https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Biren_DeBiren De - Revision history2026-08-03T10:57:03ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Biren_De&diff=491851&oldid=prevDenicePitcairn at 17:32, 26 February 20262026-02-26T17:32:46Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}<br />
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{{Short description|Indian painter (1926–2011)}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Biren De<br />
| image = <br />
| imagesize = <br />
| caption = <br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|10|8|df=yes}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]<br />
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|03|12|1926|10|08|df=yes}}<br />
| death_place = [[New Delhi]], [[India]]<br />
| restingplace = <br />
| restingplacecoordinates = <br />
| othername = <br />
| occupation = [[Painter]]<br />
| yearsactive = <br />
| known for = Modern art<br/>[[Tantra|Tantric]] designs<br />
| spouse = <br />
| domesticpartner = <br />
| children = <br />
| parents = <br />
| website = <br />
| awards = [[Lalit Kala Akademi]] National Award (1958,1964)<br>[[Padma Shri]] (1992)<br>[[List of Lalit Kala Akademi fellows|Fellow of Lalit Kala Akademi]] (2006)<br />
}}<br />
'''Biren De''' (1926–2011) was an Indian [[painter]] of [[modern art]], known for his paintings with [[Tantra|tantric]] influences.<ref name="Obituary: Biren De (1926-2011)">{{cite web | url=http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/plumage/obituary-biren-de-1926-2011/ | title=Obituary: Biren De (1926-2011) | newspaper=Times of India | date=13 March 2011 | access-date=21 October 2015}}</ref> His paintings were characterized by symmetrical patterns of geometry and the presence of [[Tantra|tantric symbols]] such as [[mandala]], [[phallus]] and [[vagina]], reportedly representing masculine and feminine energies of the universe.<ref name="Art Asia Pacific profile">{{cite web | url=http://artasiapacific.com/News/BirenDe19262011 | title=Art Asia Pacific profile | publisher=Art Asia Pacific | date=2015 | access-date=21 October 2015 | archive-date=4 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904080846/http://artasiapacific.com/News/BirenDe19262011 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the [[Padma Shri]] in 1992.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref><br />
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== Biography ==<br />
Biren De was born in [[Faridpur District|Faridpur]], in the [[Bengal Presidency]] (now Bangladesh) on 8 October 1926.<ref name="SaffronArt profile">{{cite web | url=http://www.saffronart.com/artists/biren-de | title=SaffronArt profile | publisher=SaffronArt | date=2015 | access-date=21 October 2015}}</ref> He relocated to [[Kolkata]] along with his family and joined the [[Government College of Art & Craft]], Kolkata in 1944 for his graduate studies but did not accept the graduate diploma, citing a rift with the then college principal.<ref name="Art Asia Pacific profile" /> He moved to New Delhi in 1949 when he was commissioned for a mural at the [[University of Delhi]].<ref name="Art Asia Pacific profile" /> His first overseas exhibition was held at [[Salon de Mai]], Paris, in 1951.<ref name="Christies The Art People profile">{{cite web | url=http://artist.christies.com/Biren-De-18089-bio.aspx#loadProfileContent | title=Christies The Art People profile | publisher=Christies The Art People | date=2015 | access-date=21 October 2015 | archive-date=17 October 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017025305/http://artist.christies.com/Biren-De-18089-bio.aspx#loadProfileContent | url-status=dead }}</ref> Returning to India, he joined the [[College of Art, Delhi]], in 1952, as a member of their faculty and stayed at the job till 1963.<ref name="SaffronArt profile" /><br />
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During his tenure at the College of Art, he spent one year in New York, on a Fulbright Scholarship. It was after this period, his paintings started to depict [[Tantra|tantric]] symbols.<ref name="Art Asia Pacific profile" /> In 1966, his works were exhibited at the Kumar's Gallery, New Delhi and [[Hayward Gallery]], London.<ref name="Art Asia Pacific profile" /> His works have since been displayed at several places including [[National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi]], [[Berlin State Museum]] and the [[National Gallery, Prague]], [[Royal Academy of Arts, London]], Tokyo festival of India of 1988, and at the biennales in Venice, Tokyo, São Paulo, Mainichi and Sydney.<ref name="Obituary: Biren De (1926-2011)" /><ref name="Christies The Art People profile" /><br />
