Sayed Haider Raza is one of the most prominent and groundbreaking Indian painters of his generation. During his training in France, Raza experimented with a variety of Modernist styles through landscape painting—first inspired by Expressionism, and later by geometric abstraction. In 1970, Raza began to paint purely geometric forms, particularly the circle and the dot, which he likened to the idea of the bindu. Though his style changed drastically over the course of his career, Raza’s works were all united in their emphasis on color, and their references to memory and mood. Raza was also responsible for founding the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) with Krishna Hawlaji Ara and Francis Newton Souza, with the purpose of turning away from the European realist styles taught in Indian art schools, and establishing a modernist vocabulary relevant to India. He was a renowned Indian artist. His works are mainly abstracts in oil or acrylic, with a very rich use of color, replete with icons from Indian cosmology as well as its philosophy. After high school, he studied further at the Nagpur School of Art, Nagpur (1939–43), followed by Sir J. J. School of Art, Bombay (1943–47),[17] before moving to France in October 1950 to study at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSB-A) in Paris, 1950-1953 on a Govt. of France scholarship. After his studies, he travelled across Europe, and continued to live and exhibit his work in Paris.[16] He was later awarded the Prix de la critique in Paris in 1956, becoming the first non-French artist to receive the honour. Solo exhibitions. • 2016 Nirantar, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata • 2015, Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris, "Raza: Paintings" • 2015, Akar Prakar, Kolkata, "Aarambh – Raza at 93" • 2015, Art Musings, Mumbai, "Aarambh @ 93: Solo Show of SH Raza" • 2014, Grosvenor Vadehra, London, "SH Raza – Pyaas" • 2014, Sovereign FZE, Dubai, "Raza: Paysage, Select Works 1950s – 1970s" • 2014, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, "SH Raza - Parikrama – Around Gandhi" • 2013, Akar Prakar, Kolkata, "Shabd- bindu – A show of recent works by SH Raza & poetry by Ashok Vajpeyi" • 2013, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, "Antardhwani" • 2012, ICIA, The Art Trust, Mumbai, "SH Raza – Solo Show" • 2012, Art Musings, Mumbai, "SH Raza: Vistaar" • 2012, Grosvenor Gallery, London, "Bindu Vistaar" • 2011, Vadehra Art Gallery & Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, "SH Raza, Punaraagman" • 2010 Flora Jansem Gallery, Raza Ceramiques, Paris • 2010, Galerie Patrice Trigano, Paris, "Sayed Haider Raza, Œuvres 1950-2001" • 2010 Akar Prakar Art Gallery,Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Jaipur, Delhi, INDIA in 2010 • 2010, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, "Recent Works – SH Raza"-- • 2008 Art Alive Gallery, Delhi, India in 2008 • Exhibition Magnificent Seven at Art Alive Gallery[36] • 2007, Ayran Art Gallery, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hong Kong, "SH Raza - Celebrating 85 Years of living Legend" • 2007, RL Fine ARTS, New York, "SH Raza: Master of Colors – Selected Works" • 2007, The Arts Trust at the ICIA, Mumbai, "SH Raza- Solo Show" • 2007, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, "Swati – S.H. Raza" • 2006, TAO Art Gallery, Mumbai, "Rang Ras – S.H. Raza" • 2006, RL Fine Arts, New York, SH Raza: Selected Works • 2006, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, "Raza" • 2006, Hong Kong, Aryan Art Gallery, "Raza: Metamorphosis" • 2005, Aryan Art Gallery, New Delhi, "Raza – Recent Works" • 2005, Saffronart & Berkeley Square Gallery, London & New York, "SH Raza: Summer 2005" • 2004, Art Musings, Mumbai, "SH Raza" • 2003, Berlin, The Fine Art Resource, "SH Raza: Paintings from 1996 to 2003" • 