2025

The journey of an artist is one of truth. A surrender to a fundamental instinct, a guidance coming from a realm unknown, a knowledge of expression passed down through the ages. Anwar Khan, in his practice of about 40 years, has allowed this inherent purpose to overshadow all other material identities.

Expanding into newer mediums and techniques in a large-scale manner, such as wood, pyrography, ceramic, installations, he continues along his evolution in this new series, breaking free from a familiar rhythm and creating a new tune altogether. While the context of the work remains the same, the process has become deeper and more nuanced. His art, inspired by the primordial elements of nature and historical remnants of civilization, has now turned itself into something sacred. The shapes, the shades, the glistening of gold and silver, the vibrant threads tying it all together; one cannot help but experience a deep silence in the presence of his creations. The reverence the works call for are a result of his own mental discipline and faith. As a life-long student of his guru J. Swaminathan, he has stayed committed to the duty of an artist with the soul of a sufi.

The artist creates that which creation itself makes him. Rooted in mysticism, an ancient and esoteric wisdom, Anwar’s art is a cultural find. Like a lost relic it embodies the past, present and future, questioning what we consider to be contemporary, channelizing the instinct of centuries.

Sanjana Shah

(Tuesday, March 18 to Sunday, April 27)