Ikon presents Lines of Flight, the first major survey exhibition of British–Indian artist Balraj Khanna (1939–2024), on view from 30 September 2026 – 21 February 2027.
Bringing together more than 40 paintings made over six decades, Lines of Flight offers the most comprehensive overview to date of Khanna’s remarkable career as a painter, writer and curator. The exhibition traces the evolution of his distinctive vision of abstraction, shaped by his youth in the Punjab region of India, his life in post-war Britain, and an enduring fascination with the natural world. Through these works, he explores themes of migration, Partition, identity and belonging.
Rarely seen works from the 1960s and 70s will be presented alongside large-scale compositions from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Early paintings inspired by the forests of Metz, France, are shown alongside later works exploring childhood memories, diasporic identity, postcolonial politics and the enduring legacy of the Partition.
The exhibition also celebrates Khanna’s deep connection to Birmingham through Astral Dance (2001), his monumental painted safety curtain for Birmingham Hippodrome, which marks its 25th anniversary this year.