2001, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi, "Mindscapes: The Sacred Search: a select collection of works from 1951- 2002 by Raza" • 1999, Gallery 54, New York, "Raza" • 1997 Roopankar Museum of Fine Arts, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal • 1997 Jehangir Art Gallery Mumbai • 1997 National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. • 1997, Vadhera Art Gallery & Chemould Gallery, Bhopal, Mumbai & New Delhi, "Raza: Avartan 1991-1996" • 1994 The Art Rental Corporate, Group Michael Ferrier, Échirolles, Grenoble • 1992 Jehangir Nicholson Museum, National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai • 1992 Courses Arts Lalouvesc, France • 1991 Gallery Eterso, Cannes, "Bindu ou la quête de l'essentiel", June 28 -August 17 • 1991, Palais de Carnolès, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Menton, "Raza: Rétrospective 1952-1991" • 1991 Chemould Gallery, Bombay, "Raza Anthology 1980-1990" • 1988 Chemould Gallery, Bombay; Koloritten Galleri, Stavanger, Norway • 1987 The Head of the artist, Grenoble • 1985 Galerie Pierre Parat, Paris • 1984 Chemould Gallery, Bombay • 1982 Gallery Loeb, Bern, Switzerland; Gallery JY Noblet, Grenoble • 1980 Galleriet, Oslo • 1976 Mumbai, Gallery Chemould at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Raza, 26 February – 1 March 1976. • 1975 Sanremo, Galleria Matuzia, Raza, 4 – 31 October 1975. • 1969 Paris, Galerie Lara Vincy, Raza: Peintures Recentes, 27 November 1969 – 5 January 1970. • 1968 Bombay, Gallery Chemould, Raza, 15 – 27 April 1968. • 1968 Toronto, Gallery Dresdnere, Raza – Recent Oil Paintings, 25 October – 9 November 1968. • 1968 Cologne, Dom Galerie, Sayed Haider Raza, 26 March – 4 May 1968. • 1967 Paris, Galerie Lara Vincy, 1967. • 1966 Düsseldorf, Tecta Galerie, Raza – Paris: 25 Oil Paintings from 1962- 1966, 6 October – 10 November 1966. • 1963 Cologne, Dom Galerie, Raza, June – July 1963. • 1964 Paris, Galerie Lara Vincy, Raza: Peintures récentes, 18 November 1964 – 10 January 1965. • 1962 Galerie Dresdnere, Montreal • 1962 Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris, Raza, 15 July 1962. • 1961 Paris, Galerie Lara Vincy, Raza, 19 April- 18 May 1961. • 1960 Montreal, Galerie Dresdnere, Autumn 1960. • 1959 Montreal, Galerie Dresdnere, Raza: Peintures et Gouaches, 5th – 19th MAY 1959. • 1958 Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris, "Raza - Prix de la Critique 1956. Peintures et gouaches" (April–May) • 1956 Galerie Saint-Placide, Paris, "Raza" • 1950 Charles Petrat's Institute of foreign Languages, Mumbai (September) • 1950 The IFL International Centre, Bombay, "SH Raza: Farewell Exhibition of Paintings" (September) • 1948 Exhibition Hall, New Delhi, "Raza: 100 paintings of Kashmir", organised by Rudolf Von Leyden, (September) • 1947 Bombay Art Society, "Raza's Watercolour Landscapes", (November) • 1946 First solo exhibition at the Bombay Art Society Salon AWARDS: • 1946: Silver Medal, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai • 1948: Gold Medal, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai • 1956: Prix de la critique, Paris • 1981: Padma Shri; the Government of India • 1981: Fellowship of the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi • 1992-1993:Kalidas Samman, Government of Madhya Pradesh • 2004: Lalit Kala Ratna Puraskar, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi • 2007: Padma Bhushan; the Government of India • 2013: Padma Vibhushan; the Government of India • 2013: one of the greatest living global Indian legends ... NDTV INDIA • 2014: D Litt (Honoris Causa), Indira Kala Sangit Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh, Chhattisgarh • 2015: Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur (the Legion of Honour); Republic of France • 2015: D Litt (Honoris Causa), Shiv Nadar University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh