मध्यमा अंगुली शब्द का प्रयोग उस इशारे के संदर्भ में किया जाता है, जो “भाड़ में जाओ” का अशाब्दिक संस्करण है, जो अक्सर सड़क पर उग्र कारों में या किसी खेल आयोजन में क्षणिक झगड़े से दूर जाते समय किया जाता है।
India Art Fair Delhi, the leading platform showcasing modern and contemporary art from India and SouthAsia, returns for its 16th edition at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds in New Delhi from 6 to 9 February 2025. Led in partnership with BMW India, India Art Fair Delhi 2025 sees a record number of 116 Indian and international exhibitors, featuring 77 galleries and 25 major art institutions. Cementing its position as the meeting point for the global art world in South Asia, the fair line-up features leading international galleries such as Carpenters Workshop Gallery, David Zwirner, Galleria Continua, and Lisson Gallery alongside top Indian galleries including Vadehra Art Gallery, Nature Morte, Chemould Prescott Road,Experimenter, DAG and Jhaveri Contemporary. Following the success of its debut in 2024, the Design section returns with an expanded group of 11 eminent design studios from India and beyond and curated showcase of young Indian designers. Two corporate supporters are platforming process-ledunique outdoor projects.
Subodh-Gupta-Bud-2021-2024
Jaya Asokan, Fair Director, India Art Fair Delhi comments: “The 16th edition of India Art Fair Delhi is due to be our most ambitious showcase of modern and contemporary art and design yet. We have been at the forefront of the growth of South Asian art in the region and internationally, and our next edition will celebrate the region’s leading artistic voices alongside international heavyweights and fresh talent. We are in the midst of an incredible moment for South Asian art globally with ever-increasing museum recognition across the world and the Indian market continuing to grow. As the art scene continues to flourish, India Art Fair Delhi is entering a new phase with our upcoming expansion to Mumbai in November 2025, and we cannot wait to welcome the global arts community to Delhi this February!”
GALLERY HIGHLIGHTS
India Art Fair Delhi 2025 features some of India’s most important contemporary galleries alongside established international names showcasing rare masterpieces and contemporary works, as well as examples drawing from South Asia’s traditional arts heritage. Top Indian contemporary galleries exhibiting include: Vadehra Art Gallery, GALLERYSKE, Nature Morte, PHOTOINK, Exhibit 320, Gallery Espace, Shrine Empire, Gallery Latitude 28, Blueprint12, Akar Prakar, Art Alive Gallery, Art Heritage (all New Delhi); Chatterjee & Lal, Jhaveri Contemporary, Chemould Prescott Road, Chemould CoLab, Gallery Maskara, Galerie ISA, Project 88, Sakshi Gallery (all Mumbai); Emami Art, Gallery Art Exposure (both Kolkata); Experimenter (Kolkata / Mumbai); Vida Heydari Contemporary (Pune); Apparao Galleries, Gallery Veda (both Chennai); Archer Art Gallery, Iram Art (both Ahmedabad); and Dhi Contemporary, Srishti Art Gallery, Kalakriti Art Gallery (all Hyderabad). Alongside these are modern galleries, including DAG (New Delhi / Mumbai / New York), and Crayon Art Gallery, Dhoomimal Gallery and Chawla Art Gallery (all New Delhi). India Art Fair Delhi also welcomes four new Indian participants, Art & Charlie (Mumbai), KYNKYNY Art Gallery (Bengaluru), Masha Art (New Delhi) and Ashvita’s (Chennai). Among the international galleries returning to the fair are David Zwirner (New York / Los Angeles / London / Paris / Hong Kong), Lisson Gallery (London / New York / Shanghai / Beijing / Los Angeles), Galleria Continua (San Gimignano / Beijing / Les Moulins / Habana / Roma / São Paulo / Paris / Dubai Carpenters Workshop Gallery (London / Paris / New York / Los Angeles), Aicon and Aicon Contemporary
(both New York City), 1×1 Art Gallery (Dubai), Indigo+Madder (London), Galerie Geek Art (Tokyo / New Delhi), Saskia Fernando Gallery (Colombo), and Grosvenor Gallery (London). In addition, India Art Fair Delhi welcomes two new international gallery participants, Unit7. / Prahlad Bubbar (London) and kó (Lagos). Comprising solo presentations curated by participating galleries, the Focus section showcases mixed media works by emerging and mid-career artists including Teja Gavankar (Sakshi Gallery), Anindita Bhattacharya (Threshold Art Gallery), Arjun Das (Dhi Contemporary), Natasha Das (Marc Straus), Viraj Khanna (Kalakriti Art Gallery), Vipul Prajapati (079 | Stories Art Gallery) and Sandilya Theuerkauf (KYNKYNY Art Gallery).
