KOCHI: The Kochi Biennale Foundation has announced that contemporary artist and curator Jitish Kallat will assume the role of President of the Kochi–Muziris Biennale to chair the selection of the curator for the next edition. The announcement was made by Dr. Venu V, Chairperson of the Foundation.
He takes on this responsibility following the decision of Bose Krishnamachari, co-founder of the Biennale, to step down earlier this year.
Kallat, who lives and works in Mumbai, is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Kochi Biennale Foundation. He previously served as curator of the second edition of the Kochi–Muziris Biennale (2014–15), titled Whorled Explorations. At the Board’s request, he has agreed to assume this role and chair the selection of the curator for the next edition.
Dr. Venu V, Chairperson of the Kochi Biennale Foundation said,
“At an important moment for the Foundation, we are grateful to Jitish Kallat for agreeing to chair the selection of the curator for the next edition of the Kochi–Muziris Biennale. His long association with the Biennale and his international experience in the contemporary art field make him well placed to take this forward.”
“The Kochi–Muziris Biennale has played an extraordinary role in shaping conversations around contemporary art in India and beyond. At the Board’s request, I have agreed to chair the selection of the curator for the next edition, and I look forward to working with colleagues to ensure a thoughtful and rigorous selection, ” Jitish Kallat said.
One of India’s leading contemporary artists, Kallat’s work explores the intersections of science, historical memory and existential inquiry, often reflecting on humanity’s planetary presence and place in the cosmos. It often juxtaposes the everyday with the cosmic, the present with the historical, and the terrestrial with the celestial.
Solo exhibitions of his work have been presented at the Art Institute of Chicago; the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; the Frist Art Museum, Nashville; the Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne; the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai; the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among others. The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi presented a mid-career survey of his work in 2017.
His work has also been presented at institutions including Tate Modern, London; Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin; Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; Kunstmuseum Bern; Serpentine Galleries, London; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; and Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan. He has participated in major international exhibitions including the Venice Biennale, Gwangju Biennale and Havana Biennial, as well as the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, the Guangzhou Triennial, the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, the Kyiv Biennale and the Curitiba Biennial.
Kallat’s curatorial projects include Whorled Explorations, the second edition of the Kochi–Muziris Biennale (2014–15); I Draw, Therefore I Think for SouthSouth in 2021; Tangled Hierarchy at the John Hansard Gallery in Southampton; and Tangled Hierarchy 2, presented by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art as part of the Invitations Programme of the 5th Kochi–Muziris Biennale in 2022.
The sixth edition of the Kochi–Muziris Biennale, titled For the Time Being, is currently underway. Curated by Nikhil Chopra with HH Art Spaces, the edition will conclude on 31 March 2026. The Biennale is organised by the Kochi Biennale Foundation, a non-profit organisation established in 2010.