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A mix of new and established names in both solo and group formats across galleries in India have art shows to capture your fancy

From idyllic Kerala to questioning queer identity, here are five exhibitions to immerse yourself in

A mix of new and established names in both solo and group formats across galleries in India have art shows to capture your fancy

As we cruise towards the end of the year, it is also time for the art scene in India to pick up pace as everyone puts their best foot forward. Galleries across the country have curated exhibitions ranging from solos to ensembles–Prasad KP’s pastoral landscapes on display at New Delhi’s Pallete Art Gallery offers a segue into the idyllic life of his village in Kerala while Sarah Naqvi’s solo at Mumbai’s Tarq draws your attention to queer identity and the implications of socio-political situations on it. An ensemble exhibit at The Quorum Gurgaon with Art Alive has a bunch of artists “rearranging” the mundane into magical, while Tao Art Gallery celebrates monsoon in Mumbai. Here’s what you can expect:

Making Visible by Ayesha Sultana at Experimenter, Colaba, MumbaiMarking the inauguration of this Kolkata-based gallery in Mumbai, artist Ayesha Sultana’s solo exhibition aptly looks at the connection between two points in time, without really focusing on one. Her process of repetition and mark-making lie at the centre of her practice and she continues it with her drawing series, Breath Count. Here, Sultana can be seen scratching the surface of clay-coated paper as she times it with her breath–a larger process of how she connects her inner self with something bigger. A floor sculpture sees her splice and fold paper “in a steady gesture, blurring the line between the doer and the object and concentrating once again, on the action of doing, neither focussing on the paper nor the graphite nor the hand”.Where: @experimenterkol (Colaba)On till: October 29

Making Visible by Ayesha Sultana at Experimenter, Colaba, Mumbai

Marking the inauguration of this Kolkata-based gallery in Mumbai, artist Ayesha Sultana’s solo exhibition aptly looks at the connection between two points in time, without really focusing on one. Her process of repetition and mark-making lie at the centre of her practice and she continues it with her drawing series, Breath Count. Here, Sultana can be seen scratching the surface of clay-coated paper as she times it with her breath–a larger process of how she connects her inner self with something bigger. A floor sculpture sees her splice and fold paper “in a steady gesture, blurring the line between the doer and the object and concentrating once again, on the action of doing, neither focussing on the paper nor the graphite nor the hand”.

Where: @experimenterkol (Colaba)

On till: October 29

A Pastoral Eulogy by Prasad KP at Palette Art Gallery, New DelhiLush forests, throbbing colours and a realistic depiction of the topography often take centrestage in artist Prasad KP’s works. But so do his miniature figures made in watercolours. In this exhibition, Prasad will be showing landscapes inspired by his surroundings in Kerala. “The peasant life of my family enriched me with a culture that is rooted in nature. My house is surrounded by lush vegetation and an atmosphere filled with the songs of birds and squirrels. Dogs, cattle and chickens live in harmony as an extension of the family. The paddy fields, mountains and rivers are very much a part of life and they together shaped my aesthetic perspective. The narrative elements in the works intend to explore the interrelationship of everything in nature, thus reminding us of an ancient dictum of the Indian sages ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, wherein, according to them, the whole cosmos is a single family, and all entities in this universe are a manifestation of one life energy,” says Prasad about his work. Viewed in the context of a world affected by climate change, this solo exhibition is an appeal of sorts by the artist to subscribe to a different worldview.Where: @paletteart_galleryOn till: November 7

A Pastoral Eulogy by Prasad KP at Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi

Lush forests, throbbing colours and a realistic depiction of the topography often take centrestage in artist Prasad KP’s works. But so do his miniature figures made in watercolours. In this exhibition, Prasad will be showing landscapes inspired by his surroundings in Kerala. “The peasant life of my family enriched me with a culture that is rooted in nature. My house is surrounded by lush vegetation and an atmosphere filled with the songs of birds and squirrels. Dogs, cattle and chickens live in harmony as an extension of the family. The paddy fields, mountains and rivers are very much a part of life and they together shaped my aesthetic perspective. The narrative elements in the works intend to explore the interrelationship of everything in nature, thus reminding us of an ancient dictum of the Indian sages ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, wherein, according to them, the whole cosmos is a single family, and all entities in this universe are a manifestation of one life energy,” says Prasad about his work. Viewed in the context of a world affected by climate change, this solo exhibition is an appeal of sorts by the artist to subscribe to a different worldview.

