Category: Flash News

The show by Safronov was supported by Rosneft and featured 100 works.

An immersive exhibition by Russian People’s Artist Nikas Safronov was unveiled in New Delhi on December 7, 2025. The exhibition, entitled Dream Vision, was on display at Lalit Kala Akademi National Academy of Arts until December 21, 2025.

The show, supported by Rosneft, featured 100 of the artist’s finest works, including a series of paintings created specifically for the Indian public. Safronov’s new paintings depicted picturesque architectural scenes from Moscow and St Petersburg, as well as the Taj Mahal and other iconic Indian landmarks. The works were displayed across eight halls on two floors of the Academy of Arts, occupying a total exhibition area of approximately 1,300 square meters.

The exhibition combined classical painting and modern multimedia technologies. At the entrance, there were elephant sculptures, which had been hand-painted using Russian folk techniques. Over 400 metres of LED screens showed visitors augmented reality effects and artificial intelligence, providing an immersive experience throughout the exhibition route.

The exhibition space featured decorative elements incorporating robotics and animatronics. Guests could see huge flowers come to life and then reflected in floor mirrors. Avatars from the past and future appeared. A giant elephant strode from summer to winter — from a warm evening in Varanasi to the snow-covered walls of the Kremlin Moscow, each hall had its own unique sound and fragrance design.

The exhibition was named Dream Vision after Nikas Safronov’s signature style of the same name, which was used in a number of the paintings presented in India. This unique, patented technique enabled the artist to create multi-layered paintings that blurred the boundaries between reality and artistic fiction.

Rosneft supports major cultural projects in Russia and abroad, actively developing cultural ties between Russia and India. With Rosneft’s support, the festival of India was held on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow this summer. The festival featured Indian handicrafts and national delicacies while famous Indian dance and music groups performed for guests.

In October 2024, the Indian city of Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat hosted the highly successful premiere of the Rosneft-supported ice show by Olympic champion Tatiana Navka – The Love Story of Scheherazade, featuring world-famous figure skaters.

Lightness of Being is a lifelong exploration of abstraction and harmony.

Ardee Foundation announced The Lightness of Being, an official collateral project of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2025–26, showcasing the contemplative and deeply resonant works of acclaimed artist Shobha Broota. The exhibition, curated by celebrated curator and cultural archivist Ina Puri, opened on 14 December 2025 at the historic Mocha Art Café, Fort Kochi.

At the heart of The Lightness of Being is Shobha Broota’s lifelong exploration of abstraction, harmony, and visual silence. Often described as “visual mantras,” her works employ rhythmic patterns, textured surfaces and textile-inspired motifs that evoke stillness, balance and transcendence. Founded in 1997, Ardee Foundation has, for nearly three decades, fostered creativity, critical inquiry, and cultural engagement. Today, under the leadership of Shefali Varma, the foundation continues to build transformative intersections between art, education, and community. Shefali Varma also serves on the Advisory Council of the Kochi Biennale Foundation.

Through Ina Puri’s curatorial vision, shaped by decades of engagement with Indian artists, Broota’s works encounter the architecture of the Mocha Art Café in a way that amplifies their meditative force. The exhibition creates an immersive environment where materiality, light, and quietude converge into a contemplative experience. “Shobha Broota’s work carries a rare serenity and a spiritual intelligence that feels both timeless and urgently needed in today’s world. Presenting her at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is a privilege, and we hope this exhibition offers visitors a moment of stillness, intimacy, and connection to their inner landscapes.” says Shefali Varma.

“Shobha Broota’s practice is grounded in discipline, intuition, and spiritual enquiry. Her canvases vibrate with an inner rhythm that transcends aesthetic gesture. Presenting her work in the intimate setting of Mocha Art Café allows audiences to experience the depth, purity, and quiet power of her art in a space that amplifies its meditative resonance.” adds curator Ina Puri. “My work is a search for balance and silence—a way of tuning into the inner self. I am grateful to Ardee Foundation and to Ina Puri for creating this opportunity for my art to meet new audiences in Kochi. The Biennale is a space for discovery, and I hope visitors find a moment of peace within these works.” says artist Shobha Broota.

