Art Incept

Where do I belong…home. heart. history.
2023-08-02 18:00 - 2023-08-10 20:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, Mandi House, New Delhi, 110001, India
Solo show by Savitha Ravi, curated by Rahul Kumar.

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The literal sense of the word place has been interpreted in many different ways. It is multidimensional, often complex construct that is used to characterize the relationship between people and spatial settings. It also denotes unique characteristics that some geographic locations have and some do not. Expanding this to the realms of psychology and imagination, it is a feeling or perception held by people, interestingly, not by the place itself.

What makes space a place?

One of the oldest tenets of science and geography, place is defined as “a space with meaning”. An area having unique qualities with interconnected associations. Further, a sense of place is the emotion someone attaches to an area based on their experiences. Place can be applied at any scale and does not necessarily have to be fixed in either time or space.

Savitha Ravi grappled with the question of where she belongs. Having migrated from her birth-city and eventually settling in a whole new place, she often wondered where she came from. What are the cultural attributes, art and design aesthetics of that place? And, what does it even mean to belong to a geographical location? She discovered her family native place. The ancestral home now ceases to exist and there is nothing that remains to call her own. Her physical possessions are now all in a city that has no historical connections to her family. As such she finds herself dealing with a deep sense of rootlessness. She feels like a sort of a nomad who built her life ground up, severing all her family histories. For Savitha, this obsession to find a home for herself lead to her art practice. She feels most at home while creating. The very process allows her the search for space, having reasons to belong, and establishing attachments. For her, the sense of belonging first comes with a place, then its people, their culture, and eventually the habits we form. It is but poetic circle of life – with no worldly possessions, one gets on the path of discovery and accumulation, and then restart with nothing again. And in that context, one is constantly trying to find the place where one belongs with respect to the place where we once belonged.

Finding forms in the in-between
The desire to find her one’s place is a powerful force that drives Savitha to explore and create. Her print making process is a unique one, where she uses discarded tetra pack to make ‘plates’. The imagery often has references of her home town, the house of her grandfather. She finds herself in a dreamworld, suspended in a desire that cannot quite take precise shape or form. This sense of being caught ‘between worlds’ inspired her to create large-scale scrolls on cloth. She used each and every plate she has ever made to print a myriad of images. The prints contain various patterns and forms, each one representing a moment in her journey towards self-discovery, or maybe writing an autobiography, one page at a time. Are the works a reflection of liminal spaces, yearning to take form?

There are several metaphorical engagements in the current body of work by Savitha. By the canal invites viewers to experience the fleeting moments through her eyes and a reminder of the transience nature of life, just like the flowing water. Reflections of houses are mere illusions, almost melting away in the ripples of canal water. Feeling of nostalgia and unattainability are at play. Hiraeth by the Canal explores the longing for a home that never existed. Is ‘home’ a place for solace or escape?

Savitha skillfully presents morphed impressions, often juxtaposing the urban reality she is living with imagined views of her village. Morphing realities is about the change in the view outside the window of her studio, albeit seen through the lens of an imagined world. Yet another work uses traditional games from her childhood. Layered with architectural associations, the repetitive patterns refer to the act of playing the games requiring taking turns and repetition to win. The act of everyday commute also became a source of archive for Savitha. The city is in a constant state of metamorphosis. Over the years, sometimes within days, new things appear and what existed recedes into nothingness. The familiar things that gave her a sense of reassurance no longer exists. And what gets created in her works now is dipping into her vivid memory that allows for the emotion to come through more than the actual object as it was. On the way then is neither a documentation, nor a dream. It is neither imagined, nor real. Much like her overall practice, Savitha takes us on a tour to her family’s heritage, making us view her world through the lens of nostalgia, and constantly interrupting us with her contemporary realities.

Rahul Kumar
July 2023

The Wound Is The Place Where Light Enters...
2023-08-02 18:00 - 2023-08-10 20:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Triveni Kala Sangam
Solo Show by Ariba Akhlaque | Curated by Prima Kurien | In partnership with Triveni Kala Sangam

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The wound is the place, where light enters…
“I said: What about my heart?
He said: Tell me what you hold inside it?
I said: Pain and sorrow.
He said: Stay with it. The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
-Rumi
In between remembrance and loss, a consciousness exists shaped by cultural background, personal
experience & social influence – Ariba’s work stems from here.
This body of work celebrates memories of the bygone as well as imagined archives created by
personal objects – a dried rose, an old postcard, or a broken tile -that simultaneously trace, grief, loss,
and celebration- the language of nostalgia.
Ariba Akhlaque (1994), is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Karachi, Pakistan. She graduated from
the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, majoring in printmaking and new media art.
She has exhibited widely- at Haam Gallery in Lahore, Chronos exhibition- in Brazil, Art Incept grant
exhibition- in New Delhi, amongst others.

