Page 33 - TheArtsTrust Krishen Khanna

visual landscape. The local labourers, the vivid presence of fruit vendors, and In 1962, Khanna became the first Indian above: Khanna with
the slow unfolding of daily life all became recurring motifs. recipient of the John D. Rockefeller III Fellowship artist J Swaminathan
in the 1980s
In this setting, Khanna’s works started to develop a more lyrical, and travelled through East and Southeast Asia opposite left:
personal approach, resulting in a brief engagement with the nude form. A before arriving in the United States. In Japan, he Khanna with father
Kahan Chand and son
delicate example of this is Spring Nude, from 1954. Warm ochres and deep encountered Sumi-e or Suiboku-ga, an ink painting Karan in the 1960s
green hues define a solitary woman on the canvas, her form entwined with tradition rooted in Zen Buddhism. The technique,
lush vines that seem to fuse her with the natural world. Her downcast gaze which combines calligraphic mark-making with a
and reticent posture suggest a quiet inwardness as if caught in a moment of readiness to welcome the accidental, allowed him to pare down figuration
private reflection. Executed with textured, expressive brushwork, the work and focus on the atmosphere. It evolved his understanding of line and the
sensuously explores the connection between the human form and nature. beauty of restraint. The thought later found resonance with the American
Due to Khanna’s growing interest in classical Indian music during this Abstract Expressionists he would engage with during his residency at the
period, his Chennai residence became a casual meeting place for distinguished American University in Washington DC in 1963 and 64. In succeeding years,
musicians, including mridangam genius Palghat Mani Iyer and flautist this exposure resulted in a series of works that were atmospheric and bridged
Mahalingam. The encounters, fuelled by electric performances, inspired the spontaneity with structure.
Musician Series. Rendered with deliberate composition and rhythm in form, In Watermelon Eater, painted in 1966, Khanna executes the figure
these works perfectly capture the crescendo of singers, tabla players, and through gestural brushstrokes and tonal shifts, which also renders the
other instrumentalists at work. He revisited these sessions later in his career painting a vibrant play of light and shadow. Barely distinguishable and yet
with works like Mridangam Player (2005) and Concert At 115 Lloyds (2017). very much there, the figure of the watermelon eater emerges through a

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