The exhibition will remain on view through the duration of the Biennale, welcoming collectors, critics, students, and the wider public to engage with a practice that continues to influence the vocabulary of Indian abstraction.

India Art Fair 2026 brings together voices of South Asia’s artistic landscape.

From leading South Asian and international galleries to pioneering institutions and dynamic, experimental spaces, India Art Fair 2026 brings together a remarkable constellation of voices shaping South Asia’s artistic landscape. This year, the fair continued to offer a snapshot of the region’s creative energy and exceeded geographical boundaries to create a deeper and more nuanced encounter with the ideas, practices and perspectives that define art.

Along with exceptional presentations across the fair, visitors were invited to engage with a rich and thoughtfully curated programme of talks, tours, performances, workshops and outdoor projects. Whether exploring emerging practices, reconnecting with established artists, or simply immersing in the joy of looking and learning, the fair was a place to experience art as a living, evolving force. India Art Fair 2026 was held in New Delhi, on February 5 until 8^th February, 2026.

There were a range of workshops designed for children, adults and people with special needs.

Fostering community and arts-based learning, this year’s workshops were supported by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA). Rediscovery workshops were curated by LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse), Inclusive Art Workshop programmed by Access for ALL, and KNMA KNOW School in collaboration with Anga Art Collective.

The sessions were led by artists and educators. There were specially curated art tours for children, presented by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, and led by Somya Sahni, Jahnvi Rashmin Soni and Yuktaa Kapoor.

Artist and art writer Dr Alka Chadha Harpalani explores the enigmatic art of Sakshi Bajaj.

Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.

– Henry Ward Beecher

The artistry of Sakshi Bajaj unfolds like a living gallery, where each canvas pulses with dreamlike energy and spiritual whispers. Step into her Delhi studio and the air hums with the raw rhythm of creation. Her brush moves in bold, assertive strokes—a secret syntax of the soul— weaving an emotional cadence that leaps beyond the flat surface of paint. Gesture reigns supreme here, eclipsing the need for faithful representation. The canvas awakens as a living arena, a battlefield of tension and release. Movement collides with texture, time folds into a sensuous tango of presence and process. As Sakshi herself muses, “Why stop the mind from dreaming? It was made to wander.” Her commanding marks channel inner rhythms into bursts of visual fire. Recently, her mixed media explorations have softened their wild edges. Delicate lines—once shy guests in her pen sketches—now slip into the heart of her bold abstractions, like fine threads restrung on a cosmic harp. They recalibrate the visual pulse with intricate grace. What was once a storm of vast gestures now pauses for whispers, scaffolding compositions with subtle counterpoints. These slender lines guide the gaze through veils of translucent glazes, tempering thunderous strokes with quiet songs. Works such as Victorious, Woven in Time, Celestial Weave, and Sacred Layering embody this fusion—where raw force meets meticulous grace, the impulsive balances with the deliberate. In this evolving language, stillness becomes as assertive as motion, and restraint speaks as loudly as release. The works invite slower looking, attuned listening, and meditative engagement, echoing cycles of nature and ritual.

