ARTIST KASHMIRI KHOSA : IN SEARCH OF TRUTH BEHIND EXISTENCE'

                                                                         

                                                                                   

                                                                         

 Kashmiri Khosa: In Search of Truth Behind Existence

“Art is an expression of what I have imbibed through what I’ve read, heard, or seen. The images are extracted from the very source of my being.”…Kashmiri Khosa

This reflection by Kashmiri Khosa offers a vital entry point into his artistic journey. His work does not emerge from surface observation or stylistic display but from deep inward absorption—an engagement with lived experience, memory, silence, and Indian philosophical thought. Over several decades, Khosa has created an oeuvre rooted in introspection, exploring the inner dimensions of existence and consciousness.

 I have long been an admirer of both his art and his person. His colours and forms evoke a serene silence that gently aligns the viewer with their surroundings. Beyond emotional response, his paintings encourage introspection, allowing one to momentarily disengage from worldly pressures and enter a contemplative space. A personal interaction with the artist affirmed this inward grace. When I requested him to record a message for my book on Bansi Parimu, he responded promptly and with warmth. Despite being a highly respected figure within the Indian art fraternity, his humility and simplicity left a deep impression.

 Khosa’s Art

Kashmiri Khosa’s paintings belong to an inward and contemplative current of modern Indian art, where the canvas becomes a site for spiritual reflection rather than visual narration. His practice moves fluidly between abstraction and figuration, allowing images to surface gradually, as if arising from silence or meditation. Colour functions as a carrier of mood and consciousness; layered earth tones, deep greens, blues, and glowing yellows are handled with restraint and sensitivity, creating a subtle inner luminosity that draws the viewer inward. These chromatic fields are not decorative but experiential, suggesting states of calm, introspection, and transcendence.

 Composition plays a central role in Khosa’s work. The frequent use of symmetry, vertical alignment, and enclosed forms establishes a sense of balance and ritual, reinforcing the meditative quality of the paintings. Figures, when present, are often faceless, elongated, or fused with their surrounding space, dissolving individuality in favour of collective or universal presence. This abstraction of the human form shifts the focus from external identity to inner being, allowing the viewer to encounter the work as an emotional and spiritual experience rather than a representation.

Stylistically, Khosa demonstrates disciplined control over gesture, texture, and surface. His brushwork is deliberate, never excessive, and negative space is used thoughtfully as a pause or breath within the composition. There is a quiet tension between solidity and dissolution, weight and light, which lends his paintings a sense of timelessness. Rooted in a modernist sensibility yet guided by spiritual inquiry, Khosa’s work resists trends and spectacle, instead offering sustained depth and introspection. It is this commitment to inner clarity and painterly integrity that has allowed his work to resonate with discerning collectors and hold a meaningful place within the broader narrative of modern Indian painting.

Among his most significant bodies of work are the Mortal Storm series, which grapples with the turbulence of human emotions and passions, and Mountains of the Mind, a contemplative exploration of psychological and spiritual landscapes. These works are less concerned with representation than with revelation, drawing the viewer away from the external world and toward the deeper source of being.

In essence, Kashmiri Khosa turns art into a bridge between the external and the internal, showing that a painting can be both a visual and spiritual journey—an experience that resonates long after the eyes leave the canvas.

In Search of Truth Behind Existence: A Retrospective (2024 Exhibition )

In the exhibition ‘In Search of Truth Behind Existence’, Kashmiri Khosa’s works were presented as more than mere paintings: they were invitations to inner reflection. Each piece encourages the viewer to pause, to observe, and to enter a meditative state.

The art exhibition “In Search of Truth Behind Existence: A Retrospective” featuring the works of Kashmiri Khosa was held in New Delhi from 6 October to 11 October 2024 at the LTC Gallery in Bikaner House, with its inauguration and book launch by Swami Dhruv Chaitanya Saraswati. Another show of a longer schedule for the same retrospective was held at Triveni Kala Sangam in New Delhi, running from 6 October to 11 November 2024. The exhibition was presented across venues or in extended form in the city. In both cases, the exhibition was designed not just as a visual experience but as a meditative and contemplative journey, showcasing decades of Khosa’s work and inviting viewers to explore deeper existential and spiritual questions through his art.

 An important documentation of this long and sustained artistic inquiry is the book In Search of Truth Behind Existence: A Retrospective, published by Art Pilgrim in collaboration with Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi. The book was released on the opening day of Khosa’s exhibition in November 2024 in New Delhi. Spanning 103 pages, the volume traces four decades of Khosa’s artistic journey, presenting a rich selection of his drawings and paintings.

