Bose Krishnamachari – Malayali Painter

As one of the founders of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Bose Krishnamachari is relieved that everything is going smoothly after such a rocky start. Besides working with Riyas Komu to open the new international exhibition of contemporary art, he has also been curating the Inaugural Yinchuan Biennale.

Back in 2014, the two founders handed over the curatorial reins to Jitish Kallat another artist, who used mapping, the history, and thematic considerations of time, and even crowdfunding to bring hope and optimism to the art world in India. Now the two are considering another artist to be the next successor – Sudarshan Shetty.

During his career Krishnamachari has received many awards for his work, from the Kerala Lalita Kala Akademi to the Charles Wallace India Trust Award, not to mention being the runner-up for the Bose Pacia Prize for Modern Art in New York. His work includes everything from abstract painting to sculpture, photography to multimedia installations, and much more. In 2016, Krishnamachari was named one of the year’s most influential people in the contemporary art world by ArtReview magazine.

The masculine name Bose is originates from the Bengali word bosu and means “gem, wealth, or radiance”. The name is also an epithet to the God – Shiva. The name Bose is also a common surname that belonged to a clan of warrior and rulers that were from Kannauj, the former capital of India. The name Bose is more common as a surname than as a given name, and therefore there are barely any people with the given name.