Balraj Khanna, Figures on Green (1968): The Friday Find

In 1989 he was included in Rasheed Araeen's The Other Story: Afro-Asian Artists in Post-War Brtitain, the focus of our recent exhibition at the gallery. In that show, his paintings were part of the section titled 'In the Citadel of Modernism':

 

"This broad section, which includes both figurative and abstract artists, represents the first generation of artists. While they adopt the vocabularies and methodologies of established Modernism, they have been able to create something extraordinarily new. These artists do not generally question or directly challenge the formal framework of modernist developments, but within it they have developed their own perceptions and critical positions which are often to do with not being Western/white artists. Realising that the country they had adopted was not sympathetic to their modern aspirations and ambitions, they incorporated the values and sensibilities of their own cultures in their work.

 

Their achievements reflect a problematic relationship with Modernism, often creating paradoxes which signify both the complex cross-cultural situations of these artists and the difficulties they experienced within the framework of the dominant culture"

In recent years, his work has received renewed attention, including the 2024 exhibition at Tate Britain, Balraj Khanna: Theatre of the Natural World. His work is currently on display at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham. Balraj Khanna: Lines of Flight is the first major survey exhibition of his work, bringing together 40 paintings made over six decades of his career. Birmingham has close ties with the artist, who painted the safety curtain at the Birmingham Hippodrome.

 

These institutional exhibitions have helped bring his work back into the public consciousness. For many years, Balraj and his contemporaries were overlooked, their work not receiving the recognition it deserved. This has certainly changed for Khanna, with the Tate and Ikon exhibitions marking a significant reassessment of his contribution to British art. Hopefully, this renewed recognition will lead to further important projects celebrating his work and that of his contemporaries.