Sayed Haider Raza
The cosmopolitan abstractions of Sayed Haider Raza (1922 – 2016) reveal his long itinerant life that cuts across many important phases of transnational modernism; evolving a distinct language in which the artist tried to express both the indigenous and the universal, the contingent and the eternal. In a world divided by borders and rising insularities of different kinds, it is inspiring to engage Raza’s intense and luminous corpus of works that challenges many of the prevailing assumptions of the present. Raza grew up to recite the Quran and cite the Gita with equal passion. He venerated forms of Nature (river, land/bhoomi, air) that stretched his interest back to the ancient Vedic traditions, embraced Sufic thought, performed surya namaskar and practiced dhyana (meditation). This internalization made Raza receptive to spiritual knowledge without being rigid and regimented in his religious practice. He remained inspired by the poetry of Kabir, Ghalib, Mir, Rainer Maria Rilke and writings of Mahatma Gandhi.
For more information and images visit: https://www.knma.org/pages/traversing-space-here-and-beyond-centennial-exhibition/
Image: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
Raza’s impact on the world of art was immense and immeasurable, says Kiran Nadar. The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art is currently exhibiting works that explore the acclaimed painter’s evolution as an artist
The first physical exhibition mounted by the Piramal Art Museum celebrates five decades of Raza's work, with some special paintings from its collection.
February 22 marked the centenary of one of India's most famous modernist painters, SH Raza. Six people -- a collector, a gallerist, artists, a teacher and a curator -- recount their favourite thing about the iconic master's art and life