 More than a visual chronicle, the book includes a thoughtful conversation with the artist, offering rare insight into his creative process, philosophical concerns, and inward gaze. The publication is further enriched by forewords from Swami Dhruv Chaitanya, Geeta Singh of Art Pilgrim Gallery, and filmmaker Rajan Khosa, who contextualise Khosa’s work within broader spiritual, cultural, and contemporary art discourses. The book also carries notes from art critics like Santo Datta and Keshav Malik about Khosa’s work. True to its title, it functions not only as a retrospective but as a meditative inquiry into the search for meaning that underlies his art.

 Spiritual Resonance

The growing resurgence of spirituality in contemporary art finds a powerful echo in Khosa’s practice. Renowned Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli observes:

“Wars, conflicts, and consumerism seem to have prompted a desire for transcendence, for refuge, for essence. Increasingly, artists are aiming for the essence of spirituality in their work.”

Khosa’s paintings embody this search for essence: quiet, inward, and sustained. There is a gravity in his work—a seriousness that creates a magnetic pull, drawing viewers into sustained reflection. Spirituality in his art is not decorative or rhetorical; it is experiential. Regardless of personal belief systems, his paintings invite a pause, a turning inward, and an engagement with the deeper self. The concept of the “invisible force” in his art represents the underlying spiritual energy behind the visible world. Drawing from traditions like Vedanta, Khosa suggests that what we see is only a reflection of a deeper, unseen reality. His paintings do not merely depict; they gesture toward the eternal, the formless, and the universal essence. colours, forms, and spatial compositions in his works function almost like visual mantras. They guide the mind inward, allowing the viewer to experience subtle shifts in perception, emotions, and awareness. Rather than telling a story, the paintings invite contemplation, transforming the act of looking into an act of self-exploration. Well-known English poet Kathleen Raine, a long-time admirer of Khosa, writes about his work:

 “Khosa’s pictorial context is not limited to any school or period—Michelangelo and Picasso are clearly present—but these works are profoundly Indian in spirit. As if the titan-prisoners, now freed, had flowed into movement and colours which have the crystalline purity of a world newly created, we recognise—remember, as it were—that the cosmos lives with a powerful non-human life. These are sacred presences. Khosa’s majestic paintings reassure me—they restore to our sick human world great life-giving presences of the Imagination.”

 Life and Legacy

Born in 1940, Kashmiri Khosa has been a professional painter since 1962. Rooted in family tradition and inspired by Indian philosophy, he has evolved a modern visual language that earned him the President of India’s Silver Plaque (1974) and the National Award (1981). His works are held in major public institutions, including the National Gallery of Modern Art, Lalit Kala Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parishad, College of Art (Delhi), and the International Airport Authority of India, as well as in prominent private collections across India, Europe, North America, and Asia.

Kashmiri Khosa's father, Som Nath Khosa, was a revered artist renowned for his monumental visual narratives chronicling the life of Mahatma Gandhi. These works are preserved in Gandhian institutions worldwide. Som Nath Khosa’s Delhi studio functioned as a vital cultural space, frequented by leading figures of independent India, including Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Babu Jagjivan Ram.

Khosa’s daughter, Anjali Khosa Kaul, is an accomplished sculptor and painter. Her works form part of the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, and are represented in significant private collections internationally. She is a recipient of the AIFACS Award and a Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture. Her husband, Ashok Kaul, is a distinguished photographer known for his contributions to industrial and fine-art photography. Khosa’s son, Rajan Khosa, is an award-winning filmmaker and visual artist whose work has received sustained international recognition. His feature film GATTU won Best Feature Film at the New York Indian Film Festival (2012) and received a Special Mention at the Berlin International Film Festival (2012). Together, this family’s intergenerational engagement with painting, sculpture, photography, and cinema constitutes a rare and enduring contribution to the cultural and artistic history of modern India.

Khosa studied ancient Indian texts like the Upanishads and drew inspiration from Vedic and philosophical ideas about Being, consciousness, and the nature of existence. His aim is to go beyond surface appearances and express truths about the self and universal spirit. His work frequently symbolises the soul’s journey; themes of ascension, flight, inner freedom, and transcendence. These motifs suggest liberation from material constraints and exploration of inner realms.

Khosa’s interdisciplinary approach to art, literature, and theatre earned him the Department of Culture Senior Fellowship (1979–82) for “Integrating visual language and content.” His paintings have been widely recognised, featured in the International Design Journal (Seoul) and Temenos 13 (London). He has exhibited globally, including the Sixth Babylon International Festival of Art (Iraq, 1994), an Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts seminar (2004), Stichting White Cube Global Village (Europe, 2014), and Scope Miami Art (2015), and has participated in numerous national and international art camps.

A 28-minute documentary on Kashmiri Khosa’s life and art was released by Doordarshan and broadcast on DD National, DD World, and Prasar Bharti channels during 2003–2004. Several of his interviews and films are also available on digital platforms, offering further insight into his artistic philosophy.

Kashmiri Khosa’s art ultimately functions as a visual meditation, an invitation to slow down, to look within, and to encounter the luminous stillness that lies beneath the surface of existence.

 

(Avtar Mota)

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