Matthew Krishanu’s paintings explore topics including childhood, race, religion, art history, family, grief and love. His subjects – frequently Brown people – are realised with a shallow pictorial depth, delicate washes of colour, and with a sense of interior life. Through this, Krishanu questions the positions of his painterly subjects and depictions of landscapes in relation to the legacy of European colonialism and the art historical canon. Krishanu’s practice is heavily informed by his early childhood spent in Dhaka where his parents moved in order to work for the Church of Bangladesh.

This, his first trade monograph, presents a number of series of Krishanu’s works: Another Country, Expatriates, Mission, House of God, Religious Workers and In Sickness and In Health. The publication features essays by Mark Rappolt and Dorothy Price, alongside an interview with the artist by Ben Luke. Rappolt, Editor-in-Chief at ArtReview magazine, details the various worlds present within Krishanu’s paintings. He draws out key themes within Krishanu’s oeuvre such as power, religion, identity and memory. Price, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art and Visual Culture at The Courtauld, writes sensitively about solitude, memory and emotion which are palpable within Krishanu’s work. In particular, the series In Sickness and In Health, which traces a life path of Uschi Gatward, the artist’s late wife, over sixteen years to her untimely death from cancer in late 2021. In an interview with Luke, a critic and editor at The Art Newspaper, Krishanu discusses his practice in relation to ideas of religion, race, global art history, photography, health and personal experiences. Krishanu’s work explores, in the artist’s own words, ‘the puzzle of painting’. Produced by Anomie Publishing and Niru Ratnam, London, the publication has been supported by Guy Halamish; Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai; Niru Ratnam, London; Taimur Hassan; and Tanya Leighton, Berlin and Los Angeles.

Publication date: March 2023
ISBN: 9781910221334
Hardcover, 192 pages, dimensions: 295 x 245mm
Order: Casemate, Waterstones

The framework of exhibition provides a space to explore both childhood as the origin of self and the dynamic that flows between community to self. It is a space layered with relationships and intergenerational exchange. Roman Ondák’s performance Teaching to Walk features a mother accompanying her son as he takes his first steps in the gallery, Matthew Krishanu’s paintings – loosely based on himself and his brother – explore sibling relationships and childhood scenes layered with subjects of race, play and memory. Elsewhere, Aditya Novali’s ongoing project Significant Other is developed from his experience with his neurodivergent younger sister, Ade Novali. Whilst he has struggled to communicate with her, he discovered that she finds comfort in drawing obsessively and that her works exhibit a similar visual language and orderliness to his own abstract compositions. For the Summit, Ade and Aditya Novali will present a collaborative, site-specific installation that speaks to the communication between the two siblings that transcends words.

Dhaka Art Summit 2023, National Art Gallery, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, 14/3 Segun Bagicha Rd, Dhaka 1000
February 3 — 11, 2023, 10am to 8pm

David Trigg speaks to the London-based painter Matthew Krishanu, whose figurative paintings explore themes of childhood, religion and the legacies of colonialism.

Matthew was raised in Bangladesh in the 1980s, a formative period which has inspired several bodies of work, from paintings based on his childhood adventures with his brother, to his Mission series addressing his father’s role as a priest in the church of Bangladesh, and his House of God paintings, which depict church buildings in the Bengal landscape.

Matthew’s paintings of religious meetings, ceremonies and churches are painted in a simple and abbreviated style with thin washes of paint and bold, assertive marks. Yet his uncomplicated aesthetic belies a complex web of historical and cultural undercurrents that serve to problematise his beguiling images.

Matthew’s interest in making paintings about religion led to his Religious Workers series, created for the Southbank Centre’s Everyday Heroes exhibition in autumn 2020, which responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with a vivid outdoor celebration of key and frontline workers.

Whether addressing religion, the legacies of Western imperialism, or the history of religious art, his works resist polemics, instead inviting conversation and contemplation.

Listen here.

Matthew Krishanu's second solo show at Niru Ratnam ‘Playground’ will run from 10th November 2022 to 14th January 2023. Since his first exhibition at the gallery in October 2020, London-based painter Krishanu has participated in 'Mixing It Up: Painting Today', Hayward Gallery, London (2021), Coventry Biennial (2021) and 'Prophecy' at Mead Gallery, Warwick (2022) in addition to solo shows at Tanya Leighton (Berlin) and LGDR (New York). This new exhibition takes its title from the painting 'Playground', which will be presented alongside new works by Krishanu that further explore the artist’s upbringing and issues around childhood and colonialism that are regular touchpoints of his work.

