I am gay. What is happening in India – social rejection – did happen once in countries like USA and Europe. The police in all societies have beaten up gays and lesbians. But now they have been accepted by society. For me, there is nothing unnatural about homosexuality."
Critics say that during his homoerotic phase, the artistic observations that made Khakhar a chronicler of ordinary beings had been pushed into the background. In contrast, his most recent paintings are more assured, more settled than those he created during what he describes as his ‘gay period'. “I feel much lighter now. My personal tensions have been resolved. At 64, you no longer have the feeling that you will never die. One leaves the ambition to become a great painter and accepts whatever one is. Earlier, I worried all the time about my position as an artist,” he recounts. Khakhar's later canvases explore Kerala landscapes, Tamilian dhabas (roadside hotels), and the religious iconography of everyday life in India.
Khakhar's paintings can be found in several public collections including that of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and in many private collections as well. His works have been exhibited across India and the world, most recently in 2009 in exhibitions like 'Long Gone & Living Now' at Gallerie Mirchandani + Steinreucke, Mumbai; ‘Progressive to Altermodern: 62 Years of Indian Modern Art' at Grosvenor Gallery, London; ‘Kalpana: Figurative Art in India' presented by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at Aicon Gallery, London; and 'Shifting Shapes, Unstable Signs' at Yale School of Art in New Haven. Other posthumous exhibitions in which the artist’s works have been included are 'Multiple Modernities: India, 1905-2005' at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in 2008; ‘Expanding Horizons: Contemporary Indian Art’ presented by Bodhi Art in eight cities in Maharashtra in 2008-09; ‘India Art Now: Between Continuity and Transformation’, Milan, in 2007-08; ‘Horn Please: Narratives in Contemporary Indian Art’ at Kunstmuseum, Bern, in 2007; and ‘Inventing / Inverting Traditions’ at Grosvenor Vadehra, London, in 2006-07.
Solo exhibitions of the artist’s work include ‘A Retrospective’ organized by the Fine Art Resource at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, in 2003; and exhibitions at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi in 2002; Optica Gallery, Montreal, and Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver, in 2001-02; the Fine Art Resource, Berlin, in 1998; the Gate Foundation, Amsterdam, in 1998; Gallery Ka-Eins, Frankfurt, in 1993; Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, in 1991; Gallery Watari, Tokyo, in 1986; Knoedler Gallery, London, in 1983; Hester van Royen Gallery, London, in 1979; and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai in 1965. The artist was awarded by the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1984.
Bhupen Khakhar passed away in 2003.
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Born
1934
Mumbai
Died
2003
Education
1964 Master of Arts (Art Criticism), Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
1956 Bachelor of Commerce, Mumbai University, Qualifies as a Chartered Accountant
1954 Bachelor of Arts, Mumbai University, Mumbai
Exhibitions
Selected Posthumous Exhibitions
2016-17 'Bhupen Khakhar: You...
