Viren Tanwar (b. 1952, Hissar, Haryana) is a leading Indian artist whose paintings synthesize the Indian tradition of storytelling with his own special visual language. Viren Tanwar holds a diploma in painting from the Government College of Art, Chandigarh. Later, under the British Council scholarship, he also attended the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art in London.
A characteristic marker of Tanwar’s paintings and prints is the use of the hashiya, or border, which is full of visual allusions to Ajanta murals and Pahari miniature painting. These elements are juxtaposed and interwoven with the artist’s recollections of growing up in the countryside in a region called Haryanavi, where his family followed traditional methods for dyeing and printing textiles through Lahariya and Bandhej printing. Between sensuality and spirituality, the artist’s imagery spans the spectrum and combines what can range from performers and acrobats to common people and religious and mythical icons.
One of their early forays into art in India in the early 1980s introduced M. F. Husain to the works of Tanwar through his introduction to the Herwitz couple. Impressed by the politicized style and storytelling ability of Tanwar's work and the unique voice that flowed through his paintings, the Herwitz couple ended up acquiring almost the entire body of his work at the time, including two blank canvases that he believed he could see the artworks on. He would later on become one of the last artists to find his way into the prestigious Herwitz Collection.
Recognitions early on, however, were soon postponed by personal matters that kept Tanwar away from painting for almost a decade. When he did regain interest in painting, it was due to receiving news that his paintings from the Herwitz Collection were put up for sale at an auction by Sotheby’s in New York, and they had indeed been sold successfully there.
Tanwar has had important institutional affiliations, such as Associate, North Zone Cultural Centre, and General Council Member, Lalit Kala Academy, Punjab. His paintings have been showcased at various exhibitions in India and overseas, such as Berlin, Singapore, and Mexico. Tanwar has won many honors and awards, including the MS Randhawa Memorial Award, Kala Shree, and prizes from All India Fine Arts and Craft Society.
He works and resides close to Delhi.