In  an output of painting that exceeds fifty-five years, Krishen Khanna attracts more than one reading of his work. His paintings and drawings emerge as nuanced narratives in which the artist plays out his formal concerns, as well as the shifting and unfolding theatre of human relationships. 

 

Politics and identity remain fluid in the larger question of humanity. Effectively, the paintings constitute a powerful psychological engagement, one that also serves as a document of the passage of time in modern India. While many Indian artists during these decades have slipped in and out of experimentation with other media, Khanna has remained faithful to painting and drawing as central to his art practice. Retrospectively, in a career that has spanned nearly six decades, his large body of work places him at the apex of engagement with everyday Indian life.

 

Gayatri Sinha is an independent curator and art critic based in New Delhi.