Krishen Khanna retrospective arrives in Patna
The Bihar Museum in Patna has opened an exhibition of works by veteran painter Krishen Khanna, bringing to the city a long span of art that, according to India Today, records "a lifetime of observations of people on the edges, on the move, and forever evolving." The show, titled Marching from the Margins, is presented in collaboration with the Institute of Contemporary Indian Art, India Today reported.
Khanna, now aged 101 according to the report, is represented in the exhibition by paintings that reflect several phases of his life: early memories of life in what is now Pakistan; relocation to Shimla after Partition; and later years in Bombay where he associated with the Progressive Artists’ Group. Works in the Patna exhibition include recent canvases such as an oil piece dated 2014 titled ‘Untitled’, which the report describes as part of a sustained effort to portray marginalised figures and movements.
What the exhibition shows and why it matters for Patna
For Patna audiences, the exhibition offers an opportunity to see the work of an artist whose practice spans the major social and political shifts of modern India. India Today framed the show as an attempt to chart a century’s zeitgeist through Khanna’s gaze — focusing on people who have built empires but remain in history’s footnotes. The Bihar Museum’s galleries provide a local platform for residents, students and artists to engage directly with those themes.
- Scope: Paintings spanning decades, including recent work (oil on canvas, 2014).
- Themes: Displacement, movement, marginalisation and everyday life.
- Collaboration: Presented with the Institute of Contemporary Indian Art, as reported by India Today.
"A Krishen Khanna exhibition in 2026 is not an ordinary event. It’s a record of the zeitgeist of a century," India Today wrote.
Locally, the exhibition is likely to draw interest from a range of audiences: art students from Patna’s colleges, cultural organisations, and everyday visitors curious about how a single artist’s body of work engages with broad historical currents from Partition to contemporary urban life. Bihar’s capital has in recent years sought to expand its roster of cultural events, and shows such as this one at a major civic museum add to that civic offering.
Exhibition context and takeaways
India Today’s report situates Khanna within a generation of artists who witnessed and responded to the making of modern India. The Patna presentation emphasises his long career: moving from early life in pre-Partition Pakistan, then to Shimla, and later settling in Bombay where he found a place among influential contemporaries. The exhibition narrative, as presented in the report, concentrates on Khanna’s attentiveness to people living at society’s margins — labourers, migrants and those whose histories are often overlooked.
| Item | Detail (as reported) |
|---|---|
| Exhibition title | Marching from the Margins |
| Venue | Bihar Museum, Patna |
| Collaboration | Institute of Contemporary Indian Art |
| Representative work mentioned | ‘Untitled’ (oil on canvas, 2014) |
| Artist age reported | 101 |
Organisers and museum officials were not quoted directly in the India Today coverage. The report focuses on the exhibition’s curatorial ambition and Khanna’s personal journey through historic upheavals and artistic circles. For Patna, the show is a notable cultural event that places a centenarian artist’s long view of India’s social landscape into local public view.
Visitors planning to attend should check the Bihar Museum’s official announcements for details on timings, ticketing and any guided programmes linked to the exhibition. The presentation adds to Patna’s growing calendar of events that aim to bring diverse artistic voices to the city and offer residents a chance to engage with national-level cultural conversations close to home.
