Born on the 5th of March, 1982, Purnna Behera is a contemporary Indian artist from Orissa He started his formal training by doing a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from BK College of Arts and Crafts, Bhubaneswar He graduated with a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts in 2006 from BK College of Arts and Crafts, Bhubaneswar In 2004 he received a national scholarship given to young artists from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India In 2003 he received the first prize in a state level competition organised by NSS, Bhubaneswar on the subjection of Prevention of HIV Aids He also received an award both during the 16th and the 19th Annual Art Exhibition of BK College of Arts and Crafts Over the years he has participated in a couple of group exhibitions including ‘IRIS’ at Rashtriya Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in 2008, ‘Montage’ at Lalit Kala Kendra, Bhubaneshwar in 2006 and ‘Visual Rhythm’ organised by Lalit Kala Kendra, Bhubaneshwar in 2001 Very recently he took part in an exhibition hosted by Kalakriti Art Gallery in 2017 titled ‘Art in Situ’ and displayed his work alongside other prominent artists like Jogen Chowdhury, Suju Kunal and Muhammad Zeeshan to name a few Purnna Behera’s works are usually executed in mixed media and have a tinge of surrealism The artist currently lives and works in New Delhi