Gentle spirituality permeates her canvases, cloaking them in a meditative mist that transcends mere beauty. Evocative symbols and veiled depths stir an inner pilgrimage, drawing from sacred echoes and cosmic musings. In Layers of Prayers, faith blooms not in rigid shapes but in colour’s symphony, rhythmic breath, and spatial hush— light and stroke as golden bridges to the divine. Even in The Bull—a majestic golden form, serene against a pristine white expanse—the image gleams like a talisman of quiet power. For Sakshi, abstraction is not erasure of form but reconfiguration: the bull’s mythic corporeality reborn through the visceral throb of gesture. Its radiant patch evokes ancient earthbound strength, now ethereal, inviting viewers to trace the tension between stillness and latent surge. Recurring motifs such as Nandi and Ganesha glide through her oeuvre as central anchors, animated by devotion and vigour. They are not static symbols but living presences. Ganesha, in particular, commands reverence—the remover of obstacles, the harbinger of new paths—appearing as guardian and guide within her visual cosmology. In printmaking, these forms shimmer with filigreed detail, echoing ritual precision and cultural heartbeat. In painting, however, they erupt into bold sweeps and expansive gestures, infused with rhythmic fire. Ganesha’s form fractures and reassembles, exploding into vital energy that marries tradition’s poise with abstraction’s freedom. This duality—precision yielding to abandon— mirrors Sakshi’s genius: a seamless harmonizing of piety and invention. In Woven in Time, vast gestures yield to thoughtful frames, as slender counterpoints temper rolling strokes. Celestial Weave hums with guiding lines that modulate tones and infuse precision amid primal storms. In Sacred Layering, raw force meets meticulous poise, impulse dialogues with intention, and faint whispers are fortified by fierce deliberation. What emerges is a richly layered tapestry—one that holds contradictions in balance, allowing devotion and daring, faith and freedom to coexist in radiant pull.

Sakshi unveils her vision like a poet unveiling stars: “This is my universe—brimming with growth, love, and a tranquil gaze on humanity. Greens, reds, golds, and blues cascade like verses across my canvases, hymning harmony and whispering that unity sparks from within. We thrive in bonds—none conquer alone. Through patience and perseverance, connections deepen and evolve.” Her colours converse, overlap, and breathe together, forming a chromatic language of interdependence. Green heralds growth and peace, gold glows with endurance and illumination, red throbs with lived intensity, and blue opens portals of introspection and calm. Brushstrokes gather and disperse like communities in motion—sometimes colliding, sometimes yielding, yet always shaping a larger whole. Layering itself becomes a metaphor for relationships: built slowly, tested repeatedly, and strengthened through persistence.

Sakshi Bajaj’s abstractions are sites of communion. They invite viewers not only to see but to feel—to recognize themselves within layered rhythms, to sense invisible threads binding one life to another. Her spectrum of works—ranging from mixed media and acrylic paintings to dry point prints, bronze and sheesham wood sculptures, and intricate pen drawings—affirms her versatility. Each creation echoes a profound truth: art, like existence, is a shared act, nurtured by patience, sustained by grit, and made radiant through connection.

Abhivyakti, a group painting exhibition was held in New Delhi.

The Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi hosted Abhivyakti, a group exhibition of paintings which began on January 4, 2026. The show brought together diverse artistic voices from across India. The exhibition offered the visitors a rich experience with contemporary creativity and cultural dialogue. The very title Abhivyakti—meaning “expression”— captured the spirit of the exhibition. Its objective was to celebrate artistic freedom and provide a platform for painters to articulate their individual experiences while participating in a collective narrative. By bridging traditional roots with contemporary concerns, the exhibition reaffirmed the role of art as a unifying force across regions, cultures, and ideas.

Content and organisation

The exhibition showcased a wide range of paintings exploring themes of identity, emotion, nature, culture, and inner reflection. Each artist-maintained a distinct visual vocabulary, yet together they created a meaningful dialogue. Works blended traditional motifs with modern sensibilities, offering viewers a layered visual narrative that was both rooted and experimental. The Akademi organised the event with characteristic precision. The gallery setting at Rabindra Bhavan provided an intimate yet professional space, allowing audiences to engage closely with the works. Extended viewing hours and open invitations ensured accessibility, reinforcing the Akademi’s mission to democratize art appreciation.

Participation and response

Artists from Assam, Manipur, and Delhi formed the core of the exhibition. The roster included Rajeev Semwal, Ratna Sharma from Delhi, Anup Kumar Sarmah, Dadul Chaliha, Minakshi Borgohain, and Paran Banti Devi from Assam; Sanajaoba Tensuba from Manipur; and Diksha Kain from Delhi. Their participation reflected a confluence of regional sensibilities, highlighting the diversity of India’s artistic landscape. The exhibition drew enthusiastic audiences, ranging from art students and critics to casual visitors.

