Five of India's most influential art galleries have joined forces for the first time to present Contemporary Now, a groundbreaking exhibition currently on display at Chennai's Lalit Kala Akademi. This unprecedented collaboration brings together Chemould Prescott Road, Vadehra Art Gallery, Chatterjee & Lal, Experimenter, and Ashvita galleries, showcasing works by thirty-seven artists spanning multiple generations and artistic practices.
The exhibition represents a significant moment for Chennai, a city renowned for its deep-rooted classical traditions, now hosting a powerful showcase of contemporary Indian art. Each participating gallery contributes its own curatorial legacy and artistic program, developed through years of working with artists and shaping contemporary art discourse across the country. The diverse showcase spans multiple mediums including painting, sculpture, photography, performance art, textiles, installations, and hybrid artistic forms.
The selected artworks engage with compelling contemporary themes such as identity, gender, ecological change, urban transformation, and personal histories. Among the featured artists is Kolkata-based Moumita Das, who draws inspiration from artisanal traditions, domestic labor, and abstraction in her work. Das frequently incorporates natural materials like hemp, wool, cotton, and silk into her creations. "I work with form, color and textures inspired by nature, while weaving in social issues that shape our everyday life," Das explains. "The layers in my work symbolize the distinct stories, emotions and feelings of different people, which all come together to create an artwork, where people can relate to each other."
Another notable contributor is artist Praneet Soi, whose series titled "Spring" emerges from his ongoing collaboration with craftsmen in Kashmir. Soi became fascinated by the traditional papier-mâché techniques used in decorative pieces, which involve layering paper, clay from the Jhelum river, tissue, and varnish, then painting with intricate motifs. This ancient skill passes from master to student through generations. "I asked a craftsman if he could develop these into tiles that felt more like canvases to me," Soi, who is based in Amsterdam, recalls. "It took us nearly a year to solve the technical challenge, but once we did, it opened up the space for collaboration. Now, the process is shared, we sit together, decide on the colors and pattern, and something new comes up every time."
Roshini Vadehra, Director of Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi, emphasizes the exhibition's inclusive approach. "We wanted the exhibition to be as inclusive and layered as the idea of contemporary India itself. We curated for balance across mediums (painting, sculpture and photography), geographies, and generations within our presentation," she explains. "The aim was not just diversity for its own sake, but to show how multiple practices coexist with each other."
Visual artist Soumya Sankar Bose contributes his series "Full Moon on a Dark Night," which explores psychological aspects surrounding gender identities and antiquated laws and culture that affect these questions. The project began in 2015, nearly a decade ago and well before Section 377 was decriminalized in 2018. "Rooted in the people I grew up with and friends I have known for years, the project looks at the everyday negotiations with identity and desire," Bose shares. "It traces the personal and social lives at a time when visibility carried both risk and resilience. Built on shared histories and trust, the work offers an intimate portrayal of queer lives in Bengal." His contributions include a photograph of Subir, a friend in a hotel room in Midnapore, West Bengal, alongside an image of a white tiger at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata.
Mortimer Chatterjee, director of Chatterjee & Lal in Mumbai, describes his gallery's curatorial approach for the exhibition. "We wanted to provide a capsule presentation of artists in our program. From the younger generation, we have included Moumita Das, who works as a fiber artist incorporating weaving and dyeing techniques into her practice," he notes. "We have also brought works by mid-career artists Nityan Unnikrishnan and Nikhil Chopra. While Nityan's paintings are known for their busy and congested compositions filled with people, Nikhil's mysterious landscapes are lonely, uninhabited places."
Artist and academic Adip Dutta presents his ink work piece "Woven Shadows XVI," which takes viewers through bustling footpaths tightly packed with tarpaulin coverings. Dutta finds inspiration in the transformative character of these urban spaces. "I am intrigued by the transformative character of these spaces," he explains. "During the day, they have got a completely different presence in the sense that they are crowded with hawkers and their merchandise, then when I visit these spaces at a point of time when these shops are closed, and things are packed, it acquires a different character altogether."
Prateek Raja, director and co-founder of Experimenter, emphasizes the importance of such collaborative efforts in expanding artistic reach. "We are keen that our artists' works are seen by wider audiences, appreciated, and understood by people who may be encountering them for the first time," Raja states. "Even the artists are enthusiastic, because whenever people engage with new practices, new questions emerge and new curiosities are sparked." Contemporary Now continues at Lalit Kala Akademi through September 17, offering visitors an unprecedented opportunity to experience the breadth and depth of contemporary Indian artistic expression.
