G.R Iranna at Venice Biennale 2019.
Born 1970, Karnataka, India.
Aicon Contemporary is pleased to present Where Silence Speaks , a solo presentation by G.R. Iranna at EXPO CHICAGO 2025. Born in the heart of peninsular India in 1970, G.R. Iranna’s art is rooted in the spiritual calm of his early monastic education and sharpened by formal training at the College of Visual Art in Gulbarga (BFA) and Delhi’s College of Art (MFA). Iranna transcends culture and geography to render an internal landscape onto tactile surfaces.
His distinctive style—often blending painting, sculpture, installation, and mixed media—explores the human condition, impermanence, and the silent tensions between material and spirit. Iranna’s art speaks in metaphors— abstractions of nature, weathered textures, and restrained palettes echo his philosophical leanings. A master of layering both medium and meaning, he invites viewers into an introspective space where suffering and serenity coexist.
What sets Iranna apart is his powerful engagement with unconventional materials—ash and tarpaulin—each carrying immense symbolic weight. Ash, a residue of destruction and a metaphor for mortality, becomes in Iranna’s hands a medium of rebirth, transformation, and transcendence. In works such as his ash-coated installations, the viewer is confronted with the fragility of existence, yet also its quiet endurance.
Equally potent is his use of tarpaulin, a material associated with shelter, protection, and displacement. Iranna stretches and manipulates its coarse surface, layering it with paint, scars, and textures to evoke a raw physicality. The tarpaulin becomes a site of memory and tension—a skin that holds both suffering and resilience.
Iranna’s works are meditative yet urgent, drawing viewers into contemplative spaces where silence is charged with emotion. Over the years, he has exhibited globally—from the Venice Biennale in 2019 to solo shows in London, Berlin, Dubai, Delhi and New York—and his works are held in major collections including the National Gallery of Modern Art (India), the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Singapore Art Museum, The Private Museum, and the Essl Museum in Austria. He was awarded the prestigious National Award by Lalit Kala Akademi in 1999 and has since emerged as one of India’s most contemplative and original visual voices.
“This is a time when more diverse voices are finally invited into the art world. Iranna is an important contributor to that global dialogue. He needs to be seen as part of a growing cohort of artists who are deeply concerned about our impact on the planet.
Iranna's art comes from within. In a time when our relationships with each other and this earth are fractured, his art can help us to restore and reconcile these relationships. Trees represent resilience, wisdom, and growth. Iranna is asking us to be that tree. ” Corinne Erni, Chief Curator of Art and Education, Parrish Art Museum
Whether with ash, tar, cloth, or pigment, Iranna doesn’t just create art—he channels a quiet revolution, reminding us that stillness can be the loudest form of expression. The artist lives and works in New Delhi, India.