KASHMIRI KHOSA PAINTS THE ANCIENT WISDOM OF INDIA …
Born (1940) in Lahore, Kashmiri Khosa is a well-known artist based in Delhi. Inspired by the family tradition, he reflects Indian philosophy in his language of modern art, which won him a ‘National Award’ in 1981 and President of India’s silver plaque in 1974. His paintings are on display in many national and international art galleries, and also in the significant collections of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Lalit Kala Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parishad (Delhi ) , College of Art ( Delhi ), International Airport Authority of India and numerous private collections in India, America, Canada, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, England and many other countries of Europe. A documentary on his life and art was released by Doordarshan in 2003-2004. He has a studio in Dharmshala ( HP ) where he paints and spends his summer months. He has been a fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi.
( Interview of Kashmiri Khosa )
His art appears to have evolved through four phases. The initial phase or phase one appears to have been influenced by sculpture. The subject dominates the colours and the forms in this phase . The second phase of his art looks like a tempest of emotions and passions represented through figurative abstracts full of mystery or unexplained longings. And finally, in the third and fourth phase, he appears to have started looking inwards trying to make known some mysteries hidden deep within the self. This quest led him to study many ancient texts including Vedas and Upnishads and bring the core message to the canvas through his art. The extraterrestrial veneer that appears in his work is not only delightful but magical as well. For three years (1958-1961 ) ,he studied art at the College of Art, New Delhi.
And about his art , Kashmiri Khosa says this :-
“Over the years, I have been painting and trying to express non-fleeting beauty and the momentous tidings of our minds, along with the very roots of our beings in this modern material world. I came to the conclusion that the usual stances of modern painters like me has no truck with the art community or responsibility towards the human tradition. Therefore it took me time to recognize my obligation beyond the so called claimed freedom of an artist. I have been trying to understand and grasp the very thoughts and wisdom of ancient Indian culture in order to transform them into a modern visual language of art. I have been working in silence and solitude in a small studio under the Dhauldhar Peak of the Himalayas in Dharamsala, India, as perhaps the only Indian artist in our country doing this kind of metaphysical work.”
An extensive interview (along with the reproduction of paintings ) of Kashmiri Khosa was published by Temenos 13 - an International art journal edited by Kathleen Raine and published from London . His artworks were displayed at sixth Babylon International Festival of Art in Iraq 1994. In 2014, he was chosen to represent India and participate as an artist in the international show of “Stitching White Cube Global Village” in Netherlands, Denmark and Germany . He was also was invited to participate in Scope Miami Art (Voice of an artist) in 2015.
Kashmiri Khosa’s father , Pandit Som Nath Khosa studied art at Sir Amar Singh Technical Institute, Srinagar where his teachers included F. H. Andrews and J. C. Mukerjee. He moved to Delhi in 1950 with a desire to paint monumental scenes form Gandhi’s life and exhibit them to masses. As his work became popular , his studio in Delhi was frequented by several dignitaries. Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Babu Jagjivan Ram supported his mission, and his exhibitions travelled extensively until the end of his life in 1983. Som Nath Khosa’s paintings are still on display in several Gandhian institutions in India and abroad.
Anjali Khosa Kaul , daughter of Kashmiri khosa is a sculptor and a painter whose works can be seen in the National Gallery of Modern Art , New Delhi and with many private collectors the world over. She is a recipient of AIFACS Award and Ministry of Culture fellowship. Ashok Kaul , husband of Anjali Khosa Kaul practices industrial photography and art photography. Rajan Khosa , his son is a well known film maker and artist whose film ‘GATTU’ won many international awards including Best Feature Film (New York Indian Film Festival 2012) and 'Special Mention 'at Grand Prix of the Deutsches Kinderhifswerk (Berlin International Film Festival 2012).
About Kashmiri Khosa's work ,well known art critic , Keshav Malik writes this :-
"The figures that K. Khosa draws are as if sculpted rather than painted. There is no attempt to show off painterly skill but merely the anxiety to explore the timeless dimension,for his art is not that of a perfectionist and performer but of one in favour of regeneration of deeper self. Part reality, part unreality but in this very undefinable something is the essence of art: images searching for the truth of existence, they groping for the missing light, for the responsive human face.There is stillness in his compositions, the stillness at the heart of stones, in unpeopled spaces. It is the stillness of the moon. Thus too, the figures-angelic or serene - in khosa’s work seem to float in ether – that sacred postulate of deep self communings."
Kashmiri Khosa has been the pioneer of an individual style and genre ; a great one that needs attention and appreciation. And above all, he is a great human being who believes in the philosophy of ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhina ‘and ’ Live and let live ’. More Power to his brush and the very best wishes to a person who appears to be the definition of humility and gentleness.
I conclude this mini-post with a couplet of Jigar Moradabadi …
“Un ka jo farz hai vo ahl-e-siyaasat janein
Mera paigaam mohabbat hai jahaan tak pahunche ..”
( Avtar Mota )
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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