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De received the [[Lalit Kala Akademi]] National Award in 1958 which he received a second time in 1964.<ref name="SaffronArt profile" /> The Government of India included him in the [[Indian honours system|Republic Day honours]] list for the civilian award of the [[Padma Shri]] in 1992. He was elected as the [[List of Lalit Kala Akademi fellows|Fellow of Lalit Kala Akademi]] in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=2006-10-04 |title=Biren De elected Lalit Kala Akademi's Fellow |url=https://www.oneindia.com/2006/10/04/biren-de-elected-lalit-kala-akademis-fellow-1159965341.html |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=One India |language=en}}</ref> He died on 12 March 2011, at the age of 84.<ref name="SaffronArt profile" /><br />
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== Exhibitions ==<br />
List of selected exhibitions:<ref name="Artist Profile">{{cite web | url=http://goaartgallery.com/de_biren.htm | title=Artist Profile | publisher=Goa Art Gallery | date=2015 | access-date=21 October 2015}}</ref><br />
{{Div col}}<br />
* [[Salon de Mai]], Paris - 1951<br />
* Freemasons Hall, New Delhi. - 1952<br />
* [[All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society]] (AIFACS) - 1953, 54 and 56<br />
* [[Lalit Kala Akademi]], New Delhi - 1953 and 64<br />
* [[Mainichi]] Biennale, Tokyo - 1959 and 61<br />
* Contemporary Art from India, [[Museum Folkwang]], Essen - 1960<br />
* [[São Paulo]] Biennale, Brazil - 1961<br />
* [[Venice]] Biennale, Italy - 1962<br />
* Ten Contemporary Indian Painters, [[Cambridge–MIT Institute]] - 1965<br />
* [[Hayward Gallery]], London - 1966<br />
* [[Pittsburgh]] International Show, USA - 1967<br />
* International Triennale India, New Delhi - 1968, 71, 75, 78 and 82<br />
* Contemporary Indian Painting exhibition, [[Washington DC]] - 1971<br />
* Contemporary Indian Painting exhibition, [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] - 1971<br />
* Contemporary Indian Painting exhibition, - [[Toronto]] 1971<br />
* Chanakya Gallery, New Delhi - 1971<br />
* Contemporary Indian Art, USSR - 1972<br />
* Contemporary Indian Art, Greece - 1972<br />
* 25 Years of Indian Art, New Delhi - 1972<br />
* 25 Years of Indian Art, [[Bombay]] - 1972<br />
* 25 Years of Indian Art, [[Madras]] - 1972<br />
* Sydney Biennale, Australia - 1973<br />
* Contemporary Indian Painting, Washington DC - 1973<br />
* Contemporary Indian Painting, [[Los Angeles]] - 1973<br />
* Contemporary Indian Painting, [[Toronto]] - 1973<br />
* Gallery Chemould, Bombay - 1973<br />
* Gallery Chemould, Bombay - 1974<br />
* Indian Painting Today, Belgium - 1973<br />
* Indian Painting Today, [[Yugoslavia]] - 1973<br />
* Indian Painting Today, Bulgaria - 1973<br />
* Indian Painting Today, Belgium - 1974<br />
* Indian Painting Today, Yugoslavia - 1974<br />
* Indian Painting Today, Bulgaria - 1974<br />
{{Div col end}}<br />
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== See also ==<br />
{{Div col}}<br />
* [[Tantra]]<br />
{{Div col end}}<br />
{{Portal|India|Art}}<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
* [https://indianculture.gov.in/paintings/other-portfolio/biren-de Biren De - An Innovative Journey of Five Decades]<br />
* {{cite web | url=http://www.blouinartinfo.com/artists/48193-biren-de | title=Biren De - Gallery | publisher=Blouinartinfo | date=2015 | access-date=21 October 2015}}<br />
* {{cite web | url=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/18600/lot/121/ | title=Biren De (India, born 1926) | publisher=Bonhams | date=2015 | access-date=21 October 2015}}<br />
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{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Art}}{{Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi|state=collapsed}}{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:De, Biren}}<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts]]<br />
[[Category:1926 births]]<br />
[[Category:2011 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:People from Faridpur District]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Bengali people]]<br />
[[Category:21st-century Bengali people]]<br />
[[Category:Indian male painters]]<br />
[[Category:Government College of Art & Craft alumni]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian painters]]<br />
[[Category:Artists from Delhi]]<br />
[[Category:Painters from Delhi]]<br />
[[Category:Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian male artists]]</div>DenicePitcairn