Selected Posthumous Exhibitions
2016-17 'Bhupen Khakhar: You can't please all", Tate Modern, London; Deutsche Bank KunstHalle, Berlin
2016 'many facets of an Artist: Collections from the Bhupen Khakhar Estate', National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi
2015 'Remembering Bhupen', Sarjan Art Gallery, Vadodara
2014 'Bhupen Khakhar: From the Archive Paintings and Prints', Swaraj Art Archive, New Delhi
2013 Grosvenor Gallery, London
2012 'Aqua', Gallery Beyond, Mumbai 2012 'The Calendar Project: Iconography in the 20th Century', part of Project CINEMA CITY: Research Art & Documentary Practices presented by National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and Ministry of Culture, Government of India at National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai
2012 'Crossings: Time Unfolded, Part 2', Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi
2011-12 'Modernist Art from India: The Body Unbound', Rubin Museum of Art, New York 2011 'Ethos V: Indian Art Through the Lens of History (1900 to 1980), Indigo Blue Art, Singapore
2011 'Masters Ltd: Limited Editions', Gallery Beyond, Mumbai
2011 'Anecdotes', Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai
2011 'Watermark II', Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai
2011 'High-Light', presented by Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai at The Oberoi, Gurgaon
2011 ‘Manifestations V', Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi
2011 'Narrations, Quotations & Commentaries', Grosvenor Gallery, London
2011 'Time Unfolded', Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi
2011 'Of Humour, Wit & Satire', Gallery Threshold, New Delhi
2010 'Orientations: Trajectories in Indian Art', Foundation 'De 11 Lijnen', Oudenburg, Belgium
2010 'Summer Show 2010', Centre of International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata
2009 'Lo Real Maravilloso: Marvelous Reality', 20 Years Celebration of Gallery Espace at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
2009 'Long Gone & Living Now', Gallerie Mirchandani + Steinreucke, Mumbai
2009 'Progressive to Altermodern: 62 Years of Indian Modern Art', Grosvenor Gallery, London
2009 'Kalpana: Figurative Art in India', presented by The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at Aicon Gallery, London; The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)
2009 'Shifting Shapes, Unstable Signs', Yale School of Art, Connecticut, USA
2008-09 'Body Chatter: An Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art', Walsh Gallery, Chicago
2008-09 ''Modern India', organized by Institut Valencià d'Art Modern (IVAM) and Casa Asia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture at Valencia, Spain
2008-09 ‘Expanding Horizons: Contemporary Indian Art’, Traveling Exhibition presented by Bodhi Art at Ravinder Natya Mandir, P.L.Despande Kala Academy Art Gallery, Mumbai; Sant Dyaneshwar Natya Sankul Art Gallery, Amravati; Platinum Jubilee Hall, Nagpur; Tapadia Natya Mandir Sports Hall, Aurangabad; Hirachand Nemchand Vachanalay’s, Solapur; Acharya Vidyanand Sanskrutik Bhavan, Kolhapur; PGSR Sabhagriha, SNDT, Pune; Sarvajanik Vachanalaya Hall, Nasik
2008 'Moderns', Royal Cultural Centre, Amman, Jordan organized by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in collaboration with Embassy of India, Amman, Jordan
2008 'Multiple Modernities: India, 1905-2005', Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA
2007-08 ‘India Art Now: Between Continuity and Transformation’, Province of Milan, Milan, Italy
2007 ‘Horn Please: Narratives in Contemporary Indian Art’, Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland
2006-07 ‘Inventing / Inverting Traditions’, Grosvenor Vadehra, London
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2003 ‘A Retrospective’, organized by The Fine Art Resource, Mumbai at National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai
2003 Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda
2002 Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi
2002 'Bhupen Khakhar', Reina Sofia, Madrid; toured to The Lowry, Manchester.
2001-02 Optica Gallery, Montreal/ Charles H.Scott Gallery, Vancouver
1998 The Fine Art Resource, Berlin; The Gate Foundation, Amsterdam
1997 Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi
1995 Kapil Jariwala Gallery, London
1993 Gallery Ka-Eins, Frankfurt
1993 ‘The Spirit of India’, Galerie Nouvelles Images, Den Haag
1992 Galerie Schoo, Foundation for Indian Artists, Amsterdam
1991,94 Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
1986 Gallery Watari, Tokyo
1985 Kanoria Centre for Arts/ Hutheesingh Visual Arts Centre, Ahmedabad
1983 Knoedler Gallery, London
1983 Contemporary Art Gallery, Ahmedabad
1983 Urja Art Gallery, Baroda
1979 Anthony Stokes Gallery, London
1979 Hester van Royen Gallery, London
1972,81 Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
1967,70 Kunika Chemould Art Centre, New Delhi
1965 Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
Selected Group Exhibitions
2003 ‘Sub Terrain: Artworks in the City Fold’, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
2002 ‘Telling Tales: Narrative Impulses in Recent Art’, Tate Liverpool
2001 ‘Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis’, Tate Modern, London
2001 ‘Abbild: Recent Portraiture and Depiction’, Steirischer Herbst, Graz, Austria
2000 ‘A Global View: Indian Artists at Home in the World’, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
1998 ‘Private Mythology: Contemporary Art from India’, The Japan Foundation, Tokyo
1997 ‘Indian Contemporary Art– Post Independence’, organized by Vadehra Gallery, Delhi, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi
1997 ‘Colors of Independence’, organized by Centre of International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi
1997 ‘Tryst with Destiny’, organized by Centre of International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata, Singapore Art Museum
1996 ‘Contemporary Art in Asia : Traditions / Tensions’, Asia Society, New York
1996 ‘Watercolors: A Broader Spectrum III’, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
1995 ‘100 Years: From the NGMA Collection’, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai
1995 ‘The Other Self’, Exhibition of Indian and Dutch Artists, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi / Stedelijk Museum Bureau, Amsterdam (1995-96)
1993 ‘India Songs: Multiple Streams in Contemporary Indian art’, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1993 ‘A Critical Difference: Contemporary Art from India’, Aberystwyth Arts Centre Touring Exhibition, U.K.
