This artwork titled Ancestral Histories/ stories #1 is by Saju Kunhan (b. 1983) It is one of seven works from the Home Ground series, each of which imagines a historical event connected to the artist’s ancestors. Saju Kunhan has incorporated characters into stories he has heard when he was a child by using pictures and… Read more »
This untitled Bhil painting is by contemporary artist Lado Bai (b. 1954) depicting flora, fauna and a human figure. For the Bhil tribe of Madhya Pradesh, art is a device for marking events, preserving memories and capturing the community’s deep connection with nature. The fundamental theme of Lado Bai’s artwork is the symbiotic relationships between… Read more »
This composition in watercolour on wasli paper is by artist Varunika Saraf (b. 1981). Varunika Saraf believes that the only means of combating societal prejudices, bigotry, and discrimination is through the power of love. This work is inspired by the poem “Love is contraband in Hell” written by Assata Shakur(b. 1947), an American civil rights… Read more »
The etching titled ‘Resurrection’, was made by the Delhi-based mural artist Achutan Ramachandran (b. 1935) in 1968. This work is reminiscent of Ramchandran’s earlier works (from 1960-1980s), where he created a series of etchings that significantly drew inspiration from the Bible to convey his agony in response to the societal injustice and bloodshed that followed… Read more »
This Warli artwork titled ‘Kansari’ is by Tushar Vayeda (b.1987) and Mayur Vayeda (b.1992), artists based in Ganjad, Maharashtra. The Warli way of life is the way of the forest. The spirits worshipped by the tribe are personifications of natural phenomena. One such spirit is the subject of Tushar and Mayur Vayeda’s painting, Kansari, named… Read more »
This Warli artwork titled ‘The Wave’ is by Tushar Vayeda (b.1987) and Mayur Vayeda (b.1992), artists based in Ganjad, Maharashtra. Tushar and Mayur Vayeda retell a Warli legend in this work. There’s a belief in the community that in each life cycle of the earth, waves of natural and man-made disasters will strike until eventually,… Read more »
This composition is a 2018 ‘Untitled’ work in gouache on Japanese paper by Dibin K. Thilakan (b. 1989). Created after the catastrophic 2018 Kerala floods, Dibin Thilakan’s painting obscures boundaries between land and water. The floods caused widespread displacement and damage across the state. While he highlights the helplessness of the average citizen awaiting relief… Read more »
This composition is an Untitled work by Gopa Trivedi (b. 1987) made from gold and graphite on wasli. Gopa Trivedi’s work illuminates our individual and collective anxieties about a slow degradation eating at the ground beneath our feet. The stork in this composition symbolises apathy. Gopa is inspired by Indian miniature painting traditions to create… Read more »
This woodcut print by Chandan Bez Baruah (b. 1979) is titled ‘Somewhere in Northeast India Pt-I’ and was created in 2020. The desolation of Chandan Bez Baruah’s landscape speaks volumes. It bears witness to an ecosystem brutalised by rampant urbanisation. To the artist, there’s a close link between the collapsing of natural and political diversities… Read more »
This undated work is a still life painting by K H Ara (1914-1985). His artistic expressions were characterised by robust nudes and still lifes, marked by a life-affirming positivity and zeal. He was a self-taught artist who ran away from home to pursue his artistic career in Bombay. Born in 1913 in Andhra Pradesh, KH… Read more »
This work from the series ‘Unborn’ by Anju Acharya (b.1992) illustrates a realistically rendered fish on rice paper. The fish appears to be preparing to give birth. The overarching themes in Acharya’s series ‘Unborn’ are birth, death, and decay. She draws on her personal pregnancy experience. She considers how this connects her to all the… Read more »
This work from the series Unborn by Anju Acharya (b.1992), illustrates a realistically rendered skeleton of a fish. Birth, says Acharya, can only be comprehended entirely when viewed in the context of death. All in between is the process of deterioration. In this piece, she portrays how changes in nature impact the body of living… Read more »
Sarmaya Founder Paul Abraham and Brand Custodian Pavitra Rajaram acquire objects to continually enrich our museum’s collection. In this Guide, they share some great advice with young collectors on how to engage meaningfully with the art and culture of India
This composition showing a harvest is a Warli painting on a cow-dung-washed canvas by Jivya Soma Mashe (1934-2018). The artist depicts the harvesting season and its corresponding activities in this painting. Wagobha, the community’s tiger god, has a dedicated shrine in the composition’s bottom centre. For the Warli community, farming is a vital source of… Read more »