Avinash Chandra
Avinash Chandra (* 1931 in Shimla , India , † 1991 in London ) was an Indian painter .
life and work
Chandra wanted to be a painter even as a child. At his father's insistence, he had to enroll at the Delhi Polytechnic Art School to study engineering, instead he secretly studied art there. He graduated with top marks in 1951 and then took on teaching positions in his faculty.
Chandra studied less classical Indian painting than contemporary European currents. He began painting landscapes as a young painter . In 1952 he had his first solo exhibition. He belonged to the art movement " Delhi Silpi Chakra ". One of his first paintings " Trees " was bought by the newly established Museum of Modern Art in Delhi , and he received first prize in the first national exhibition of Indian art at the Lalit Kala Academy in 1955.
In 1956, with a grant from the British government, he moved to London with his wife Prem Lata (also an artist) to study at the Central School of Art and Design in London. Chandra's first solo exhibition in England was organized by the Royal India, Pakistan and Ceylon Society and took place at the Commonwealth Institute ( Imperial Institute ) in London in 1957.
At the end of the fifties, his style of painting became increasingly abstract, and he developed his own painting style, characterized by flowing forms. His work received international attention and he was invited to take part in documenta III in Kassel in 1964. In 1965 the Tate Gallery in London bought a painting from him; the first purchase from an Indian artist. In 1964 he created a fiberglass mural for the Indian Tea Center in London and in 1966 a glass painting for the Chappell Music Publishing Company in London. He moved to New York City in 1966 until 1973 when he returned to London.
In the 1970s, Avinash Chandra turned to a new main theme with his painting: the female body. He begins with elegant line drawings that gradually develop into subtle, erotic colored drawings over a decade. By his death in 1991, Chandra has had more than thirty solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous group shows in many countries. His works are part of hundreds of public and private collections worldwide.
Literature and Sources
- documenta III. International exhibition ; Catalog Kassel / Cologne 1964
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Chandra, Avinash |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Indian painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1931 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Shimla , India |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1991 |
| Place of death | London |