Amar Kanwar
Over three decades, New Delhi-based artist and filmmaker Amar Kanwar has developed a distinctive body of lyrical films and multi-video installations that move between documentary, travelogue and visual essay. This major solo exhibition unfolds as a site-specific installation, bringing together new and existing films to transform Serpentine North into a meditative visual and sonic environment.
Shaped by the history of the Indian subcontinent, Kanwar frequently draws on lived experience to investigate the enduring legacies of decolonisation and the 1947 Partition, which led to the creation of India, Pakistan and eventually Bangladesh. In his films, Kanwar bears witness to social upheaval, displacement, power, violence, arrogance, justice and memory. Reckoning with the past to better comprehend the urgencies of the present, he reveals what unites us, regardless of geography or context.
Within the darkened galleries, visitors will encounter a trilogy of films by Kanwar: the feature-length Such a Morning (2017), the multi-screen installation The Peacock’s Graveyard (2023), and a new seven-screen installation titled The Charcoal Man (2026), which makes its premiere at Serpentine.
Amar Kanwar is curated in close collaboration with the artist by Chris Bayley, Exhibitions Curator, with Kit Gurnos, Assistant Exhibitions Curator.
Amar Kanwar’s exhibition unfolds across a series of films and installations. You might choose to spend a whole morning or afternoon in the exhibition, taking time to watch all the films in full (total running time is approximately 3 hours).
Alternatively, you are welcome to visit the exhibition for as long as you wish and move between the works at your own pace. You can immerse yourself in a single space or film and can return whenever you like to explore more. Entry is free.
Artist Bio
Amar Kanwar (b. 1964, New Delhi, India) is an artist and filmmaker. Selected solo exhibitions of his work have been at Palazzo Grassi–Pinault Collection, Venice, Italy (2026); Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, USA (2024); photo.circle, Kathmandu, Nepal (2023); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA (2022); Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (2019); Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, India (2019); Tate Modern, London, UK (2018); Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota, USA (2018); Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden (2017); Le Frac des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou, France (2016); Goethe Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai, India (2016); NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, Singapore (2016); Assam State Museum in collaboration with Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi and North East Network, India (2015); The Art Institute of Chicago, USA (2014); Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, UK (2013); Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21), Vienna, Austria (2013); Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland (2012); Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (2008); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands (2008).
Selected group exhibitions and biennales have been at Pola Museum of Art, Hakone, Japan (2026); Shanghai Biennale, China (2026); Rhizoma, International Biennial for Contemporary Art, Kasterlee, Belgium (2025); M+, Hong Kong (2024); The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA (2023); Sharjah Biennale, UAE (2023, 2013, 2011); Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kerala, India (2022, 2013); Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy (2022); PhotoKTM, Kathmandu, Nepal (2018); Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, India (2018); Lahore Biennale, Pakistan (2018); Dhaka Art Summit, Bangladesh (2016); Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis, USA (2014); Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2014); The Menil Collection, Houston, USA (2014); The 56th Carnegie International, USA (2013); National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea (2013); Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA (2013, 2012); Istanbul Biennial, Türkiye (2013); and Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Russia (2013).
Kanwar has also participated in documenta 11, 12, 13 and 14 in Kassel, Germany (2002, 2007, 2012, 2017). Kanwar was the co-curator of the 17th Istanbul Biennial, Türkiye (2022). He has been the recipient of several awards including an Honourable Mention at the Sharjah Biennial (2023); IHME Helsinki Commission (2022); Prince Claus Award (2017); Creative Time’s Leonore Annenberg Prize for Art and Social Change (2014); an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts, Maine College of Art, USA (2006); Edvard Munch Award for Contemporary Art, Norway (2005); MacArthur Fellowship, India (2000); Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival, USA (1999); as well as the Golden Conch, Mumbai International Film Festival, India (1998).
