Chris Bayley, Exhibitions Curator, gives an introduction to 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.
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Artist biography
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).