FOCUS ON DESIGN
Following a celebrated first edition in 2024, the Design section returns with a curated selection of 11 acclaimed design studios comprising Vikram Goyal (New Delhi), Ashiesh Shah (Mumbai), Gunjan Gupta (New Delhi), Studio Renn (Mumbai), DeMuro Das (New Delhi, New York), Jian Yoo (Seoul, New York), Nolwa Studio (Hyderabad), TANIA & SANDEEP KHOSLA (Bengaluru) in collaboration with MangroveCollective (New Delhi), Studio Raw Material (Makrana, Jaipur), Jaipur Rugs (India, Milan, London, Dubai, Singapore), and Studio Nyn (Mumbai), and a selection of emerging Indian designers curated by Alaiia Gujral in a section titled ‘Shifting Horizons’. An established curator who has directed projects at the London Design Biennale, Alaiia Gujral’s selection will prioritise practitioners juxtaposing India’s craftsmanship traditions with contemporary design sensibilities in their work, and showcase the future of India’s unique design identity. The fair also expands its long-standing partnership with fashion house Raw Mango to launch a brand new Designer-in-Residence programme. Championing forward-thinking perspectives in sculptural objects, textile, digital and graphic media, photography and film, the programme will support one winning designer to present a creative project during India Art Fair Delhi 2025.
PLATFORM SECTION AND INSTITUTIONAL PARTICIPANTS
Leading institutions in India presenting at the fair include The Gujral Foundation, Karishma Swali and Chanakya School of Craft, Chennai Photo Biennale Foundation, and Prameya Art Foundation (PRAF). International institutions represented at the fair include The Arts Family (UK), Unnati Cultural Village(Nepal), Britto Arts Trust (Bangladesh), the Korean Cultural Centre India, the Australian High Commission and Asian Art Museum (San Francisco) among others.
The Platform section spotlights the rich artistic heritage of South Asia through the works of contemporary masters of traditional arts, including presentations foregrounding the spiritual and working with textiles including Mata-ni-Pachedi, as well as Kalamkari painters following traditional techniques and using natural dyes; BOITO supported by Devi Art Foundation showing a sculptural installation exploring the Navagunjara mythical creature and drawing from nine different traditions from Odisha; and Bridge Bharat unveiling collaborative textile installations with visual imagery from the Gond artist Venkat Singh
Shyam embroidered in the Chamba Rumal technique by Lalita Vakil and their atelier, and chikankari maestro Naghma and their atelier.
‘THE FUTURE IS BORN OF ART’ COMMISSION
Marking nine years of creative partnership, India Art Fair Delhi and BMW India expand the scale and scope of ‘The Future is Born of Art’ Commission created to platform Indian art and artists on a global stage. In its fourth year, the commission explores the relationship between cutting-edge technology interfaces and ecological systems. The winning artist will present a work on the theme of Ecocentrism, representing a future in which technology and nature are interconnected, and design an installation around the BMW iX1, MINI Countryman and Motorrad CE-02 and CE-04, each notable for its advanced technological capabilities and sustainable design. The selected artist will create a space that harmonises the digital with the natural, showcasing how future technologies can coexist with and enhance the environment.
PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS
India Art Fair Delhi’s 2025 programme welcomes special large scale artist projects, performances by leading artists and a talks programme bringing together key voices from across South Asia, South-East
Asia and the Middle East.
India Art Fair Delhi’s Outdoor Art Projects include the large-scale tent facade designed by tattoo artist Mo Naga and supported by MASH (New Delhi). Sculptural artist M. Pravat, brings a multi-layered experience supported by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA). Conceptual artist-duo CLAIREFONTAINE will create an LED installation, building upon their celebrated work Foreigners Everywhere at the 2024 Venice Biennale, and supported by the Italian Embassy Cultural Centre. Inspired by the diverse multilingualism of the country, the phrase ‘Foreigners Everywhere’ will be re-imagined in different Indian languages as part of a series of city-wide interventions in collaboration with Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), Khoj International Artists’ Association (KHOJ), and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) during the week of India Art Fair Delhi. Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser) will present a moving image work, The Hedge of Halomancy, with synchronous installations at SharjahBiennale, Tate Britain, India Art Fair Delhi and Somerset House, the presentation at India Art Fair Delhi 2025 is generously supported by Jaiveer Johal, through the Avtar Foundation for the Arts. Earth Under Our Feet, a video installation and interactive performance by Ashwini Bhat will be presented by the Asian Art Museum in collaboration with India Art Fair Delhi. Further outdoor projects specially commissioned for the fair include works by artist Asim Waqif supported by Laxcon Steels (Ahmedabad), and work by emerging artists Mohd. Intiyaz and Yogesh Barve, supported by Method (Mumbai) and Art & Charlie (Mumbai) respectively. Each year, the fair champions a diversity of young artistic practices and boundary-breaking voices through its Artists In Residence programme. This year’s resident artists include: Imon Chetia Phukan, with a brand-new hand-stitched textile installation presented in partnership with the Royal College of Art; liactuallee, bringing a large-scale soft sculpture, supported by SoulTree; and Umesh S., showcasing his ongoing observations of agrarian life through a large-scale installation of found, reclaimed, and repurposed farming tools from across diverse Indian farming communities and histories.