Unseen City
2023-03-28 11:30 - 2023-05-02 18:00 UTC | Stir Gallery, 2 North Drive, DLF Chattarpur Farms, India
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Outsider-Insider
Santanu Dey refers to himself as a triple migrant. From Calcutta to Baroda and then to Delhi, he is familiar with three cities. This has not caused him misery, but joyful discovery. His life, as his art reveals, was enriched, not restricted, with each transition. He grew up in Calcutta, studied art in Baroda and eventually, began working and living in Delhi. As he ‘breathed in’ each new location, he began to metabolize it in his mind, peel it off, slough it off its stereotypes and condense it into a place uniquely his own. Such realisations have driven him to become a spectator from the edges as an outsider-insider, always watching and commenting. His latest piece of art is more rebuke than ode to the metropolis.
Santanu adeptly anchors himself as the urban sutradhar, the narrator. To do this, he weaves his migrant-self with the use of scrolls. For the first, his ploy is using soft, white dhoti lengths. Dhotis are not as common as in cities as they once were. People wear them mostly for formal occasions. Who else can relate to a dhoti then, but a migrant who is reminded of someplace else?
Similarly, his nonsensical scrolls convey an urban buzz, evidence of being alive but not yet pounded into the melting pot. Santanu then assigns the role of cradling a scroll to these dhotis-the sort used by ancient story tellers. The dhoti scrolls in this series can therefore also be valued as self-portraits of him at work.
Botanical and industrial residues converse with him eloquently throughout. Santanu deploys carbon black from printing and photocopying machines in various works, combining it with fine line drawing. He forages for this material from neigbourhoods far from his home, asking facilities to keep them safely for him to collect. What seems to be a charcoal pencil in the hands of an artist are often particles of pollution, contained as a second life inside his work. In one of these, a beautiful river is interrupted by man-made effluents in an ink, foil and carbon shimmery sludgy. An emissions cloud erupts over the countryside. For Santanu, such materials are more than just an artist’s tool. They are a means to peel off and examine the ironic history of most major metropolises. In work after work, his use of discards memorialize the origin of cities as polluting industrial stretches, vital for production and economic growth. Chucks of these were eventually cannibalised and cleaned up for the newly emerging urbanites to flourish in. Gentrification drove industry to the edges since it was now seen as an urban contamination. Yet, as Santanu’s work so eloquently brings to the fore, effluence can be hidden, but it isn’t easy to abolish. The planet’s resources continue to be strained, for people shall consume.
Through visual cues, Santanu repeatedly emphasizes the idea of urban dystopia. Colour is his biggest tool- he barely uses any, stripping the landscape of an important attribute. He incorporates the materiality of the city into several pieces–by using archival printing ink and industrial paint, for example. His application of such atypical artistic materials is recognition of them as building blocks of any metropolis. By repeatedly using these in multiple ways, he imagines primacy for manufacturing again, a punchy re-think of drudgery and toil.
Santanu’s use of materials encodes urban faultlines. A small paper work employs ‘titch buttons’ strewn in a cluster at the bottom. These buttons are the mechanisms that connect two pieces of fabric, allowing them to form a whole. Yet, they are “synthetic,” as he refers to them, similar to lab diamonds. In other works, horizontal sheaths of gold foil scornfully symbolizes not desirable riches but in-your-face extravagance. As he sees it, such luxurious luminosity is a mirage. It conceals the city’s daily filth and sweat, it’s disorder and discordance, the messiness that lights its fire every day. It tramples the vegetal forms that spring to life, leaving behind their woody presence when their purpose is over. Through his work, Santanu recovers space and legitimacy for multiple histories. This is the essence of his work: devotedly constructing other ecospheres.
– Bharati Chaturvedi

Inception Grant Finalist Show 2023
2023-03-28 11:30 - 2023-05-02 18:00 UTC | Stir Gallery, 2 North Drive, DLF Chattarpur Farms, India
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The Inception Grant was set up to recognize and support young emerging talent in visual arts.
The Grant is open to contemporary artists between the ages of 21-35 years from South Asia with one category of the grant focused on India. The grant has been designed to be more than just financial aid to artists – awardees have access to our mentors and curators who assist them to develop their practice further through the year.
We have received more than 250 applications from all over India and this year we are honored to have the support of British-born visual artist, Tacita Charlotte Dean CBE, RA. Tacita is reviewing the shortlisted finalists to select the artist to get the Tacita Dean Inception Award 2023. The award comes with a cash grant, a mentorship program by Art Incept, and a solo show in 2023!
Our internal jury will select a shortlist that will be presented at the Grant show in March 2022. Our jurors are Roobina Karode, Manisha Parekh and Ranbir Kaleka.

Deconstructed Landscapes
2022-12-10 11:00 - 2022-12-11 22:00 UTC | Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, Mandi House, New Delhi, 110001, India
𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨… ⁣
⁣
Deconstructed Landscapes is a collaboration between four galleries, Anant Art, Art Incept, Exhibit320, and Latitude 28, as a part of Triveni’s “Gallery Nights” weekend where galleries remain open till 10:00 pm. ⁣
A landscape is a relationship between the surrounding environment and the spectator. In essence, it is a scene, a synthesis of forms, a reflection of the sociopolitical landscape, and a dialogue that the observer establishes. It can also be an internal excavation of memories and experiences in one’s life. Thus landscapes cannot be defined or contained within strict parameters. Through the exploration of the artist’s imagination, this exhibition brings together works that encourage the viewer to think beyond the implied etymological meaning of the word. Through their different perspectives, the artists create an array of scapes that reflect their internal and external understandings of their surroundings and the time in which they live.
⁣