The Guardian: Secrets of the Seesaw, Elizabeth Fullerton, 8 Nov 2022

Playground, Niru Ratnam Gallery
Niru Ratnam Gallery, First Floor, 23 Ganton Street, Soho, London, W1F 9BW
Wednesday to Saturday, 12noon to 5pm

Christie’s is delighted to present a group of ten contemporary artworks by artists with links to the Indian subcontinent in our Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale in London this October. Works by exciting names, including Iftikhar Dadi & Elizabeth Dadi, Rasheed Araeen, Haroon Mirza, Prabha Meppayil, Bharti Kher, Ayesha Sultana, Rana Begum, Matthew Krishanu and Tayeba Lipi, will be sold to raise funds for CLEFT centre in Bangladesh and funding post-surgical care.

14 October, Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale.

Published by GRIMM on the occasion of "The Kingfisher's Wing", 2022.

Hard cover with linen.

Publisher: GRIMM Amsterdam (NL)
Dimensions: 22 x 15 cm | 8 5/8 x 5 7/8 in
Pages: 119
ISBN: ISBN 978-90-83|888-6-7

GRIMM is pleased to announce The Kingfisher’s Wing, a group exhibition curated by Tom Morton drawing together paintings by Gabriella Boyd, Varda Caivano, Louise Giovanelli, Matthew Krishanu, Francesca Mollett, William Monk, Ryan Mosley, Christian Quin Newell, Mary Ramsden, Tim Stoner and Phoebe Unwin. The exhibition is the third collaboration between GRIMM and Morton, following the exhibitions Recent British Sculpture and Recent British Painting presented by the gallery in Amsterdam in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

GRIMM, 54 White Street, New York, NY (US)

This group exhibition, conceived in collaboration with artist Laura Nyahuye, uses the narrative of Coventry writer George Eliot’s Middlemarch to look closely at overlapping stories and histories that bring people together through shared experience.

Paintings from Matthew Krishanu’s ongoing series Interiors feature depictions of his wife (the writer Uschi Gatward) over a 15-year period, alongside their daughter (born in 2010). The paintings detail intimate portraits of wife and child over the years and mark significant events including the first months with their baby, and Uschi and Matthew’s wedding.

Included in Prophecy are four new paintings, completed the week prior to the exhibition’s opening. Three of these latest works capture the final weeks of Uschi’s life, following a terminal cancer diagnosis in September 2021, and show the complexity of the human condition, vulnerability, and grief. The fourth painting looks back to an earlier time, in Bedroom (Mother and Baby).

Featured artists include:
Dineo Seshee Bopape, JJ Chan, Esiri Erheriene-Essi, Marianna Fahmy, Matthew Krishanu, Edwin Mingard, Maria Mahfooz, David Moore, Eleanor Mortimer, Laura Nyahuye, Saskia Olde Wolbers, Khadija Saye, Caroline Walker, Nilupa Yasmin

Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry

Memories of childhood permeate the subtropical world that Matthew Krishanu constructs in his evocative paintings. In these works, the past is distilled and reassembled to create vivid scenes that feel fused to a former time. Tangible environments shape these narratives: powdery pastel terrains are bookended by cloudless blue skies and pools of turquoise water, while interior spaces (particularly churches) incorporate palm trees and other vernacular additions, such as primary-colour streamers that cascade from the ceiling.

Undercurrents text by Allie Biswas

LGDR , 3 East 89 Street, New York, 10128

‘Two prints of Sickert’s paintings are taped to my studio wall: La Hollandaise c.1906 and Portrait of an Afghan Gentleman c.1895.’

Matthew Krishanu, Andrew Cranston, Thomas Kennedy, Kaye Donachie, Somaya Critchlow, Merlin James and Louise Giovanelli.

Walter Sickert’s radical paintings pushed British art into the 20th century, transforming the representation of everyday life. Here, before the opening of the first exhibition dedicated to him at Tate since 1960, we ask six leading painters what Sickert’s art means to them today.

Read here: Tate Etc.

