“These courtesans were artists who were carriers of the nation’s enormous history, creating cultural movements by their strokes and the turnings of their wrists. At the core of the institutionals values of courtesans lay a deeper, divine purpose of uplifting the mundane world of mortals, allowing them to envision the bigger picture.” Madhur Gupta on… Read more »
The paintings of B Prabha capture the hopes and anguish of a woman making art in a newly independent India
On 16th March 2024, we invited a group of participants to celebrate women from the Sarmaya collection who have carved their own identities by breaking boundaries. For this session, we focused on subversive female voices by exploring the fascinating world of a few courageous women such as Razia Sultan, Nur Jahan, Fanny Parkes, Lena Lowis, Umrao… Read more »
An exquisite collection of 19th-century botanical art that focuses on common-but-beautiful Indian flowers
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 »
Din ne jab dhoop kou siyaahi mein badalte dekha is part of a suite of seventeen works called Naguftaha – e – Hawwa (The unspoken words of Hawwa) created by Arshi Irshad Ahmadzai (b.1988). The Koh-e Asmaai (mountain of Goddess Asmai) in front of the artist’s apartment in Kabul served as the inspiration for this work. To… Read more »
This artwork titled ‘Shadows under my sky – 4’ is a woodblock created by Soghra Khurasani (b. 1983), contemporary artist based in Vadodara (Baroda), Gujarat. Landscapes are a significant feature in Soghra Khurasani’s work as inspiring, open spaces that can be explored. This woodblock was part of Khurasani’s solo show, Shadows under my sky, at… Read more »
Gond is a celebrated, shared art tradition practised by the Gond-Pradhan community in India. The themes revolve around ritualistic idols and motifs and depictions of the natural world and its harmony and are painted in an elaborate pattern of lines and dots. In this painting titled ‘Pahuna’ (meaning an esteemed guest), artist Japani Shyam has… Read more »
This Untitled work is part of a series showcasing Horizon lines by artist Aditi Singh (b.1976), made using Ink on Washi Paper in 2020. The work showcases the horizon line of a city, which Singh explored by walking. The artist took meditative walks in Nepal, Sierra Nevada, the lake district of the UK, and more… Read more »
This Untitled work is part of a series showcasing Horizon lines by artist Aditi Singh (b. 1976), made using ink on Washi Paper in 2015. The work is the artist’s interpretation of the horizon line of Turkey. It has emerged from a long and deep reflection on the natural world and the artist’s imagination. It… Read more »
This Untitled work is part of a series showcasing Horizon lines by artist Aditi Singh (b. 1976), made using Ink on Kozo Paper in 2016. The work is the artist’s interpretation of the horizon line of Delhi and is a product of ‘meditative walking’ by the artist. For Singh, walking in different places worldwide brought… Read more »
Rithika Merchant’s paintings are allegorical. They occupy the intersections of mythologies from across cultures to generate modern narratives that look into a re-imagined present. She paints the form of her characters with striking attention, using the medium of gouache to her advantage, as she layers washes of colours with opaque textures onto stained papers. With… Read more »
This composition is part of Zarina Hashmi’s (1937-2020) series of woodcut prints. Delhi III is part of Zarina Hashmi’s celebrated Delhi series. This striking woodcut shows the river Yamuna, a lifeline of her beloved city. The artist drew the river from memory, fashioning it as geographic border. Witness to the horrors of the India-Pakistan partition… Read more »
Havva ki Nakahi is part of a suite of seventeen works called Naguftaha – e – Hawwa (The unspoken words of Hawwa) that, in gallerist Mortimer Chatterjee’s words, “explores the relationship of Adam and Eve (Havva ) in the Islamic tradition and the ejection of Eve from heaven”. The work is a typical example of… Read more »
Gond is a celebrated shared art tradition practiced by the Gond-Pradhan community in India. It was first ‘discovered’ by Jagdish Swaminathan who was searching for original artworks from Indian tribes in the 1970s. The search ended with him meeting the talented artist Jangarh Singh Shyam, considered the pioneer of Gond art. The themes of the… Read more »