S H Raza

Born in 1922, Babaria (Madhya Pradesh), Sayed Haider Raza met his fellow progressive artists, Souza, Husain, K. H Ara at Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay (1943–47), before relocating to France in October 1950 to pursue a scholarship from the French Government to study at the École Nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSB-A) in Paris.

He continued to reside and exhibit his art in Paris after finishing his studies while also travelling throughout Europe. Later, in 1956, he was given the Prix de la critique in Paris, making him the first non-French artist to do so. Following that, he received the Padma Shri and Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship in 1981, the Padma Bhushan in 2007, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2013. On July 14, 2015, he received the Commandeur de la Legion d'honneur, the highest civilian honour bestowed by France.

Raza worked mainly with a few primary colours, assembled and reassembled to simulate the fervour and hues of his homeland. A strong abstractionist and a colourist, he carried a strong affinity for Indian cosmological vibes and values. His path of discovering the concepts of Bindu, Prakriti Purusha, Kundalini, Panchtattva, Tribhuj among others and how they are represented through geometrical patterns will be sure to fascinate you endlessly.

He went to New Delhi (India) when his wife, the French artist Janine Mongillat, passed away in 2002; where he painted for several hours every day even when he was in his 90s, until his death in 2016.