Where:@paletteart_gallery

On till: November 7

The Mumbai Monsoon by Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai and Red EarthThe travelling show that is revisiting Mumbai for its 17th edition is an iteration of the multi-arts Monsoon Festival. Painting, drawing, photography, vintage ethnographic prints, poetry, sculpture and print-making are some of the mediums featured, to look at how the city engages with the monsoon. “The festival explores several ecological, cultural and urban planning concerns of current relevance through varied art forms. It explores some of Mumbai’s undocumented but lived monsoon experiences. Through this exhibition, Tao Art Gallery and Red Earth aim to create a meta-narrative of Mumbai’s love-hate relationship with the monsoon for the first time,” says curator Himanshu Verma.Where: @taoartgalleryOn till: October 23

The Mumbai Monsoon by Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai and Red Earth

The travelling show that is revisiting Mumbai for its 17th edition is an iteration of the multi-arts Monsoon Festival. Painting, drawing, photography, vintage ethnographic prints, poetry, sculpture and print-making are some of the mediums featured, to look at how the city engages with the monsoon. “The festival explores several ecological, cultural and urban planning concerns of current relevance through varied art forms. It explores some of Mumbai’s undocumented but lived monsoon experiences. Through this exhibition, Tao Art Gallery and Red Earth aim to create a meta-narrative of Mumbai’s love-hate relationship with the monsoon for the first time,” says curator Himanshu Verma.

Where:@taoartgallery

On till: October 23

how many songs from a single note? by Sarah Naqvi at Tarq, MumbaiFor their first solo show at Tarq, artist Sarah Naqvi, according to curatorial advisor Shaunak Mahbubani, “straddles the interiority of trans-queer existence with the exteriority of a rapidly changing social landscape in the tense comfort of the domestic realm”. Naqvi, who is based out of both Mumbai and Amsterdam, uses multimedia formats to address identity-based issues through the lens of socio-politics. Through works such as a little poem and gastronomical essays and Index of Dystopia, the artist uses their experience of moving countries, navigating through unfamiliar terrain and perhaps even their quest for a safe space. Naqvi puts their queer identity in the centre of their works, using it to question what resistance and a continuing form of dissent mean for them.Where: @tarqmumbaiWhen: October 13 to November 19 Ashish Chandra

how many songs from a single note? by Sarah Naqvi at Tarq, Mumbai

For their first solo show at Tarq, artist Sarah Naqvi, according to curatorial advisor Shaunak Mahbubani, “straddles the interiority of trans-queer existence with the exteriority of a rapidly changing social landscape in the tense comfort of the domestic realm”. Naqvi, who is based out of both Mumbai and Amsterdam, uses multimedia formats to address identity-based issues through the lens of socio-politics. Through works such as a little poem and gastronomical essays and Index of Dystopia, the artist uses their experience of moving countries, navigating through unfamiliar terrain and perhaps even their quest for a safe space. Naqvi puts their queer identity in the centre of their works, using it to question what resistance and a continuing form of dissent mean for them.

Where:@tarqmumbai

When: October 13 to November 19

Ashish Chandra

Rearranging the Familiar by Art Alive x The Quorum GurgaonCurated by Premjish Achari and featuring works by emerging and mid-career contemporaries like Anjaneyulu G, Vipul Rathod, Anil Thambai, Vandana Kothari, Roshan Chhabria, Teja Gavankar, Sharmi Chowdhury and Meera George, the exhibition is part of the inaugural show of Art Alive gallery’s foray into the Alley in The Quorum Gurgaon. Drawn from the modus operandi of how artists work with the relatively mundane subjects and turn them–or rearrange them–into things of art, when viewed through their lens, the premise of this exhibition is to reconnect these dots from commonplace to beautiful. “Resisting the lure of the popular, wandering from space to space, traversing the horizons of imagination the artistic mind reconfigures the quotidian. They present fresh ways to connect dots with familiar images, objects, landscapes, experiences and events. The exhibition attempts to celebrate the ordinary by gathering works inspired by commonplace themes,” explains Achari about curating the exhibition that also marks the beginning of the gallery’s long-term association with the space at The Quorum.Where: @artalivergallery at @thequorumgurgaonOn till: October 30

Rearranging the Familiar by Art Alive x The Quorum Gurgaon

Curated by Premjish Achari and featuring works by emerging and mid-career contemporaries like Anjaneyulu G, Vipul Rathod, Anil Thambai, Vandana Kothari, Roshan Chhabria, Teja Gavankar, Sharmi Chowdhury and Meera George, the exhibition is part of the inaugural show of Art Alive gallery’s foray into the Alley in The Quorum Gurgaon. Drawn from the modus operandi of how artists work with the relatively mundane subjects and turn them–or rearrange them–into things of art, when viewed through their lens, the premise of this exhibition is to reconnect these dots from commonplace to beautiful. “Resisting the lure of the popular, wandering from space to space, traversing the horizons of imagination the artistic mind reconfigures the quotidian. They present fresh ways to connect dots with familiar images, objects, landscapes, experiences and events. The exhibition attempts to celebrate the ordinary by gathering works inspired by commonplace themes,” explains Achari about curating the exhibition that also marks the beginning of the gallery’s long-term association with the space at The Quorum.

Where:@artalivergallery at @thequorumgurgaon

On till: October 30

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