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Bhupen Khakhar
(1934 - August 7, 2003) India

Bhupen Khakhar

Painter

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Bhupen Khakhar was born in Mumbai, into a middle class Gujarati family. His father died when Khakhar was four years old, and his mother, Mahalaxmi, brought up the children. In keeping with the expectations of the successful mercantile classes, Khakhar initially trained as an accountant, graduating with degrees in commerce and administration.

Bhupen KhakharKhakhar belongs to the older generation of modern painters. A chartered accountant, he shifted his focus to art in 1962 and was admitted to the Faculty of Fine Arts in Baroda, north of Bombay, where he completed a degree in Art Criticism at the Fine Art Faculty at the M.S. University.

Subsequently, he joined and took a course in art appreciation at the J. J. School of Art. He has had solo shows in London and Paris and was included in the most recent "Documenta" in Kassel, Germany.

As a homosexual living in India, Khakhar is trying to assess the state of homosexuality in this country. He executed his first series of paintings in the late '50s. At the onset, he made collages of kitschy calendars and painted them over. Although he portrayed contemporary situations, around 1967, a strong influence of Indian miniatures was perceptible in his works. Later, in the early '70s, he painted tradesmen at work. This was a departure from the traditional subjects of contemporary Indian art.

Bhupen Khakhar's paintingHis works have a strong narrative and he makes extensive use of bright kitschy pinks and greens. The paintings of the '80s were illustrations of proverbs. In the early '90s he broke with convention again, and made several controversial paintings with homosexual themes.

A joyful and mischievous person, also highly regarded in the world of Gujarati literature (he wrote mysteries and funny stories like Phoren Soap), Bhupen Khakhar died in Bhailalbhai Amin Hospital, Vadodara, after a prolonged illness - he was suffering from cancer. His companion, Vallarbhai Shah, died just one week before him, on July 30, 2003. Mr. Khakhar has no immediate survivors.

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