Spaced Out
2022-11-12 - 2022-12-20 | Stir Gallery, 2 North Drive, DLF Chattarpur Farms, India
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contemporary artists exploring space as a metaphor
Architecture is a practice of space making. It is simply creating inhabitable enclosures, and yet it is layered with multitudes of contexts. Layout and form, material and textures, relation to the location of the build structure, and the very purpose it serves, all contribute to the understanding and perceptions of space. Architecturally, there are elements of science and maths, symbolism, and collective cultures, that influence the articulation of a constructed ecosystem. But extending the‘spatial’ conversation beyond the strict confines of the discipline, it opens up a whole new world of imagination.
Spaced out conceptually explores the idea of space and associated emotions in distinct ways. Multidisciplinary artists respond to and investigate concepts, express ideas, and depict notions of how and when the association of architectural space becomes a metaphor and when does it take thereal form. Practitioners using a wide variety of media and processes present a cohesive, yet multifaceted works of art.
Space awareness begins earlier than we think. It often grows out of mythic memory, rituals, and sometimes merely with thought. I find myself fortunate to work with investigators who are engaged with these interests. They provoke concepts of space-meaning through depicting its ideas in theirrespective creations. It is also my hope that the cross-sectioning of the choice of artists and art works will speak for itself, and become the basis for further enquiry. The works transmit values of social, psychological, and spiritual, which are virtually endless.
What do we lose when we strip space of these meanings?
Abhishek Dodiya uniquely layers his idiom by the use of scrap metal. He is rooted to both, the shipbreaking yard at his home town in Bhavnagar and the family profession of fabricating welded iron furniture. This portrayal of dismantling and reconstruction carry forward the history of the material. Metal sheet that made an erstwhile ship, now makes a house, both as a metaphor and through the act of the artist’s hands. Debasish Mukherjee in contrast investigates the built environment, strongly layered with socio-cultural fabric of the city of Banaras. He is engaged with the ideas of preserving memory through object making. He is himself intrigued with the starkness of the dualities that the ancient city beholds, that of age-old history and the now, of life that is constantly juxtaposed with death. His works puts in focus singular architectural elements that carry his personal nostalgia.
The play of light, its simplicity and drama are captured in the graphite renditions of Dilip Chobisa. He explores the mystery to reveal the hidden forms, distinguishing it from what is revealed. He consciously disregards the laws of architecture, yet creates an order of intrigue and curiosity. His drawings are defined by light or the lack of it, suggesting dark silences and pronounced emptiness, challenging the limits of perception and makes visible the possibility of space beyond the definition. On the other hand, M. Pravat has been exploring expressions of a city under construction. His interest in this subject comes particularly from the discord between the city as it appears in masterplans, in popular desires, and in contrast of the actual physical experience of it. He expressesthis dissonance we experience in our everyday lives with brutal intensity, sometimes from the intimacy of a home or at an urban scale of the city itself. Textures and material processes are significant in the art of the Pravat. Through the systematic process of undoing and destruction, heasks how could these forces be measured?
Martand Khosla explores urban continuity and transformation, as both complement and counter to his experience building in contemporary India. He initially pursued art to explore how construction- fuelled employment, shapes identities and nostalgia. Situated as both participant and observer, he employed tools of the State, such as the ubiquitous rubber stamp, to render its imprint on lives within traditional definitions of power and dispossession. His works traverse the lines between sculpture and object, movement and remnant, material and memory. Inspired by his studies of repetition and the human churning of industrialization, he replicates the micro-processes of macro- construction. And simultaneously, he moves from the lens of authoritarian power to its dispersion, exploring the transformations that lay in between. Likewise, Neelesh Yogi uses delicately formed paper sculptures. The objects created in his works are mostly man-made, but often juxtapose the traditional with contemporary. The current series references the architecture of Bengal. Neelesh has explored the traditional buildings in the city, in particular the home of Rabindranath Tagore. His works create a nostalgia by weaving architectural elements from the heritage sites of the city. The saturated blue tones achieved through cyanotype printing evokes a sense of darkness opening doors for interpretation of a silhouette or as a metaphor for degeneration of our cultural legacy.
Neyeti Chada’s works are recordings of the basic formalism in the urban environment. Her practice extends to various mediums and formats, from printmaking, sculpture, and photography to site- specific installations. The recent set of works is a series of collages featuring Balsa wood and Isograph pen on Paper, looking into the metabolic character of a city. Like a breathing organism, a city that is endlessly morphing and evolving. The works incorporate original photographs layered with drawings and materials such as balsa wood, ink, and Gouache. For Pratap Moray art is a means to document and contemplate the changing infrastructure and landscape of the city. He uses a range of mediums including archival ink, engravings, and digital photography to create his artworks. His preoccupation with Mumbai’s architecture began during his childhood when his family relocated tothe city. From congested lanes and tilted old buildings to the gentrification and displacement experienced by the city’s dwellers, the subjects of his works are mostly inspired by his own experiences with the unique urban make-up of the city.
Must space be an enclosed, three dimensional one? Could a unidimensional wall denote space?
Can space even be metaphysical? Can it be boundary less?Do the elements contained within an architectural creation evoke associations of it?
How would one react to the play of light within a given physical construct of space?
Does perspective play a role to view image of a room as multidimensional?
Can memories of a lived experience create déjà vu and perception of the very space while being physically absent from it? Does scale hold significance in the context – astronomical, earthly landscapes, a building, or anthill?
…let us find out through the presentations at ‘spaced out…’
– Rahul Kumar