Media coverage and word-of-mouth appreciation underscored its success, with many praising the balance between individuality and collective spirit. Visitors responded warmly to the thematic range and the opportunity to interact with artists directly. The event reaffirmed Lalit Kala Akademi’s role as a premier institution nurturing contemporary visual culture. Abhivyakti was more than a display of paintings—it was a celebration of dialogue, diversity, and creative freedom. By bringing together artists from different regions and presenting their works in a unified yet pluralistic framework, the exhibition succeeded in engaging audiences and strengthening the Akademi’s vision of art as a bridge across cultures.

“From traditional forms to modern art, painting has evolved over centuries. The Ministry takes pride in promoting and preserving tribal art at risk of extinction while advancing tribal development.”– Shri Jual Oram, Hon’ble Union Minister of Tribal Affairs

2–13 March 2026 | Travancore Palace, New Delhi
Open to the public from 3 to 13 March 2026

New Delhi 2^nd March 2026: Under the visionary leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, who has consistently emphasised that tribal art, languages and traditions represent India’s living civilisational heritage, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is organising Tribes Art Fest (TAF) 2026 in the national capital.

The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Shri Jual Oram, today inaugurated the 12-day festival at Travancore Palace, reaffirming the Government of India’s commitment to preservation of tribal heritage alongside structured economic empowerment of tribal communities.

The ceremony opened with a soulful invocation of Vande Mataram by Sangeet Natak Akademi. Organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), the festival brings together more than 75 tribal artists and over 1,000 artworks representing more than 30 tribal art traditions. It is among the most comprehensive national showcases of India’s tribal visual culture.

The dignitaries present on the dais included Shri Jual Oram, Hon’ble Minister of Tribal Affairs; Shri Durgadas Uikey, Hon’ble Minister of State for Tribal Affairs; Smt. Ranjana Chopra, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs; Shri Manish Thakur, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs; Shri Anant Prakash Pandey, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs; Dr. Sanjeev Kishor Goutam, Director General, National Gallery of Modern Art and Ms. Poonam Sharma, President, FICCI FLO & Director, Ayurvedant Pvt Ltd.

On the occasion, the official TAF Catalogue was formally unveiled, presenting a curated documentation of participating artists, art traditions and artworks featured at the festival. The TAF Launch Video, showcasing the vision, scale and artistic diversity of the festival, was also released, marking a significant moment in the formal commencement of Tribes Art Fest 2026. As part of the cultural segment, Khmih Creative Society from Shillong, Meghalaya presented an evocative showcase of tribal musical traditions, seamlessly blending tribal rhythms and instruments with a powerful patriotic and contemporary expressions, earning enthusiastic appreciation from the audience.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Jual Oram stated that the Ministry is pursuing an integrated approach to tribal empowerment that combines cultural preservation with socio-economic development. He highlighted major initiatives including PM JANMAN for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), DAJGUA for benefit saturation, expansion of Eklavya Model Residential Schools for quality education, and strengthened market linkages through TRIFED. He emphasised that platforms such as Tribes Art Fest move beyond symbolic celebration by creating structured market ecosystems, connecting artists with collectors, galleries, corporates, design institutions and citizens, thereby transforming cultural heritage into sustainable and aspirational livelihoods.

Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Shri Durgadas Uikey, observed that such festivals provide authentic platforms for tribal communities to present their heritage and artistic excellence on their own terms. He noted that reciprocal engagement between artists and wider institutions strengthens cultural confidence, enhances visibility, and creates dignified livelihood opportunities rooted in community ownership.

Smt. Ranjana Chopra, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, underlined that Tribes Art Fest translates policy into practice by anchoring tribal art promotion in equity, dignity and sustainability. She stated that India’s tribal communities preserve unique art traditions reflecting deep-rooted knowledge systems, ecological wisdom and intergenerational continuity. TAF strengthens national recognition of these traditions while creating meaningful opportunities for identity affirmation and economic empowerment.