Tanya Leighton is pleased to announce the opening of Matthew Krishanu’s ‘Arrow and Pulpit’, an exhibition of the artist’s ongoing exploration of his childhood in South Asia. On view will be selections from the artist’s ‘Another Country’ and ‘Mission’ series, paintings that explore the two realms of Krishanu's memories of Dhaka: that of a boy in the midst of a world of adventure and play and that of a son born to an English priest and a Bengali Indian mother. Tanya Leighton is also excited to announce that ‘Arrow and Pulpit’ marks the first presentation of Krishanu’s work as a new member of the gallery's programme.

His work was the recent focus in Studio International, September 2021. An interview with Krishanu and Ben Luke (Review Editor) at The Art Newspaper is forthcoming  featured this November.

‘Arrow and Pulpit’ will be open Tuesday to Saturday, 11–6 pm.

For further information and images please contact info@tanyaleighton.com or telephone +49(0)3021972220.

Tanya Leighton
Kurfürstenstraße 24/25, Berlin
T +49 (0)30 21 972 220
info@tanyaleighton.com
www.tanyaleighton.com

Matthew Krishanu’s series In Sickness and In Health features paintings made across a fifteen-year period. These include portraits of his wife who is currently very unwell and regularly in hospital, alongside their daughter, painted as a small baby (in 2010), who features in the centre of the series.

These paintings show significant milestones in the artist’s life taking place within a variety of interior settings. Two of these paintings make reference to the work of other artists. Indeed, paintings of women and children in domestic settings as well as domestic still- life works from the collection of Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum were a crucial starting point for Matthew.

Matthew’s work typically combines autobiography with reference to the canon of art history. He has noted: “I think of the paintings as coming from an interior place. I always have a personal connection to the subject matter.”

Matthew's works resonate with the exhibition Picture of Health: Art, Medicine & the Body, which can be seen in the Main Gallery. Additionally, two paintings on paper by Matthew can be found as part of HYPER-POSSIBLE at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum.

Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, Royal Pump Rooms, The Parade, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 4AA

Featuring three generations of artists who live and work here, Mixing It Up highlights the UK’s emergence as a vital international centre of contemporary painting.

Reflecting the international character of the painting scene in this country, the participating artists come from a diverse range of backgrounds and nationalities: over a third of the participating artists were born in other places, including countries in Africa, Asia, South America and North America.

Mixing It Up: Painting Today features 31 artists:
Tasha Amini, Hurvin Anderson, Alvaro Barrington, Lydia Blakeley, Gabriella Boyd, Lisa Brice, Gareth Cadwallader, Caroline Coon, Somaya Critchlow, Peter Doig, Jadé Fadojutimi, Denzil Forrester, Louise Giovanelli, Andrew Pierre Hart, Lubaina Himid, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Merlin James, Rachel Jones, Allison Katz, Matthew Krishanu, Graham Little, Oscar Murillo, Mohammed Sami, Samara Scott, Daniel Sinsel, Caragh Thuring, Sophie von Hellermann, Jonathan Wateridge, Rose Wylie, Issy Wood and Vivien Zhang.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue with original texts by Jeremy Atherton Lin, Martha Barratt, Ben Eastham, Emily LaBarge, Rosanna Mclaughlin, Rianna Jade Parker and Ralph Rugoff.

Mixing It Up is curated by Hayward Gallery Director Ralph Rugoff, with Assistant Curator Phoebe Cripps and Curatorial Assistant Thomas Sutton.

Mixing It Up, The Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

Exhibition catalogue available.

Sixty contemporary painters born or living in Britain discussed through national and international solo exhibitions of their work.

Following the success of ‘The Anomie Review of Contemporary British Painting’ in 2018, a second volume has been created to showcase solo exhibitions that have defined contemporary painting in Britain since the first volume. This new, larger anthology presents the work of sixty artists born or living here through documentation and discussion of solo exhibitions of their work in museums and galleries around the UK and internationally. Featuring artists at different stages of their careers, from senior figures exhibiting at major museums to emerging artists presenting some of their first commercial gallery exhibitions, ‘The Anomie Review of Contemporary British Painting 2’ offers an overview of recent activity in the medium of painting in this country.

