Balraj Khanna, Out of the Blue (2), 1987 © Courtesy of the Estate of Balraj Khanna.
14 rooms in Modern and Contemporary British Art
In these poetic, abstract paintings Balraj Khanna explores ideas of nature, community, imagination and the unconscious
Born in the Punjab region of India in 1939, Balraj Khanna was an artist, writer and curator. He moved to the UK in 1962 intending to further his studies in English literature, but instead discovered a passion for drawing and painting. Within months of his arrival in London, Khanna found a community of fellow artists, including the painters F.N. Souza (1924–2002) and Avinash Chandra (1931–1991). By 1964 he was a member of the Indian Painters Collective, a group that advocated for the representation of Indian artists in Britain.
In 1965, a lengthy period of recuperation from a road accident sparked a change in Khanna’s painting style. Recovering next to the Forêt St-Bernard in Metz, France, Khanna felt connected to nature for the first time since leaving India. He credited this time with instilling ‘a new force’ in his practice, inspiring his multi-layered abstract works. Incorporating organic and geometric forms, Khanna sought to express what he called ‘the theatre of the natural world’.
Khanna continued to experiment with new techniques and materials including string, sand and stencils to create vibrant surfaces that burst with life. His distinctive forms are ambiguous yet familiar. They suggest a range of images, from plants and animals to the toys and kites of his childhood.
Khanna had his first solo exhibition in 1965, and in the decades that followed he exhibited widely in the UK, France and United States. This display celebrates Tate’s recent acquisition of three major paintings and is presented in affectionate memory of the artist, who passed away in January 2024.
Balraj Khanna, Saffron Field 1967
In 1966 Khanna began embedding string into his compositions, arranging it in twisting curves under layers of paint. Here, Khanna removed the string, allowing its white imprint to break through the sea of vivid orange. This rich saffron colour is highly symbolic in Indian culture. For Khanna it represented fire and purity. Working intuitively, Khanna allowed the string to determine the composition, adding geometric and organic forms into its intersections and bends. He explained, ‘I start feeling the structure of a painting – like a musician composing a raga and creating a feeling.’
Gallery label, August 2024
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artworks in Balraj Khanna
Balraj Khanna, Out of the Blue (2) 1987
Here, Khanna incorporates sand into the painting’s surface, creating the illusion of waves or ripples. The bright colours and shimmering texture evoke a dream-like space, reminiscent of the ocean or sky. After preparing the canvas with a mixture of sand and primer, Khanna applied countless layers of paint in a fine mist. In the early 1980s he did this using a diffuser and his own breath, but later adopted a spray gun. At various intervals Khanna added stencils, removing them at the final stage to reveal a kaleidoscopic cast of characters floating weightlessly across the scene.
Gallery label, August 2024
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artworks in Balraj Khanna
Balraj Khanna, Autumn Forest 1965
The warm brown tones of this painting, peppered with bursts of orange and yellow, are scored by grid-like markings. Khanna simultaneously evokes a macro and micro impression of the forest, suggesting both an aerial landscape and the grooves of a tree’s bark. This painting was made in France while Khanna recovered from a motorcycle crash. In stark contrast to London, the French town neighboured a forest. Immobilised, his leg in a cast, Khanna recalled lying in the grass: ‘I felt as if I had never seen trees before in all my existence.’
Gallery label, August 2024
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artworks in Balraj Khanna
Art in this room
Balraj Khanna
Saffron Field
1967
Balraj Khanna
Out of the Blue (2)
1987
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Balraj Khanna
Such a Long Journey
1967–1968
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Balraj Khanna
Festival
1970
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Balraj Khanna
Discourse of the Wonderer
1967
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Balraj Khanna
Garden
1987
Balraj Khanna
Autumn Forest
1965