TAF seeks to create fair market conditions where tribal artists receive appropriate value for their work. By facilitating direct engagement with art buyers, galleries, corporate partners, institutions and citizens, the festival facilitates market linkages at scale.

The exhibition features art traditions such as Warli (Maharashtra), Gond (Madhya Pradesh), Bhil (MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat), Dokra (West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Odisha), Sohrai (Jharkhand), Koya (Telangana, Andhra Pradesh), Kurumba (Tamil Nadu), Saura (Odisha), Bodo (Assam and North-East), Oraon (Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh), Mandana (Rajasthan, MP), Godna (Bihar, MP, Chhattisgarh), bamboo crafts from the North-East and several others, demonstrating both regional diversity and civilisational continuity.

Recognising that tribal art embodies sustainability and harmony, values critical for modern India, the festival also features contemporary expressions and collaborative works between tribal and contemporary artists, including strong participation from the North-East.

Beyond exhibition, TAF includes panel discussions on themes such as Tribal Art Revival & Sustainable Futures, Tribal Art in Contemporary Spaces, and Livelihoods & Market Linkages. The programme also includes participatory workshops, storytelling through tribal arts, illustrated talks and live demonstrations. Over 100 tribal students pursuing art from across India are being provided curated walkthroughs, mentorship sessions with senior tribal artists, and exposure to live creative processes.

A special highlight of TAF 2026 is Project Khum – Rooted in Creativity, conceptualised by Ms. Jai Madan along with tribal artists. “Khum,” meaning flower in Kokborok (Tripura), symbolises blossoming, vitality and full creative expression. Designed as a participatory installation, tribal women artists collectively transform a shared visual framework into a vibrant artwork through colour, motif and lived tradition. Presented in the spirit of International Women’s Day, the installation foregrounds women’s creativity, leadership and cultural memory, affirming that when women create, culture blossoms.

The 12-day immersive programme includes curated walkthroughs, live painting demonstrations, illustrated talks, thematic panel discussions, artist–student mentorship sessions and daily cultural performances featuring tribal music and dance traditions. A special programme on International Women’s Day will spotlight leadership and entrepreneurship among tribal women artists. Inclusive workshops for visitors, including sessions for persons with special needs, will further strengthen community participation.

The Ministry envisions enhanced national and international recognition of tribal art and culture, strengthened livelihood opportunities through direct market access, and positioning of tribal art as a dignified and sustainable pillar of India’s creative economy.

Open to the public from 3 March 2026, Tribes Art Fest 2026 aligns with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047 and reinforces the Government of India’s commitment to inclusive growth, cultural preservation and sustainable economic empowerment of tribal communities.

The Ministry invites all stakeholders to engage deeply with the festival, support tribal artists through direct purchase, and contribute to advancing cultural equity and prosperity for tribal communities.

Summary

• Digital mosaics blend artistic expression with architectural precision in modern interiors.
• Advances in design technology allow mosaics to function as both visual art and structural elements.
• Material innovation has expanded creative possibilities while improving durability and performance.
• Designers now use mosaics to create immersive, customized, and future ready interior spaces.

The Evolution of Mosaics in Interior Design

Mosaics have existed for centuries, but their role in interior design has evolved significantly in recent years. Traditional mosaics relied on handcrafted techniques and classical patterns, serving primarily as decorative elements. Today, digital innovation has transformed mosaics into a modern design language that connects artistic expression with architectural structure.

Contemporary interiors demand more than surface level decoration. Designers now seek materials that convey identity, movement, and intention. Digital mosaics meet this demand by translating complex visuals into functional architectural elements. Walls, floors, and feature installations now tell visual stories rather than display repetitive patterns.

