The Art of India
The Art of India at the Habitat Centre provides a showcase of comprehensive art from the Subcontinent throwing light on areas that require attention. The exhibition, which kicked off on 12 January will continue till 19 January 2025. You may view the artistic brilliance at the Visual Arts Gallery.
The Fourth Edition of The Art of India
Kicking off despite Delhi’s smog and pollution relieved by patches of rain, the fourth edition of The Art of India is a well-attended and inclusive event that provides a pedestal to artists from established names to forgotten or hidden talent. From the narrow caves of Bhimbetka to cutting-edge creations with augmented realities, the story of Indian art is indeed unique. From myths to epics, magic realism to the academic, philosophy to pop, Indian art presents a delightful epic of visual delight. The festival, which is sponsored by the Times of India and Kotak Mahindra, showcases artists who are young and emerging to octogenarians who have been quietly practising their art drawn from the rich endemic traditional arts of the country.
Dr Alka Pande on Dushyant Patel
Curator and Art Historian, Dr Alka Pande illuminates the “Hidden Gems” of the Indian art scene at The Art of India 2025 spotlighting the remarkable artistry of Dushyant Patel. “In India painting is still being celebrated in times of Artificial Intelligence. Patel is an artist who has not been at the forefront of the Indian art market but is an upcoming name that is bound to be noticed both critically as well as commercially. He has a love for depicting the flora and fauna around him. His work speaks of ecology and addresses climate change,” says Dr Pande.
Courtesy – The Art of India
The 37-year-old Ahmedabad-born Dushyant Patel is trained as a painter and printmaker at the established Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S University of Baroda, Vadodara. He has displayed in India and South Asia in solo and group exhibitions. His artwork touches upon the loveliness of nature while showcasing its vulnerability in today’s concretized world.
One can discover the stories behind these masterpieces, tomorrow’s blue-chip artists and talent that has not got its time in the spotlight as yet. The intention is to appeal, not just to the elite but to other art clientele, like the middle class.
M Senathipathi in The Art of India
The exhibition also showcases art from South India, focusing on artists who bring the artwork endemic to the region into a contemporary context. Like artists M Senathipathi presented by the Sarala Arts Gallery in Tamil Nadu. The 80-year-old artist is the president of Cholamandal Artists Village and has been working for the last eight decades in the artist village in Tamil Nadu. It all began for him as a child, drawing on lime-pasted walls with a piece of charcoal from his father’s house, inspired by his uncle who painted the Krishna Lila. He now uses a complex tapestry of Kolam (rice-based rangoli) to essay an epic from Indian mythology of Lord Krishna surrounded by the Gopis.
Acrylic On Canvas, 36×48 in.
Courtesy – The Art of India
Puja Kshatriya on Her Artwork
Senior artist Puja Kshatriya spoke about her artwork, which provides inspiration and hope in an age of natural disasters, warlike situations and troubled times that often affect the world. “Art brings colour to the lives of people. Personally, I have also gone through a loss and art has given me that platform to overcome this,” says Kshatriya. While she acknowledges that change is constant, she has recently moved into the realm of abstraction from being a figurative painter for many years, since she felt it gave expression to the emotions and thoughts of her current healed self, it embraced more than the specificity of that one figure.
Acrylic on Canvas, 36×36 in.
Courtesy – The Art of India
Usha Garodia’s Ceramics at the Exhibition
The work of ceramic artist Usha Garodia, who has studied at the Triveni Kala Sangam, is also one of the noticeable elements at the exhibition. A collection of bowl-like structures that are rendered in textured layers, in white and pastel shades of fired ceramic, are both delicate yet strong. “The fire transforms my offering into a gift, leaving me awestruck and humbled. When I work with clay, I am in harmony with the five elements – the earth is mixed with water, space is filled with form, air dries it, and the fire gives it strength,” says the artist.
Porcelain, 11x9x9 in.
Courtesy – The Art of India
Which Artists Are Exhibiting At The Art of India?
The exhibition also showcases works by established artists like Jogen Chowdhury, the late Tyeb Mehta, Bandana Jain, Pooja Pawar, Lyla FreeChild, Keshari Nandan, Amit Ambalal, Sanjay Das, Asha Thadani, Ghanshyam Rathod, Sanju Jain, Viraj Anand and Soumya Garg to name a few. Additionally, it incorporates a section on Indian folk and tribal art, showcasing Gond and Mithila paintings. The Times of India Group is creating a new platform for Indian contemporary art practice, by showcasing an entire body of art that unveils and reveals the intangible heritage of India’s great wealth.
Image – The Power (2018) by Paresh Maity, Brass and Copper, 126x282x54 in. Courtesy – Artamour
Georgina is an independent critic-curator with 18 years of experience in the field of Indian art and culture. She blurs the lines of documentation, theory and praxis by involving herself in visual art projects. Besides writing on immersive art for STIRworld, she is a regular contributor for The Hindu, MASH Mag and Architectural Digest.