The India Art Fair Delhi 2025 Talks Programme is supported by JSW and brings together leadingnames in art and culture for engaging discussions in the Auditorium, placing special emphasis on the place of South Asian art and culture in the world today. A full line-up of speakers will be announced in January.
LEARNING & PARTNERSHIPS
India Art Fair Delhi is delighted to welcome The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art as the official Learning Partner supporting all of the fair’s inclusivity and learning programmes. This includes the fair’s expanded Inclusion Lab with sensitisation and workshops for people of all needs and abilities, programmed by Access for ALL. India Art Fair Delhi also hosts a series of workshops curated by arts education organisation LAND (Learning through Arts, Narrative and Discourse). In addition to working with BMW India as the Presenting Partner, India Art Fair Delhi continues to build its relationships with longstanding supporters and expand its range of creative partnerships including JSW, RADO, Max Estates, Tarun Tahiliani Design Studio, Sarita Handa and India Sotheby’s International Realty. For the fair’s public programming, India Art Fair Delhi is pleased to collaborate with leading culturalinstitutions including The British Council, The Embassy of the Dominican Republic in the Republic of India, and The Embassy of Sweden in India.
NOTES TO EDITORS About India Art Fair Delhi India Art Fair Delhi is the leading platform to discover Modern and Contemporary art from South Asia, offering a unique access point to the region’s thriving cultural scene. Taking place annually in India’s capital, New Delhi, the fair reflects the city’s fast-developing local arts scene, while offering curated insights into the cultural landscapes of neighbouring countries. The fair’s programme – which draws together galleries and artists, private foundations and arts charities, artists’ collectives, national institutions, cultural events and festivals – enables international audiences to engage in innovative ways with the cultural history and development of the region. The fair is committed to supporting arts education and professional development opportunities, recognising the crucial need to support the development of the local arts scene, and provide dedicated exhibition space to emerging galleries and arts organisations. The fair aims to run an extensive programme of events, including education initiatives, artist commissions and pop-up programmes, aiming to increase audiences for the arts within India. India Art Fair Delhi is owned by Angus Montgomery Arts, a division of Angus Montgomery Ltd. About BMW’s Cultural Commitment For over 50 years now, the BMW Group has initiated and been engaged in hundreds of cultural co-operations worldwide. The focus of its long-term commitment is set on modern and contemporary art, classical music, jazz and sound, as well as architecture and design. Along with commissioning iconic BMW Art Cars and co-initiatives, such as BMW Tate Live, the BMW Art Journey and the ‘Opera for All’ concerts in Berlin, Munich, Moscow and London, the company also partners with leading museums and art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the world. The BMW Group guarantees absolute creative freedom, as this is just as essential for ground-breaking artistic work as it is for major innovations in a successful business. Since its inception, BMW India has participated in leading cultural engagements across the country. In 2007, two BMW Art Cars embellished by world-renowned artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein were presented at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai. BMW Art Car by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Sandro Chia and Cesar Manrique have been exclusively showcased at various editions of the India Art Fair. Since 2012, BMW has partnered with Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the contemporary art exhibition, which brings international artists to India and creates a global platform for Indian artists. In 2012-13, the innovative BMW Guggenheim Lab came to India. Based at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum and conducted at six different venues in Mumbai, the lab organised six weeks of free programmes with diverse audiences and communities addressing the challenges and conditions of the urban city.