Digital Technology Redefining Mosaic Design

Digital design tools have changed how designers conceptualize and execute mosaics. Advanced software allows precise control over color gradients, geometry, and scale. Designers can now experiment freely before installation begins.

This technology enables:

• Custom patterns tailored to specific spaces
• High resolution imagery translated into mosaic form
• Seamless alignment with architectural dimensions
• Greater consistency across large surfaces

Digital workflows also reduce design limitations. Designers no longer rely solely on repetitive motifs. They create fluid visuals that respond to lighting, movement, and spatial flow.

Where Art and Architecture Intersect

Digital mosaics occupy a unique position between art installation and architectural surface. They shape how people experience space. A mosaic wall can guide movement. A patterned floor can define zones. A feature installation can anchor an entire interior concept.

Architects and designers increasingly use mosaics to:

• Highlight focal points
• Create visual continuity across spaces
• Add texture without overwhelming form
• Balance minimalism with artistic depth

This intersection elevates interiors from functional environments to experiential spaces. Mosaics no longer sit on top of architecture. They become part of it.

Material Innovation Supporting Modern Design

Material choice plays a key role in the rise of digital mosaics. Designers now balance durability, precision, and performance with visual appeal. Modern materials support high definition designs while meeting architectural demands. Porcelain stands out in contemporary mosaic applications due to its strength, low porosity, and design flexibility. Designers often choose porcelain mosaic tile for spaces that require both refined aesthetics and long-term durability.

This material performs reliably in high traffic and moisture environments, maintaining color consistency and structural stability over time. Material innovation ensures digital mosaics remain expressive without sacrificing practicality.

Customization as a Defining Feature

Customization defines modern interior design. Clients seek spaces that reflect identity rather than generic trends. Digital mosaics support this demand by offering nearly limitless design flexibility.

Designers can adapt mosaics to:

• Brand identity in commercial spaces
• Cultural narratives in hospitality design
• Personal expression in residential interiors
• Spatial storytelling in public architecture

Digital processes allow precise customization without compromising quality. Each mosaic becomes a site specific solution rather than a replicated product.

Digital Mosaics in Residential Interiors

Residential interiors increasingly feature digital mosaics as statement elements. Kitchens, bathrooms, entryways, and feature walls benefit from this blend of art and architecture. Homeowners value surfaces that combine beauty with durability. Designers often integrate porcelain mosaic tile in residential projects to achieve refined aesthetics while ensuring easy maintenance.

Digital mosaics also support smaller spaces. Carefully designed patterns enhance depth, light, and spatial perception. A well placed mosaic transforms compact interiors into visually expansive environments. Residential design now treats mosaics as functional art.

Commercial and Hospitality Applications

Commercial interiors rely on visual impact and durability. Digital mosaics meet both requirements effectively. Hotels, restaurants, offices, and retail environments use mosaics to establish atmosphere and brand identity.

In hospitality design, mosaics:

• Create memorable first impressions
• Reinforce thematic storytelling
• Withstand heavy foot traffic
• Support long term maintenance goals

Digital precision ensures consistency across large installations. Designers maintain creative control while meeting operational demands.

Commercial architecture increasingly views mosaics as strategic design tools rather than decorative finishes.

Sustainability and Longevity in Modern Design

Sustainability influences material and design decisions across the industry. Digital mosaics align well with this focus. Efficient production methods reduce waste. Durable materials extend product life cycles.

Porcelain mosaic tile supports sustainable design through longevity and low maintenance requirements. Its resistance to wear reduces the need for frequent replacement, contributing to resource efficiency. Designers now evaluate mosaics not only for aesthetics but also for environmental performance. Longevity becomes part of the design narrative.

The Future of Digital Mosaics

Digital mosaics continue to evolve alongside technology and design philosophy. Integration with parametric design, advanced fabrication, and architectural modeling expands creative potential.

Future interiors will likely feature mosaics that respond to light, movement, and spatial interaction. Designers will push boundaries further as tools and materials advance. The fusion of art and architecture through digital mosaics represents a lasting shift rather than a temporary trend.