Artists and venues featured in this new volume include Hurvin Anderson at Rat Hole Gallery, Tokyo; Frank Bowling at Tate Britain; Lisa Brice at Stephen Friedman Gallery, London; Gareth Cadwallader at Josh Lilley, London; Denzil Forrester at Nottingham Contemporary; Sophie von Hellermann at Pilar Corrias, London; Matthew Krishanu at Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham; Joy Labinjo at BALTIC, Gateshead; France-Lise McGurn at Simon Lee, London; Jenny Saville at Gagosian, New York; Anj Smith at MOSTYN, Llandudno; Tim Stoner at Modern Art, London; Phoebe Unwin at Towner Eastbourne, and many more.

The Anomie Review of Contemporary British Painting 2
ISBN: 978-1-910221-27-3
Published by Anomie Publishing, London

Studio International spoke to Krishanu as he prepared for a busy season of exhibitions, including his participation in the Hayward Gallery’s ambitious survey of contemporary painting Mixing It Up: Painting Today, a commission for the Coventry Biennial and a solo exhibition at the Tanya Leighton Gallery in Berlin.

Featuring new and recent works on paper by leading international artists, the Biennial showcases every imaginable technique and represents artists from a range of generations, backgrounds, and heritages. The exhibition culminates in an online auction taking place over its final two weeks, with all works available to purchase – it’s your chance to own works by established greats and discover emerging talent.

For many, 2020 was the year for drawing – its absorbing immediacy, its accessibility to all and its capacity for processing ideas, thoughts and emotions made it a vital tool for navigating uncertain times. The multiplicity of drawings on show reveals sparkling gems, a glossary of the challenges and the opportunities afforded by a global pandemic that has affected us all in different ways.

Figure and Ground:
Drawing Biennial 2021 artists Phoebe Boswell, Mandy El-Sayegh, Jake Grewal and Matthew Krishanu in conversation with Isabel Seligman, Monument Trust Curator of Modern and Contemporary Drawing at the British Museum. Four artists who use figuration in their work, or different interpretations of the corporeal, examine the drawn body from different perspectives and in different contexts, including as site of memory, resistance and desire.

Watch here.

Drawing Biennial, Drawing Room, 1-27 Rodney Place, London SE17 1PP

Procession of Priests enters the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery permanent collection.

Riverboat is included in the John Moores 2020 exhibition (viewable online; gallery reopens 17 May – 27 June 2021).

John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery, William Brown St, Liverpool L3 8EL

Mountain Tent, 2019, oil on canvas, 60 x 50cm and Two Boys in a Tree, 2019, oil on board, 61 x 46cm enter the Government Art Collection.

Matthew Krishanu’s solo exhibition ‘Picture Plane’ consists of paintings where subtle shifts in register between different parts of the painted surface imbue his subject matter with a sense of ambiguity and detachment. Through this Krishanu questions the position of his subjects in relation to traditions that were largely the legacy of European colonialism.

In ‘Mission School’ (2017), twelve children are seen looking at a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’ which is propped on an easel. The children occupy the very bottom of the picture plane. Flatness and a lack of pictorial depth give way only in one part – the reproduction of ‘The Last Supper’. Christ is at the centre of the work, the viewer’s gaze directed by the diagonal of his left arm. This is a sudden appearance of the conventional perspective associated with Renaissance and pre-modern canonical art history, puncturing the rest of the picture plane.

In the House of God series, Krishanu paints together areas of flattened space, rendered in layers of one or two particular colours, with half-remembered figures and buildings that are pushed towards the edges of the painting. The surface of works such as ‘Church, Tree and Field’ (2020), and ‘Church Tower and Field’ (2019) are predominantly taken up by a large painted area of colour that might plausibly be read as a field (with reference to the respective titles of each work). But it is also possible to read these areas as a field in a different sense; a colour field, the term that writers sometimes used to describe abstract painting. These ‘fields’ are almost wholly abstract and the “subject matter” of this series, the churches, towers and crosses, is very much at the margins.

Krishanu’s work questions where the space is for subjects who find themselves within a foreign, imperial narrative, an afterthought to the great ‘civilising’ mission. Often this is to be an observer rather than a participant, perhaps indeed observing the decline of that mission. His subjects might only be allowed marginal and precarious subject positions but there is a tenuous security in those positions, watching as imposed traditions slowly sink into the unforgiving land, serenaded by crows.

Niru Ratnam Gallery

First Floor, 23 Ganton Street, Soho, London, W1F 9BW

Wednesday to Friday, 11am to 6pm | Saturday, 12pm to 5pm