Songs From My Homeland…a memoir of life and rituals
2022-09-02 - 2022-09-09 | Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, Mandi House, New Delhi, 110001, India
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A solo show of Viswanath Kuttum, curated by Rahul Kumar.
Viswanath Kuttum tells stories without ending them. His paintings places imagery in unique context that is at once familiar and strange. He was born and grew up in the Andamans at a time when the island state was still pristine and untouched by changes in the name of development. While cellular technology had entered the lives of the locals, it had not taken over it. The everyday life, celebrations during festivals and weddings, rituals for death and birth, they all became his key references. He reminiscences them with nostalgia in his art.
Kuttum began to work at a local auto-repair shop at a young age. He needed to financially support his family, but he enjoyed the process of applying paint on repaired vehicles. He was also a keen participant in decorations at all the local festivities at his village. These activities proved to be the initial training ground for him for the arts. He candidly confesses having little interest in studies. This, combined with a deep passion for drawing and painting made his choice easier for a career as an artist. Kuttum migrated to mainland India for higher studies against all odds. Settling down in the city was daunting and exciting at the same time. It was only natural for the fast-paced life and the urban environment to have a deep impact on the impressionable mind. His early work began to respond to this new life around him, but deep within he yearned for the memories from his childhood. It was also his need to do something different. He found many of his contemporaries using the same point of reference in the art they produced. Politics and social structures of contemporary urban life played a significant role in his works then. However, he questioned what was truly his own, unique only to him. And this desire for ‘immediacy’ of inspiration took him back to his homeland.
His paintings are monochromatic with a pale, yet restful background, evoking a sense of warmth of the pleasant weather of his village. The minimalist and uncluttered works also refer to the unpolluted air he was used to. He began to create images of his homeland with enthusiasm to convey of its simplicity. The lifestyle may seem ‘backward’ but on closer inspection its magical qualities will reveal. The various rituals performed in his village are an ode to nature. One of the significant annual events involves a large-scale celebration with participation of friends and family alike. On the terrace of the house a clay pot with a rock is placed, filled with rice-grains and turmeric. The pot is closed with a red cloth and covered with a basket. This ensemble remains untouched for the entire year, after which all the old objects are put in the local lake and a new one is set up for the year to follow. This is accompanied with a customary dance performance by the men-folk of the house. Animal slaughter is an integral part of the culture. If the wishes come true, a goat is offered to the gods.
In his recent works, Kuttum interprets the silent moments between the ‘characters’ in his frame. The unspoken words between the performer and the animal, right before the act of slaughter; the unsaid emotions of the priest as he offers the hibiscus flower before performing the prayers; and even the imagined dialogue between man and plants before harvesting. He is interested in the in-betweenness and the transitional, one that is neither in the present nor in an imagined space. There are metaphors at play when he makes broken objects, like a tattered basket. Commonly used and an integral part of life in his village, the damaged basket symbolises the imperfection of life itself. Kuttum’s occasional painting involves a busy cluster of juxtaposed elements, quite contrary to the usual singular bold element. He has also experimented with an uneven silhouette of the canvas itself. These have a direct motivation from his own state of mind. A restless and emotionally heightened psyche has a direct impact on the format of his image making.
Songs from my homeland…a memoir of life and rituals is a celebration for Kuttum. He takes us to his village, on a guided tour, and makes us privy to his lived and imagined emotions. There are moments that are tranquil yet sombre, there are sentiments of contemplation.
Rahul Kumar

Memory Keepers
2022-08-24 - 2022-09-20 | Stir Gallery, 2 North Drive, DLF Chattarpur Farms, India
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A geometric abstraction by 6 emerging women artists.
Nostalgia is a feeling that is built by memories – it reminisces on moments that passed a long time ago. Nostalgia often is sweet going back to memories and experiences of simple times, most often related to our childhood. However, nostalgia can also be a little sad when people or spaces that are related to those memories no longer exist.Memories shape us. Many define our future. Yet today creates our memories for tomorrow!
Memory Keepers brings together six early career women artists who explore this idea through their contemporary art practices. The memories and experiences that shaped them are distinctively their own. What is distinct about this show is that each artist uniquely employs material and process – from stitching metal sheets, to cyanotype printing with embroidery, fresco treatment on MDF and using old tetra packs as printing plates.