Final Thoughts

Digital mosaics redefine how interiors communicate meaning. They combine artistic freedom with architectural discipline. Through technology, material innovation, and thoughtful design, mosaics now shape environments rather than decorate them.

As interiors evolve, mosaics stand at the intersection of creativity and structure. They offer designers a medium that speaks visually, performs structurally, and endures over time. This convergence ensures that digital mosaics remain a powerful force in contemporary interior design.

A Solo Exhibition by Ravi Chunchula,  Curated and presented by Archana Sapra and Pooja Bahri at Bikaner House, New Delhi | 6 March 2026

New Delhi, 5^th Feburary 2026: ChampaTree Art Gallery presents Sardhubaatu: Put Together, Somehow, a solo exhibition by Ravi Chunchula, opening on Friday, 6 March 2026, at the Main Hall, Bikaner House, New Delhi. The exhibition brings together a new body of work that meditates on the quiet, often unseen ways in which individuals are shaped, assembled slowly by their surroundings, routines, and social frameworks.

The word Sardhubaatu, drawn from Telugu, loosely translates to put together or arranged. In Chunchula’s practice, however, the phrase resists neat resolution. His figures appear composed yet tentative, calm yet inwardly charged, suggesting states of being that are continuously negotiated rather than fixed.

Speaking about the exhibition, Ravi Chunchula notes:

Sardhubaatu is about the quiet process of becoming—how we are constantly shaped by what we see, where we stand, and who we are surrounded by. These works are less about telling a story and more about holding a moment where things feel temporarily aligned, even if imperfect.

Rendered primarily on rice paper, the works allow pigment to settle organically into the surface, staining and breathing with time. This fragile materiality becomes central to the exhibition’s visual language, echoing how experiences accumulate gradually, leaving subtle traces on identity and perception. A restrained palette of greys and earthen hues creates an atmosphere of stillness, punctuated by gentle accents of ochre, red, green, and blue moments that register internal shifts rather than overt drama.

Commenting on the exhibition, Archana Sapra and Pooja Bahri, Gallerists at ChampaTree Art Gallery, share:

Ravi’s work speaks through restraint. There is a deep attentiveness in the way his figures inhabit space—quiet, grounded, and profoundly human. With Sardhubaatu, we were drawn to how subtly the works reflect contemporary existence, without spectacle or excess, allowing viewers the space to pause and reflect.

Rather than portraying specific individuals, Chunchula’s figures evoke a shared psychological condition. They occupy everyday spaces, suspended between habit and awareness, solitude and collective presence. Narrative is deliberately withheld, allowing viewers to encounter the works through observation and introspection rather than explanation.

On the exhibition’s opening day, the show will be accompanied by a live theatre performance titled Where Is My Mind?, conceived by Rohit Chauhan & ensemble. Presented as a time-bound, experiential intervention within the gallery space, the performance explores mental and social constructs such as belief, conformity, influence, and freedom through physical movement and visual symbolism. Following the opening evening, the exhibition will continue as a painting-led presentation, inviting sustained engagement with Chunchula’s works in silence and contemplation.

Sardhubaatu: Put Together, Somehow marks an important moment in Chunchula’s evolving practice, reaffirming his commitment to figuration as a site of observation, patience, and emotional precision.

Exhibition Details

What: Sardhubaatu: Put Together, Somehow — A Solo Exhibition by Ravi Chunchula

Who: Presented by ChampaTree Art Gallery

When: Friday, 6 March 2026
Collector’s Preview: 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Public Preview: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Where: Main Hall, Bikaner House, New Delhi

Details: To present a contemplative body of work that reflects on human presence, identity, and the subtle processes through which individuals are shaped by their environments and lived experience by Ravi Chunchula

Dr Rashmeet Kaur’s works reflect her inner world, where the sky and earth converse.

