(1941 - 2008)
Born in 1941, in Punjab, Bawa studied at the College of Art, New Delhi, and then at the London School of Printing. During his stay abroad, from 1967 to 1971, he held his first solo exhibition in London and Spain. His last solo shows include those at the Nehru Centre and Air Gallery, London, organized by Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai, Gallery Maya, London, in 2005; Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2005, Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai, Indian Contemporary, Hong Kong, in 2002; and Bose Pacia, New York, in 2000. Bawa’s works have also been part of many group shows including ‘Freedom 2008’ at the Centre for International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata, in 2008; ‘In Transit III’ presented by Sakshi Art Gallery at Alexander Ochs Galleries, Berlin, in 2005; ‘The Margi and the Desi’ at Gallery Espace, New Delhi, in 2004; ‘Four Contemporary Artists’ at Gallery Espace, New Delhi in 1998; ‘Wounds’ at CIMA, Kolkata and the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi, in 1993; the Grey Art Gallery, New York, in 1985; the Royal Academy, London, in 1982; and the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC, in 1982. Exhibitions that have included his work posthumously include ‘Kalpana: Figurative Art in India’ presented by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at Aicon Gallery, London; ‘Tracing Time’ at Bodhi Art, Mumbai’ and ‘In Memorium’ at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi, all in 2009. Bawa lived and worked in New Delhi, till he passed away in 2008.