1993 ‘Trends and Images’, Centre of International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata
1992 ‘Journeys within Landscapes’, organized by Sakshi Gallery, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
1990 ‘Ambassadors Choice’, Contemporary Indian Art from the Collection of H. E. Mrs. E. M. Schoo of The Netherlands, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi
1989 ‘The Richness of the Spirit: Selection from Contemporary Figurative Indian Art’, Kuwait Museum, Egyptian Academy, Rome
1989 ‘Open Mind’, Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Ghent
1989 ‘Artists Alert’, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi
1989 ‘Timeless Art’, Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai, Auction by Sotheby’s
1987 Coups de Coeur, Halle Sud, Geneva
1986 ‘Contemporary Indian Artists’, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
1985 ‘East-West Encounter’, Exhibition and Symposium, Jehangir Art Gallery/ Max Mueller Bhavan/ National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai
1982 ‘Contemporary Indian Art, Festival of India’, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1982 ‘Six Indian Painters’, Tate Gallery, London
1982 ‘Contemporary Indian Art’, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.
1981 ‘Place for People’, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai and Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi
1979 ‘Narrative Paintings: Figurative Art of Two Generations’, ICA, Bristol, London
1979 ‘Focus: 4 Painters, 4 Directions’, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
1978 ‘Six Who Declined to Show at the Triennale’, Kumar Gallery, New Delhi
1977 ‘Pictorial Space’, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
1975 Inaugural Exhibition, Black Partridge Art Gallery, New Delhi
1974 Group Exhibition with Nine other artists, Rabindra Bhavan Galleries, New Delhi
1972 Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
1969 Art Today I and II, Kunika Chemould Art Centre, New Delhi
1969 ‘Indian Painters ‘69’, organized by Max Mueller Bhavan, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata
1967 ‘Seven Painters’, Gallery One, London
1965 ‘ArtNow in India’, Royal Festival Hall, London / Liang Art Gallery, Newcastle
1963 Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
Joint Exhibitions
2002 ‘Contemporary Indian Art : Gulammohammed Sheikh, Bhupen Khakhar’, Walsh Gallery, Chicago
1989 ‘Splash: Images on Glass’, with Nalani Malani and Vivan Sundaram, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
Participations
2000 Kwanju Biennale, South Korea
1992 Documenta IX, Kassel, Germany
1984 Fifteenth International Art Exhibition, Tokyo Biennale, Tokyo
1978 Menton Biennale, France
1975 3rd Triennale India, New Delhi
1972 2nd Triennale India, New Delhi
1969 Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil
1968 1st Triennale India, New Delhi
Honours and Awards
1986 Asian Cultural Council Starr Fellowship, New York
1984 Padma Shri, Government of India
1986 Asian Cultural Council Starr Fellowship, New York
1984 Padma Shri, Government of India
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Untitled
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