World With-in…World With-out
2022-07-31 - 2022-08-06 | Bikaner House, Pandara Road, India Gate, New Delhi, India
17 contemporary artists respond to the idea of home and the world.
Co-curated by Prima Kurien & Rahul Kumar
The ultimate reality of the universe, which is ever-expanding and is still being discovered, is understood through its material and formal existence. Man, by nature, is ever interested in the study of matter, its properties, possible reactions to imposed processes, and eventually uses this knowledge to exploit the ‘resources’ for its own benefits. Our planet (and beyond) was formed by chance and not by design. Of course, this is true for those who believe in the big bang theory, by far the most credible scientific explanation of how the universe was created. And ever since its inception, till this fleeting moment, the physicality of the cosmos is changing. Innumerable forces are at play that impact these ‘outwardly’ shifts and mutations.
Soul, however, defines the essence of all matter. It is normally associated with the living energy but metaphorically could very well extend to the non-living too. This energy, unlike the physical manifestation, is believed to be eternal and immortal. Our thoughts, emotions, and psychological reactions to stimuli, all form our ‘inwardly’ being. This intangible energy is stored in the form of thoughts, both lived and imagined. And unlike the physical being, this energy can move in multiple dimensions. Scientific study is yet to discover even a fraction of how this aspect of our exitance operates.
Yet, both worlds are eternally interdependent. And at a macro level of understanding, the individual soul of all matter is made of the same reality, the cosmic energy, forming the singular ‘whole’. There is an entire world that exists ‘within’, and this is highly vulnerable to external forces. Every act of distress that is witnessed in the outside world leads to a fractured and wounded inside world. The corollary is equally true – what transpires within the intimacy of the inside world leads to all our actions and manifestations in the outside.Are these to be experienced differently then? Or, is there seamlessness? How does one transition from the ‘out’ to the ‘in’? or is there even a distinction?
This exhibit intends to explore these ideas through contemporary art practices of early-career artists. Each practitioner in the group uniquely employs material and process. The formal concerns and motivations are uniquely their own, delinked from any hegemonic reference of its previous generation or schools of thought. While they are all rooted, the practices are liberated from the patronage of scholarship and highbrow western culture. The exhibition includes works created during the self-imposed isolation (owing to the COVID19 pandemic), adding a distinct layer to their interpretations.
Multi-disciplinary in nature and experiential in format, there will be two distinct areas, each focussing on the ‘aatmmann’ (the inward) and ‘brahmmann’ (the outward) respectively.

Abhishek Dodiya

Abin Sreedharan

Brojeswer Mondal

Chandan Bez Baruah

Ciby Samuel

Cyrus

Kumar Misal

Moumita Basak

Nishchay Thakur

Pankaj Chouhan

Parul Sharma

Rachita Dutta

Rinku Choudhary

Viswanath Kuttum

Santanu Dey

Savitha Ravi

Shubham Kumar

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India Art Fair
2022-04-28 11:00 - 2022-05-01 18:00 UTC | NSIC Exhibition Complex, Okhla Phase III, Okhla Industrial Estate, New Delhi, India
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Art Incept was at the India Art Fair 2022 and showcased the works of 8 extremely talented and sensitive emerging artists. The exhibition booth was designed by Prima Kurien and curated by Prima and Rahul.
During the Art Fair, Art Incept launched our limited edition portfolios in partnership with our artists. These portfolios were designed for young collectors and was available at an extremely attractive price hoping more young enthusiasts start their journey as collectors!
Abhishek Dodiya, Brojesjwer Mondal, Cyrus, Kumar Misal, Parul Sharma, Santanu Dey, Viswanath Kuttum and Zarrin-Fatima Shamsi.

Inception Grant Finalist Show 2022
2022-03-28 11:30 - 2022-05-02 18:00 UTC | Stir Gallery, 2 North Drive, DLF Chattarpur Farms, India
The Inception Grant was set up to recognize and support young emerging talent in visual arts.
The Grant is open to contemporary artists between the ages of 21-35 years from South Asia with one category of the grant focused on India. The grant has been designed to be more than just financial aid to artists – awardees have access to our mentors and curators who assist them to develop their practice further through the year.
We have received more than 250 applications from all over India and this year we are honoured to have the support of British-born visual artist, Tacita Charlotte Dean CBE, RA. Tacita is reviewing the shortlisted finalists to select the artist to get the Tacita Dean Inception Award 2022. The award comes with a cash grant, a mentorship program by Art Incept, and a solo show in 2023!
Our internal jury will select a shortlist that will be presented at the Grant show in March 2022. Our jurors are Roobina Karode, Manisha Parekh and Ranbir Kaleka.

...of meditative gestures
2021-10-29 - 2021-11-30
An online exhibition
by SHAHANSHAH MITTAL
“My recent body of work is an ongoing exploration of the works and lives of saints. I am particularly interested in the writing of Swami Vivekanand, couplets of Kabir, and poems of Bulleshah. Unintentionally, all of this becomes a part of my work. Text and references to script in my work emerge from what I read and listen to. The intent is not to make it legible, but an uninterrupted flow of my emotion and environment. And other recognizable motifs, like a flower, remind me of nature, as though saying “I am ready to blossom.” Each work in this series is a visual diary of my exploration. My ideas evolve as I apply my sense of order and play to the image and material at hand. I may start with an idea in mind, but somewhere as I go along, intention and chance take over, giving it a new direction. I am never quite sure how a painting will look until it is finished.”
– Shahanshah Mittal
Memory of my Kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 36 x 56″
When I look back at my past, the years that I spent alone in Delhi, there was nothing on my mind then, except to paint. My teacher and professional guide suggested that I spend time working with the medium to discover the secrets and hidden meaning of the painting. In the process, I realized that my daily chores, my mundane surroundings, began to reflect in my art. The texture of concrete walls, random patterns on the road outside my house, and even the rhythm of the music I would put on in my studio… I painted it all. I do not paint with a preconceived plan or thought. This method is liberating and I thoroughly enjoy the freedom and allow things to flow in a natural way.
Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 40 x 72″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 40 x 72″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on canvas | 40 x 72″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 40 x 72″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 36 x 56″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 36 x 56″
Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 30 x 42″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 30 x 42″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 30 x 42″
Music, nature, and spirituality draw my attention. I recreate a microcosm world that is layered with my vision, and the core reason for my art to be abstract. I intend to communicate a feeling rather than a precise meaning. My work attempts to create an environment that I find within myself; they represent an internal world that I am attempting to externalize and share. Most of my paintings are minimal in approach. I see them as balanced imagery, yet full of rhythm and asymmetry. Maestro and music exponent Hariprashad Chaurasia said “… my instrument is simply a piece of bamboo. The sound is straight from nature and it connects me to nature.” Similarly, I like to work on paper, a medium with which I feel completely liberated. I want to understand the music of nature more deeply with the help of my art.
Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 36 x 56″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 36 x 56″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 36 x 56″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 36 x 56″ Memory of my kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 36 x 56″
Memory of my Kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 36 x 56″
Memory of my Kolkata | Dry pigment on mount board | 36 x 56″

