Key highlights from the Delhi Contemporary Art Week

Anannya SarkarPublished on Aug 29, 2022

Back for its fifth edition, here’s what to look forward to at the Delhi Contemporary Art Week

The event focuses on mixed media art from both emerging and established names from South Asia, simultaneously asking relevant questions

Seven galleries in the capital city are set to showcase some of the best South Asian contemporary art practices through works that ask pertinent questions

More often than not, it is the art made during a time period that best reflects and records the era. So when seven like-minded New Delhi-based galleries decided to put together a collection of works centred around the premise of “contemporary art in South Asia” being “more exciting than it has ever been,” it culminated in the fifth edition of the Delhi Contemporary Art Week (DCAW), slated to begin on 1 September.

Curated to showcase a “new wave of artists from India and the sub-continent,” Blueprint 12, Exhibit 320, Gallery Espace, Latitude 28, Nature Morte, Shrine Empire and Vadehra Art Gallery have put together a diverse roster that will be available for viewing at Bikaner House till 7 September. Along with the curated showcase, each gallery will also have exhibitions to create a network of offerings across the capital city for audiences. In addition to the aforementioned, Meera Menezes’ curated group exhibition titled Legal Alien, at the old building at Bikaner House is also a part of DCAW and asks pertinent questions surrounding home and alienation in a hyper-connected world.

Blueprint 12Blueprint 12 is set to showcase the works of Kaimura, Mansha Chhatwal, Tabeena Nissar Wani, Madhu Das and Koyal Raheja with the focus on the exploration of medium and material such as through photography, book pages, textile and graph paper. “We aim to focus on such emerging experimental voices through DCAW. We focus on introducing new voices each year who are constantly pushing the boundary. This year, the curation is on material exploration,” say Ridhi Bhalla and Mandira Lamba of Blueprint 12. — **Blueprint 12**
Blueprint 12 is set to showcase the works of Kaimura, Mansha Chhatwal, Tabeena Nissar Wani, Madhu Das and Koyal Raheja with the focus on the exploration of medium and material such as through photography, book pages, textile and graph paper. “We aim to focus on such emerging experimental voices through DCAW. We focus on introducing new voices each year who are constantly pushing the boundary. This year, the curation is on material exploration,” say Ridhi Bhalla and Mandira Lamba of Blueprint 12.

Exhibit 320Exhibit 320 is mounting a group show of eight artists including Kumaresan Selvaraj, Sumakshi Singh, Gopi Gajwani, Sonali Sonam, Yasmin Jahan Nupur, Harish Ojha, Rahul Kumar and Gunjan Kumar. “DCAW marks the beginning of the art season, showcasing some of the best that Delhi has to offer in terms of contemporary art. It is a celebration of art and its community,” said Rasika Kajaria of Exhibit 320. — **Exhibit 320**
Exhibit 320 is mounting a group show of eight artists including Kumaresan Selvaraj, Sumakshi Singh, Gopi Gajwani, Sonali Sonam, Yasmin Jahan Nupur, Harish Ojha, Rahul Kumar and Gunjan Kumar. “DCAW marks the beginning of the art season, showcasing some of the best that Delhi has to offer in terms of contemporary art. It is a celebration of art and its community,” said Rasika Kajaria of Exhibit 320.

Gallery EspaceGallery Espace is bringing to the fore the works of Amit Ambalal, Dilip Chobisa, GR Iranna, Ishita Chakraborty, Mekhala Bahl, Nandini Bagla Chirimar, Paula Sengupta, Rashmi Mala, Shambhavi, Tanmoy Samanta and Valay Gada. Ambalal’s “distinctive animated brushwork featuring animals,” Mala’s delicate botanical drawings, Chobisa’s architectural relief sculptures and Iranna’s watercolours of blooming cherry trees are some of the artworks to look forward to. “DCAW has expanded its programming to meet this (growing) interest, and this year we will have a strong line-up of talks and workshops with arts institutions along with a curated exhibition by Menezes,” said Renu Modi, founder-director, Gallery Espace. — **Gallery Espace**
Gallery Espace is bringing to the fore the works of Amit Ambalal, Dilip Chobisa, GR Iranna, Ishita Chakraborty, Mekhala Bahl, Nandini Bagla Chirimar, Paula Sengupta, Rashmi Mala, Shambhavi, Tanmoy Samanta and Valay Gada. Ambalal’s “distinctive animated brushwork featuring animals,” Mala’s delicate botanical drawings, Chobisa’s architectural relief sculptures and Iranna’s watercolours of blooming cherry trees are some of the artworks to look forward to. “DCAW has expanded its programming to meet this (growing) interest, and this year we will have a strong line-up of talks and workshops with arts institutions along with a curated exhibition by Menezes,” said Renu Modi, founder-director, Gallery Espace.

