S.H. Raza was born in Babaria, Madhya Pradesh, India. He lives and works in Paris and Gorbio, France. Raza was a founder member of the revolutionary Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group, which experimented with various currents of Western Modernism – moving from Expressionist modes towards greater abstraction – which he then went on to combine with elements of Tantrism. In the 1950’s he moved to France, where his oeuvre began to focus on landscapes. During the early 1970’s his canvases became increasingly expressive. Raza was particularly enchanted with the rural south, which he depicted in various series. However, his expressionistic landscapes then shifted to a much stricter geometric abstraction. Along with several solo and group exhibitions, he has exhibited at the Biennales at Venice and São Paulo. Throughout his career, Raza has received numerous international awards and prizes, including the Prix de La Critique in Paris in 1956. In 1981, the Government of India awarded him with the Padma Shri in 1981, and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of the four highest civilian honours. He was elected a Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi in 1983.