and...there was light
2021-09-27 - 2021-10-30 | Stir Gallery, 2 North Drive, DLF Chattarpur Farms, India
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‘and…there was light’
But there, ahead, a beam of lightPeered through the darkness of the nightAnd granted to me clearer sightThat I might be set free.– Robert S Bise
We understand the importance of light when we are in darkness. What does darkness mean to us? Metaphorically, it can exist in multiple forms…a closed mind and an unkind heart, or in the evil actions we take and hurtful words we speak. It need not be simply the absence of light. A tiny virus can push the world into darkness. Our senseless consumption and the absence of care for the planet is nothing but an accelerated race into darkness.
But without light can darkness even be experienced? Light is needed to cast a shadow and it in this contrast that the we ‘see’ both light(ness) and dark(ness). Besides, we owe all life to that beam of light. It is our singular source of energy that is essential to produce food and nourish our souls. It is that silver lining of hope. It is the reason we look forward to a new day. It is the reason that causes the night to turn into day!
What is light to you? Where do you find the source of light? Where would you want it to lead you? Do you believe there is light that shines within? Is light a tool for your work, a subject, or an inspiration? Or is it a metaphor for hope.
‘and…there was light’ celebrates light in all its possible interpretations. A tightly curated exhibition will include early-career practitioners from the finalists of the first edition of the Inception Grant. Artists across disciplines and genres are invited to respond to this idea in their own unique style.

Breath of Art
2021-06-30 08:00 UTC | Triveni Kala Sangam
“Art is something that makes you breathe with a different kind of happiness!”
– Annie Ambers

The human race has been at a war. This time with a virus that has challenged the way we live! And this time, one that has created a new normal for us. One that has altered the very fundamentals of our approach to coexist with nature. As we continue to come to terms and deal with an unprecedented emotional unrest, don’t we just crave for a bit of fresh breath of energy?
We cannot give you better air or a virus-proof existence, but we can uplift your spirits and help you ‘breathe’ with a “different kind of happiness”!

Breath of Art is a show that attempts to reenergize a space with art – art that inspires, works that are refreshing, and practices that have the ability to make you think! The show brings together seven emerging artists working in varied formats and with distinct thematic framework. They tied together with a common objective of invigorating your senses with fresh energy and unfamiliar perspectives.

RAM DONGREUntitledOil on Canvas70 x 45″
SANTANU DEYMelting Stomach, 2020Burnt wood and graphite42 x 48 x 3″

SANTANU DEYFolded Land, 2020Mixed Media on Acid-Free Paper12 x 24″

SANTANU DEYThe Moon Comes to my Balcony, 2020Burnt wood and graphite25 x 41 x 5″

RAM DONGREUntitledOil on Canvas67 x 48″

DEEPAK KUMARKingfisher, 2019Acrylic on Canvas60 x 50″

DEEPAK KUMARForgotten Homes, 2020Repurposed Wood46 x 73 x 3″

DEEPAK KUMARUntitled, 2020Acrylic on Repurposed wood and metal48″

VISWANATH KUTTUMLife and rituals, 2020Mixed Media on Board30 x 30″

VISWANATH KUTTUMNot Convoluted -I, 2017Paraffin and Bee wax, resin, Double Boiled Linseed Oil, Brown Powder on Paper Board15 x 15″

VISWANATH KUTTUMNot Convoluted – II, 2018Paraffin and Bee wax, resin, Double Boiled Linseed Oil, Brown Powder on Paper Board15 x 15″

VISWANATH KUTTUMLast Thirst, Taste and Juice, 2020Paraffin and Bee wax, resin, Double Boiled Linseed Oil, Brown Powder on Paper Board38 x 46″

VISWANATH KUTTUMMeditative Eye II, 2020Parafin and Bee wax, resin, Double Boiled Linseed Oil, Brown Powder on Paper Board44 x 92″

SHAHANSHAH MITTALI celebrate Myself, 2015Acrylic on Canvas60 x 30″

SHAHANSHAH MITTALLanguage of Existence, 2018Mixed Media on Canvas36 x 56″

SHAHANSHAH MITTALLanguage of Existence, 2020Dry Pastels on Paper Board15 x 14″

SHAHANSHAH MITTALLanguage of Existence, 2020Dry Pastels on Paper Board15 x 14″INR 25,000