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Facebook: @indiaartfair X: @indiaartfair Instagram: @indiaartfair Opening Hours Thursday, 6 February 2025 BMW VIP Preview, 11am – 7pm Friday, 7 February 2025 Select VIP Preview, 11am – 7pm Saturday, 8 February 2025
VIP Hours, 11am – 12pm Public Hours, 12pm – 7pm Sunday, 9 February 2025 Public Hours, 10am – 6pm Preview passes and tickets will be available via BookMyShow and the India Art Fair website
मध्यमा अंगुली शब्द का प्रयोग उस इशारे के संदर्भ में किया जाता है, जो “भाड़ में जाओ” का अशाब्दिक संस्करण है, जो अक्सर सड़क पर उग्र कारों में या किसी खेल आयोजन में क्षणिक झगड़े से दूर जाते समय किया जाता है।
Mumbai, India, January 2025 – Kian Foundation: A Legacy of Artistic Excellence
Kian Foundation, originally established as the erstwhile Kian Gallery, traces its roots to the vibrant city of Pune. Founded by Aarti and Siddharth Naik, the foundation has grown into a prominent institution dealing with contemporary and modern art, fostering creativity and cultural appreciation across various platforms. With a deep commitment to supporting artists and art enthusiasts alike, Kian Foundation continues to curate unique exhibitions and initiatives that celebrate artistic expression in all its forms.
Aarti Naik - Curator
KIAN Foundation is delighted to announce its Mumbai debut with bhūmi, a mesmerizing solo art exhibition by celebrated artist Shampa Sircar Das. This landmark event underscores the Foundation’s unwavering commitment to showcasing the richness of Indian art and fostering meaningful connections across diverse audiences.
Curated to bring fresh perspectives to the art world, bhūmi reflects KIAN Foundation’s mission to bridge cultural and geographical divides through art. The exhibition, rooted in the Sanskrit word for "earth," explores humanity’s profound relationship with nature and spirituality, creating a dialogue between tradition and modernity. Under the artistic direction of its founder, Aarti Naik, KIAN Foundation has grown from its Pune origins into a nationwide platform for artistic expression. Aarti’s dedication to connecting talented artists with broader audiences has been instrumental in curating exhibitions that celebrate India’s cultural diversity.
Featuring the works of Delhi-based artist Shampa Sircar Das, bhūmi exemplifies KIAN’s unique ability to unite creative legacies from Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune. Shampa Sircar Das’s art, which seamlessly blends Indian heritage with contemporary aesthetics, aligns perfectly with the Foundation’s ethos of celebrating diverse voices while fostering cultural appreciation.
As KIAN Foundation expands its footprint, this exhibition marks the beginning of its presence in Mumbai and paves the way for further growth. With upcoming exclusive shows planned for Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, the Foundation’s vision extends beyond national boundaries. KIAN is set to take Indian art to the global stage, with future exhibitions in Amsterdam and Singapore.
Join KIAN Foundation on this inspiring journey as it unites cultures, celebrates creativity, and cultivates a distinguished community of patrons and connoisseurs. Together, we aim to create a world where art transcends boundaries and inspires limitless possibilities.
Be part of our story—where the passion for art meets boundless horizons.
Recently, the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes, and Narcotics (NACIN) at Palasamudram in Andhra Pradesh hosted an unprecedented seven-day artists’ gathering. Known as the apex training institute of the Government of India for capacity building in indirect taxation, customs, drug enforcement, and environmental protection, NACIN’s association with art is far from its usual forte. This initiative marked a significant shift, blending the realms of administrative acumen and creative expression, setting the stage for a unique cultural endeavor.
Kiyomi Talaulicar
The event brought together 25 distinguished artists from the iconic Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy School of Art (Sir J. J. School of Art), a venerable institution with a legacy of 147 years. These artists immersed themselves in the vibrant and state-of-the-art campus of NACIN, turning its modern premises into a creative sanctuary. While artists often thrive in the solitude of their studios, this gathering allowed them to paint in open, collaborative spaces, showcasing their craft in full view of peers and visitors alike.
Minal Damani
The week-long artistic engagement fostered more than just creativity—it cultivated a unique camaraderie among the participants. Senior artists, with their depth of experience, shared invaluable insights with the younger cohort, offering a rare glimpse into their creative processes. For mid-career and emerging artists, this interaction served as a masterclass, enriching their perspectives and refining their approaches.
The initiative went beyond the act of painting; it became a celebration of artistic diversity and an exploration of the synergies between tradition and innovation. The event bridged generational gaps, unveiling the “methods and madnesses” of creative minds while revealing the fragilities and eccentricities that define their art.
Niyatee Shinde
By inviting art into its fold, NACIN not only honoured the legacy of the Sir J. J. School of Art but also redefined its own narrative, embracing a multidimensional approach to capacity building. This initiative stands as a testament to the transformative power of art in fostering collaboration and cultural exchange.