Rameshwar Broota

1941

Is born in New Delhi.

1963-67

Begins his career in the city as a teacher at Jamia Millia Islamia Higher Secondary School, Sarada Ukil School of Art, and, intermittently, at his alma mater, as a visiting lecturer.

1964

Becomes involved with Silpi Chakra group, holding office as its secretary and chairman over the years. Continues to paint portraits and self-portraits.

1967

Joins as head of department of fine arts at Triveni Kala Sangam. Breaks away from portraiture to use the ‘body’, absent from his portraits, as the core medium of his expression. Paints a series of large format paintings depicting emaciated labourers.

1970

Begins his Ape series depicting grotesque, hybrid, gorilla-like figures to express his concern about materialism in society.

1971

Exhibits the Ape paintings in 'Words and Lines' exhibition with artist K. Khosa.

1973

Receives the All India Fine Arts and Crafts award, winning it again in 1975.

1974

Keshav Malik writes, ‘Broota’s are competent paintings in the best painterly sense, and that is why they generally succeed as images that disturb one’s complacence’ in an essay in Lalit Kala Contemporary 17.

1975

Participates in the third International Triennale in New Delhi organised by Lalit Kala Akademi.

1976

Travels to France to participate in the Cagnes-Sur Mer international art fair.

1977

Participates in Lalit Kala Akademi’s group show, 'Pictorial Space'.

1978

Is part of the fourth International Triennale in New Delhi.

1980s

Begins his Man series, shifting his focus from outward concerns to looking inwards; evolves a new technique in his painting in which he meticulously scrapes out layers of flat monochromatic paint with the sharp edge of a broken blade.

1980,'81,'84

Receives Lalit Kala Akademi’s National Award.

1981

Is part of the fifth International Triennale, New Delhi.

1982

His works feature in Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, England, as part of ‘India: Myth and Reality’; and group show ‘Contemporary Indian Paintings’ at Kunsthalle Darmstadt Museum, Germany.

1985

Experiments with photography and directs the video, The Body and Biography of Life. Takes part in Asia Art Biennale, Bangladesh, and Tokyo Biennale Japan.

1986

Has his first Man series exhibition at Calcutta Art Gallery. Participates in Baghdad International Festival for Art Biennale, Iraq; Havana Biennale in Cuba.

1987

The artist’s painting, Prisoner of War, is among the top sales at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art Auction. Participates in Coup de Coeur Festival of India in Geneva, Switzerland

1988

Receives the L. N. Gupta Memorial Award from Max Muller Bhavan, Hyderabad.

1990s

Broota eliminates the human body to move towards the abstract. In his Traces of Man series, the human figure is almost absent from the imagery.

1995

Incorporates the use of the computer in his creative process, using it as a sketchbook to make and manipulate images for his own reference.

1996

Is part of Pyeongtaek International Art Festival in South Korea.

1997

Receives Kala Vibhushan from A.I.F.A.C.S. Is part of ‘Tryst with Destiny’ at Singapore Art Museum. Broota’s works are shown at two group exhibitions organised at National Gallery of Modern Art—those featuring Masanori Fukoka’s comprehensive Indian art collection, and the ‘Colours of Independence’ exhibition organised by Kolkata’s C.I.M.A.

1998

His work is part of ‘Contemporary Art of India’ at Peabody Essex Museum, U.S.A.

2000s

Conceptualises his Confrontation series in which he briefly returns to depicting close-ups of faces or the body juxtaposed threateningly with heavy objects or machinery.

2001

His exhibition, ‘Edge of Precipice’, opens at Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi.

2004

His ‘Archaeology of Experience’ is displayed in New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Three of the artist’s films—Shabash Bete (1991), The Body (1985), and Biography of Life (1985)—screen as part of Art and Cinema (celebrating 50 years of Lalit Kala Akademi) at the National Museum, New Delhi.

2006

Broota’s painting, Numbers, is auctioned by Christie’s for Rs. 6.7 crore, the highest in the Indian art section.

2008

His videos are part of ‘Still Moving Image’ at Devi Art Foundation, Gurgaon.

2010

In interviews marking the opening of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, Kiran Nadar says the first painting she bought was a work by Broota.

2013

Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at Lalit Arpan Festival, Asavari, New Delhi.

2014

Kiran Nadar Museum of Art organises the artist’s retrospective, ‘Visions of Interiority: Interrogating the Male Body’. His 1987 painting, Prisoner of War, is among the top sales at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art auction.

2016

Begins experimenting with epoxy resin to create translucent sculptures and paintings. Wins India Today's Artist of the Year award.

2018

The Stare of Destiny is exhibited at DAG’s booth at Masterpiece London.

2020

Is featured prominently in the book Modern Indian Painting featuring works from the Jane and Kito de Boer collection. Is ranked second second-most successful artist alive in the Hurun India Art List 2020.