SHAHANSHAH MITTALLanguage of Existence, 2020Dry Pastels on Paper Board15 x 14″

SHAHANSHAH MITTALLanguage of Existence, 2020Dry Pastels on Paper Board15 x 14″

SUNIL YADAVArchaeological Survey, 2020Mixed Media on Canvas48 x 72″

Boundaries Unbuilt 2
2021-04-03 - 2021-05-10 | Stir Gallery, 2 North Drive, DLF Chattarpur Farms, India
Abhishek Dodiya | City Scape 2021 | Mixed Media on Wood

Abhishek Dodiya | City Scape 2021 | Mixed Media on Wood

Abhishek Dodia | Urban scape | Metal Scraps

Ghanashyam Latua | Khoai Landscape X | Pen, Ink and Pin-Work on Paper

Harish Ojha | Neighborhood | Archival Paper on Board

Mudita Bhandari | Nesting | Terracotta, Paper pulp and cement

Nilmoni Chatterjee | Urbanscape | Solid Wood and Metal

Nilmoni Chatterjee | Where is my home-2 | Soilid Wood and Iron

Savitha Ravi | The Corridor | Intaglio Print

Savitha Ravi | The Ideal Home III | Intaglio Print

Shiv Lal Saroha | Acrylic and Charcoal on Canvas

Soma Surovi Jannat | A patch of deep blue sky has been broken through a thick cover of grey cloud | Pen on Handmade Paper

Soma Surovi Jannat | When time takes the last breath | Pen on Handmade Paper

Sunil_Yadav | An Archaeology of a New Identity | Mixed Media on Canvas

Sunil Yadav | Mixed Media on Canvas

Vanshika Rathi | Highways across Oceans | Handcut Archival Paper

Vijaya Chauhan | Innovative Eye 4 | Stoneware, Terracotta, Iron and Wood

Viswanath Kuttum | Life and rituals | Mixed Media on Board

Yash Pal | The Rusted Wall | Mix Media on Mount Board

Yash Pal | Mix Media on Mount Board

Still Life
2021-03-24 - 2021-03-31
The process of living is tinged with uncertainty, an uncertainty made
more palpable in daily events, encounters, and tragedies. Its basis is
the acceptance of universal frailties, the loss of all things. A house is
built; it corrodes in rain and sun, is beaten by seasonal changes.
Organic growth rises in its crevices. Every day it dies a little more.
Till walls cave in, brick turns to dust, and fresh life replaces
completely, till even the plants die and disappear into earth and soil
leaving but one reminder: Youth is but a minor itch, it passes; the
progression of ageing is unforgiving as ever. Still, evolutionary loss is
comforted by time’s elongated length. People feast before extinction,
find God in belief; they migrate in hope. Tradition and custom
intervene. Mosque, temple, and church are clothed in conforming
uniforms. Games are invented to enlarge purpose, create conflicts,
elongate life. Ageing, decline and demise are accorded personal time
frames, accelerated for some, stretched and seemingly limitless for
others. We live, we learn to love because we are dying. The
archeology of cities, the rise and decay of architecture, the dimming
focus of design and material objects, private transformations and
public cultures, the physical residue of all that manifests as life and
material, transforms from birth to love to struggle to dissolution, to
loss and memory, finally to recall and remembrance. Things die,
there’s grief. Things remain beautiful, even in sorrow.
-Gautam Bhatia

GAUTAM BHATIAAmbitionMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIABig BusinessMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIACall of NatureMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIACurse of Common PlaceMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIACycle of WealthMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIADeath of BirthMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAEnd of ReligionMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAFamily ReunionMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAFeasting ExtinctionMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAGoing NowhereMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAHouse of CardsMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAInnocence of LossMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIALabor of LoveMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAThe MakerMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAPainterMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAReviving FaithMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAThe Birds have FlownMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAThe Birth of DeathMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAThis Is LifeMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAUnwashed CityMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAWriterMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAPrayerBronze

GAUTAM BHATIASelfie Circa 1930Bronze

GAUTAM BHATIAselfie Circa 1950Bronze

GAUTAM BHATIAUnveiledBronze

GAUTAM BHATIAToothpaste of MigrantsBronze

GAUTAM BHATIAWomen of FaithBronze

GAUTAM BHATIAHung ParliamentBronze

GAUTAM BHATIAGame of ThronesMixed Media on Paper

GAUTAM BHATIAMercy KillingMixed media on paper

Inception Grant Finalist Show 2021
2021-03-08 | Stir Gallery, 2 North Drive, DLF Chattarpur Farms, India
Keerti Pooja | Etching Aquatint on Paper and Clot

