Ikon presents Lines of Flight, the first major survey exhibition of British–Indian artist Balraj Khanna (1939–2024).

Bringing together more than 40 paintings made over six decades, Lines of Flight offers the most comprehensive overview to date of Khanna’s remarkable career as a painter, writer and curator. The exhibition traces the evolution of his distinctive vision of abstraction, shaped by his youth in the Punjab region of India, his life in post-war Britain, and an enduring fascination with the natural world. Through these works, he explores themes of migration, Partition, identity and belonging.

A self-taught artist, Khanna witnessed the Partition of India in 1947 before relocating to London in 1962. Following a road accident in 1965, a period of recuperation in Metz, France, proved pivotal to his practice. Immersed in the surrounding Forêt de Saint-Bernard near Metz, he began to develop a highly individual form of abstraction, characterised by layered surfaces, the use of line and string, organic and geometric forms, and an acute sense of spatial rhythm.

Rarely seen works from the 1960s and 70s are presented alongside large-scale compositions from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Early paintings inspired by the forests of Metz, France, are shown alongside later works exploring childhood memories, diasporic identity, postcolonial politics and the enduring legacy of the Partition.

The exhibition also celebrates Khanna’s deep connection to Birmingham through Astral Dance (2001), his monumental painted safety curtain for Birmingham Hippodrome, which marks its 25th anniversary this year.

This exhibition is generously supported by lead supporter Bagri Foundation, with additional support from ai. gallery, the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, Jhaveri Contemporary, and the The Estate of Balraj Khanna.

Join us for the exhibition launch on Tuesday 30 September, 5-7pm. Free entry, all welcome.