Latitude 28For DCAW, Latitude 28 has brought together a group of artists who reflect on the socio-politics of present times through their art. “DCAW has been instrumental in bringing forth a roster of young talented voices in art. In this year's edition, Latitude 28 brings together South Asian artists experimenting with mediums to create works that are diverse and innovative. The common thread unifying these artists’ distinct form and technique is the infusion of traditional styles with the new media to generate their own personal aesthetic to comment on the zeitgeist of contemporary times, depicting both socio-political and poetic life experiences,” said Bhavna Kakar, director, Latitude 28. Their roster includes names such as Kerala-born Ahalya Rajendran who often draws from the agrarian, contemplative life around her; Karachi-born Noor Ali Chagani who translates his quest for a personal space like home in his hand-made miniature terracotta bricks; and Mumbai’s Ketaki Sarpotdar who employs anthropomorphic forms of animals to look at human responses to socio-political issues. — **Latitude 28**
For DCAW, Latitude 28 has brought together a group of artists who reflect on the socio-politics of present times through their art. “DCAW has been instrumental in bringing forth a roster of young talented voices in art. In this year's edition, Latitude 28 brings together South Asian artists experimenting with mediums to create works that are diverse and innovative. The common thread unifying these artists’ distinct form and technique is the infusion of traditional styles with the new media to generate their own personal aesthetic to comment on the zeitgeist of contemporary times, depicting both socio-political and poetic life experiences,” said Bhavna Kakar, director, Latitude 28. Their roster includes names such as Kerala-born Ahalya Rajendran who often draws from the agrarian, contemplative life around her; Karachi-born Noor Ali Chagani who translates his quest for a personal space like home in his hand-made miniature terracotta bricks; and Mumbai’s Ketaki Sarpotdar who employs anthropomorphic forms of animals to look at human responses to socio-political issues.

Shrine EmpireShrine Empire brings together works by Awdhesh Tamrakar, Divya Singh, Lavkant Chaudhary, Piyali Sadhukhan, Priyank Gothwal, Sangita Maity, Samanta Batra Mehta and Shruti Mahajan, bringing forth ideas of “community politics, urban migration, gender, the poetry within isolation, absurdity of repetition in our everyday lives and temporalities of time and space at large”. According to Shefali Somani and Anahita Taneja, co-founders of the gallery, their aim is to bring together these narratives through a research-oriented approach that delves deep into the politics of the entire region and its relation to creation. — **Shrine Empire**
Shrine Empire brings together works by Awdhesh Tamrakar, Divya Singh, Lavkant Chaudhary, Piyali Sadhukhan, Priyank Gothwal, Sangita Maity, Samanta Batra Mehta and Shruti Mahajan, bringing forth ideas of “community politics, urban migration, gender, the poetry within isolation, absurdity of repetition in our everyday lives and temporalities of time and space at large”. According to Shefali Somani and Anahita Taneja, co-founders of the gallery, their aim is to bring together these narratives through a research-oriented approach that delves deep into the politics of the entire region and its relation to creation.

Vadehra Art GalleryVadehra Art Gallery’s curation brings together works by both prominent and younger names such as Anju Dodiya, Atul Bhalla, Atul Dodiya, Gigi Scaria, Praneet Soi, Sachin George Sebastian, Shailesh BR, Sujith SN and Shrimanti Saha. “In a curation titled Remember the Skin Whose Earth You Are, we present works that come together to emphasise the tonal saturation of brown in various real and imagined landscapes,” said Parul Vadehra, director of the gallery. — **Vadehra Art Gallery**
Vadehra Art Gallery’s curation brings together works by both prominent and younger names such as Anju Dodiya, Atul Bhalla, Atul Dodiya, Gigi Scaria, Praneet Soi, Sachin George Sebastian, Shailesh BR, Sujith SN and Shrimanti Saha. “In a curation titled Remember the Skin Whose Earth You Are, we present works that come together to emphasise the tonal saturation of brown in various real and imagined landscapes,” said Parul Vadehra, director of the gallery.

Nature MorteWith a new series of works by Nidhi Agarwal and Aditya Pande, Nature Morte looks at paper as one of the mediums. “Paint, pastel, crayon and ink are combined to create configurations in which colour, line and form are fused into condensed, charged particles,” by Agarwal, while Pande uses computerised drawings that are printed on both paper and canvas. Peter Nagy of Nature Morte credits DCAW as an opportunity to not only come across exciting contemporary art but to also “meet the people responsible for steering the contemporary art scene of the city”. — **Nature Morte**
With a new series of works by Nidhi Agarwal and Aditya Pande, Nature Morte looks at paper as one of the mediums. “Paint, pastel, crayon and ink are combined to create configurations in which colour, line and form are fused into condensed, charged particles,” by Agarwal, while Pande uses computerised drawings that are printed on both paper and canvas. Peter Nagy of Nature Morte credits DCAW as an opportunity to not only come across exciting contemporary art but to also “meet the people responsible for steering the contemporary art scene of the city”.

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Back for its fifth edition, here’s what to look forward to at the Delhi Contemporary Art Week

Seven galleries in the capital city are set to showcase some of the best South Asian contemporary art practices through works that ask pertinent questions

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