Bebek Kalyan Roy | Spine Tree | Mix Media on Board

Anupama Alias | Surviving Phase 2 | Watercolor On Paper

Brojeswer Mondal | Pen and Ink on Paper

Brojeswer Mondal | Acrylic on Choksi Board

Chandar Panjre | Elements of Village | Kantha Fabric

Chandar Panjre | Dehati Brand | Kantha Fabric

Ghanashyam Latua | Khoai Landscape I | Pen, Ink and Pin-Work on Paper

Hasmukh Makwana | Soul Scan | Rice Paper and Ink on Canvas

Hiral Chaudhari | Mixed Media on Paper

Jyotiprakash Sethy | Soft Pastel on Mount Board

Neelesh Yogi | Thora hai Thore ki Zarurat Hai | Paper

Desolate
2021-02-19 - 2021-03-28 | Museo Camera, Shri Ganesh Mandir Marg, DLF Phase IV, Sector 28, Gurugram, Haryana, 122002, India
An exhibition that attempts to explore the extension of image-based practices through materiality and technique.
Curated by Rahul Kumar

The curatorial framework for this exhibition is two pronged: conceptual & emotional reference to the idea of desolate, and exploring the genre of image-based art.
With the advent of the COVD-19 pandemic, humanity has experienced isolation like never before. But what does solitary mean to us?
Does it imply a sense of freedom, or does it evoke loneliness?
Does it infer hierarchy, or is it about a feeling of being left-out?
Does it mean strength in standing tall, or does it encourage looking inward?
Selected early to mid-career artists from all across the country react to this impression in their own ways.
All the practices included in this show are also bound by the use of photography as an element in their works. There are photographers who present images on the idea and notion of desolate itself. And then there are artists who merely use image as a component in their work. The exhibition attempts to explore this extension of image-based practices through materiality (variety of surfaces to print images), as also the techniques used in the process of producing the works.

ANDHIKA RAMADIANAquaticDigital Print on paper20 x 16 ′′

ANDHIKA RAMADIANCuriosityDigital Print on paper20 x 16 ′′

ANDHIKA RAMADIANCycleDigital Print on paper20 x 20 ′′

ANDHIKA RAMADIANStuckDigital Print on paper20 x 20 ′′

JIGNESH PANCHALLanguage of the Wall set of 9 , 2020Mixed Media on Paper12 x 8 ′′

RANJEET SINGHThe Black Truth Project 14, 2018-2019Archival Print on Paper20 x 14 ′′

RANJEET SINGHThe Black Truth Project 2, 2018-2019Archival Print on Paper20 x 14 ′′

RANJEET SINGHThe Black Truth Projects 3, 2018-2019Archival Print on Paper20 x 14 ′′

SAMANTA BATRA MEHTAThe Last of the Uncolonized Lands #6, 2010C Print30 x 30 ′′

SANJAY DASCosmic RythmArchival Print on Paper50 x 40 ′′

SANJAY DASPrayer Flags 1Archival Print on Paper33 x 22 ′′

SANJAY DASSerenity 1Archival Print on Paper22 x 33 ′′

SANJAY DASSerenity 2Archival Print on Paper22 x 33 ′′

SANJAY DASUntitled 1Archival Print on Paper30 x 45 ′′

SAVITHA RAVIIdeal Home 1, 2019Intaglio Print31 x 22 ′′

SAVITHA RAVIIdeal Home II, 2019Intaglio Print31 x 22 ′′

SAVITHA RAVIReflection of Rain set of 6 , 2019Cyanotype on Woodcut Print13 x 9 ′′

SAVITHA RAVIRemembrance- Places, Objects and Feelings set of 4 , 2019Cyanotype on Intaglio Print13 x 19.5 ′′

SAVITHA RAVIThe Corridor, 2020Intaglio Print21.5 x 42 ′′

SAVITHA RAVIThe Ideal Home III, 2019Intaglio Print21.5 x 21.5 ′′

Boundaries Unbuilt
2021-01-15 - 2021-03-11 | Stir Gallery, 2 North Drive, DLF Chattarpur Farms, India
Boundaries are man-made, whether they are geographical, emotional, religious or physical. Defined by
us, created by us, maintained for our own comfort! But are we very different? Is it our time to introspect?
Art speaks one language – it strives to see the world in a new way. The ability to articulate an idea and
then transfer it onto paper or another form remains the same. It links each of us together line by line,
drawing by drawing. The drawing functions as a democratic element often emerging from within a
collective imagination or as an act of poetic genius.
Boundaries Unbuilt is a show that brings highly talented and promising artists to showcase their art,
express their thoughts around the idea of connecting lines, unbuilt boundaries and the power of us. We
hope this show gives us an opportunity to reflect, to connect, to unbuild, and to rebuild without
boundaries.

Mudita Bhandari | Shifting Realities | Terracotta, Paper pulp and cement
Nilmoni Chatterjee | Urbanscape | Solid Wood and Metal
Nilmoni Chatterjee | Where is my home-2 | Soilid Wood and Iron
Rabindra Shrestha | No Racism we are all connected | Pen and Ink on Canvas
Soma Surovi Jannat | A patch of deep blue sky has been broken through a thick cover of grey cloud | Pen on Handmade Paper
Soma Surovi Jannat | Time Without Birth and Death | Pen on Handmade Paper
Sunil_Yadav | An Archaeology of a New Identity | Mixed Media on Canvas
Vanshika Rathi | Highways across Oceans | Handcut Archival Paper
Vijaya Chauhan | Smart Association | Terracotta, Steel, Jute and Wood
Vijaya Chauhan | Silent Letters | Black Terracotta , Stoneware and Wood