Dr Rashmeet Kaur, a PhD holder in Painting, captivated art enthusiasts with her recent series of paintings titled, The Silent Conversation, which she exhibited in India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Her works reflect her inner world, where colors, shapes and forms come together to narrate a story of the conversation between the sky and the earth. The series reflected on the experiences and perspectives of human relationships.

The artist has clear artistic vision. Each painting was a window to her soul, inviting viewers to partake in a silent conversation with their own emotions and thoughts. The series explored the intricacies of the beauty of nature and the mysteries of life.

Dr Rashmeet’s artistic style is a unique blend of modern and traditional influence. Her use of vibrant colors, fluid shapes and abstract forms create a sense of dynamism and energy, drawing the viewer into her world. She often plays with folk motifs to maintain balance between modernism and traditionalism. Through her art, Dr Rashmeet seeksto break down barriers and foster a sense of connection with her audience. Her paintings are not just visual representations, but a reflection of our shared human Silent conversation Dr Rashmeet Kaur’s works reflect her inner world, where the sky and earth converse experience. Her series, The Silent Conversation, reminded the viewer of the power of art and how it transcends words and speaks directly to our hearts.

Dr Rashmeet Kaur’s series was a must-see for art lovers and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of human experience. Her paintings will linger in your mind long after you’ve seen them, inviting you to continue the conversation.

Kaushlesh Kumar’s works are manifestations of a materialistic world, says Johny ML.

Kaushlesh Kumar generally titles his works as ‘Heart to Hardware’; something from impalpable to really palpable. On the one hand his works speak of immateriality in pure abstract terms and on the other, they are manifestations of a materialistic world. The aesthetic content of his works oscillates from tender feelings to hardcore realities of life; in their deceptively simple appearance they carry the essence of life.

Kaushlesh’s works could be approached from various perspectives, which I would qualify as an open perspective that we see in the Mughal miniatures. The difference is that Kaushlesh resists any kind of visual narratives in his works. He wants them to be purely visual entities that could be ‘felt’ without a narrative. However, human beings are story making organisms. They cannot live without narratives; they make stories and believe or analyse the stories that others make.

Coming back to perspective and narratives, Kaushlesh employs three different forms of narratives in his works; one is the normal ‘eyelevel’ perspective, through which his works could be approached frontally, as if it were an event or a moment from an event happening right in front of someone’s eyes. This could also be called a vertical perspective that facilitates a circular viewing; the viewer could run his eyes in a clockwise movement.

The second perspective is horizontal where the verticality is flattened and circularity of vision is stilled. The painting becomes a strip of horizontality where the visual essence of the painting converges. The viewer then sees only the essential detail of the painting from which he could gain the aesthetical prowess the artist has shown in there.

The third perspective is that of a bird, a view from up, a topographical view as if in a google map. Kaushlesh facilitates the virtual tilting of the human body in a one eighty-degree plane. The hovering effect literally makes the heart see the overall materiality that we experience in our earthly lives. Kaushlesh builds up his pictorial surface using multiple visual tropes. Layer by layer he conceals the original ‘body’ of the canvas and creates a world that is alternatively hazy and transparent.

The merging of colours with different densities appears like the sonic fusion of musical notes generated by different musical instruments. Some portions spring up from the pictorial surface, as if they were some magical moon stones waiting to be discovered. Kaushlesh employs alphabetical stencils as visual notations in his works, turning the paintings into an interface where the textual metamorphosing into visual and vice versa. The interplay between the textual and visual gives an added valency to Kaushlesh paintings, turning the works into an indecipherable magical language, a secret, an experience that cannot be shared with anybody else in the world and a silence registered in our minds.

Geometrical invocations as a structural trope come natural to Kaushlesh as his painterly approach is not about brushworks alone. He constantly merges and submerges his images and visual notations as if he is creating a tower of Babel, a project that is ambitious but left unfinished by providential intervention. Therefore, Kaushlesh’s works could be seen as the ultimate creative efforts of humans and the pleasures and pains involved in it.

Johny ML is an eminent art curator, cultural critic and writer based in New Delhi.