Bose Krishnamachari

Biography:

Born in 1963 in Magattukara, Kerala, Bose Krishnamachari is a distinguished contemporary artist and co-founder of the prestigious Kochi Muziris Biennale. Bose completed his B.F.A. from Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, in 1991 and received the Charles Wallace India Trust Award to do his Masters at Goldsmiths College, London, in 1990-2000. Bose Krishnamachari's oeuvre encompasses a variety of artworks, such as intense abstract paintings, figurative drawings, sculpture, photography, installations, and architectural works. 

Krishnamachari Bose's works indicate the pop art that emerged in the 1960s in the U.S. and Britain. This influence is due to his time in London at the Goldsmiths College. His varied artistic and curatorial practice includes contemporary art, design, and sciences. He has also been inspired by the landscape of India based on which he creates abstract paintings in vibrant brushstrokes and brightly coloured paints.

Krishnamachari Bose also opened Gallery BMB in Mumbai in 2009 with a vision to bring international contemporary art to India. He is also well known for discovering and promoting young artistic talent. In 2010, Bose Krishnamachari co-founded the first international Biennale of Contemporary Art, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, with the support of the Government of Kerala. He was the Director of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022.

He has held eight solo shows, including one at the British Council, Mumbai and at the National Gallery of Modern Art, also in Mumbai. He has also participated in several group shows including 'Bombay Maximum City', 'Lille 3000', France (2006), 'The Shape That Is', Jendela and Concourse, Esplanade, Singapore (2006), Indian Art at the Swarovski' Crystal World, Innsbruck, Austria (2007), 'Gateway Bombay' at the Peabody Essex Museum (2007), 'India Art Now': Spazio Oberdan, Milan (2007), 'Indian Highway' at the Serpentine Gallery (2009), the Astrup Fearnley Museum, Norway (2009), the Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark (2010), the Lyon Contemporary Art Museum, the Fondazione MAXXI, Rome, 2011 and the ARTZUID Amsterdam-2011, 'The Mirror Sees Best in the Dark' at Emami Art Gallery, Kolkata-2019/20.

Bose Krishnamachari curated 'For an Image, Faster than Light', the first edition of the Yinchuan Biennale in Yinchuan, MOCA, China, in 2016. In 2021, Krishnamachari Bose curated a show titled 'Lokame Tharavadu', a contemporary art exhibition that presented the works by two hundred and sixty-seven Kerala artists from around the globe at different venues in Alappuzha and Durbar Hall, Ernakulam. The show was a tribute to the unwavering spirit of artists following the pandemic.

During the last few years, he has received many accolades and is a recipient of the Kerala Lalitha Kala Academi Award (1985), the Bombay Art Society Prize, the Mid America Arts Alliance Award in 1996, the Charles Wallace India Trust Award in 1999, and First Runner up at Bose Pacia Modern Biannual, New York, among others. Bose was also felicitated with the Lifetime Fellow of Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi in 2009. He was Voted as the Face of 93 in the field of Visual Art by Illustrated Weekly of India.

He lives and works in Mumbai.

Artworks By Bose Krishnamachari