By Huzan Tata
Just like the rain nourishes all that it touches, the new art shows in India nourish the souls of its beholders. Those in the capital can catch a dekko of Legends Immersive Cinema – A Journey Through the Eyes of Masters: Leonardo da Vinci & Vincent Van Gogh, which offers an immersive art experience featuring 3D imagery and AI-generated models. The Jaipur Centre for Art in the Rajasthani capital presents a seasonal film programme called Artist’s Cinema / Artists’ Cinema (running till the end of this month), which will screen over 150 films from across the world by some of the best artists. For those travelling to the U.S, Viraj Khanna’s Why Did I Say Yes? on display at Rajiv Menon Contemporary in L.A. is a witty critique of the Indian wedding as both a cultural occasion and a marker of modern consumer excess.
Here’s our pick of what else should be on your creative radar this July:
The Body Politic at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai
Can the bodies we inhabit be political? Can their interaction with the built and natural environments around them make a political statement? A new group show in Mumbai aims to answer these questions through works in diverse media. Featuring creations by Bhanu Shrivastav, Kshetrimayum Gopinath Singh, Jayanta Roy, Ritesh Ajmeri, Ritika Sharma, Salik Ansari and Siddhartha Kararwal, The Body Politic, curated by Riya Kumar, examines how landscapes, infrastructures and even ones own personal histories intersect with and through bodies and how our bodies can reject the conformity that’s expected of us.
On view at Sakshi Gallery, Third Pasta Lane, Colaba, Mumbai until 19th July 2025
The Artist As at TARQ, Mumbai
Artists aren’t simply just painters or sculptors. At many moments, they change roles, from storytellers to gatherers, from dreamers to doers. This show aims to enlighten viewers on what it takes to be an artist, to showcase the entire process of art-making. Curated by Vaidehi Gohil and Sonakshi Bhandari, the exhibition features works by all 18 artists represented by the gallery, including Areez Katki, Vishwa Shroff, Rithika Merchant, Ronny Sen, Pratap Morey, Sameer Kulavoor and Saubiya Chashmawala among others. Each of their creations is displayed along with the research materials, notes, work tools and any other objects included in their artistic process, making for an intriguing and engaging showcase.
On view at TARQ, KK (Navsari) Chambers, Ground Floor, 39 AK Nayak Marg, Fort, Mumbai until 14th August 2025
The Outlier – VN Jyothi Basu at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, New Delhi
This Kerala-born artist’s work is so captivating that the gallery chose to first represent him when it didn’t even have a physical space to showcase his art. A founding member of the Indian Radical Painters and Sculptors Association, VN Jyothi Basu has always worked on his own terms, flitting between being a painter and disappearing into nothingness whenever he pleases. Learn about this outlier of the art world through works on display at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke’s Delhi space, which features his paintings from the 1990s and beyond, including charcoal drawings and his iconic oil painting Farewell Party (2004).
On view at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, 1st Floor, C.R.Tower, D-58, Defence Colony, New Delhi until 23rd August 2025
Volume IV: Truths, Half-Truths, Half-Lies, Lies by Kallol Dutta at Experimenter, Mumbai
Art forms an important part of history and what it can tell us about a certain age, generation, people and even a country. Taking inspiration from China’s first female historian Ban Zhao’s text Lessons for Women, Kolkata-based textile artist Kallol Datta presents a new body of work that traverses themes of censorship, morality and class structures that continue to plague societies around the world today. Divided into four ‘chapters’—Truths Our Clothes Told Us, Half-Truths Our Clothes Told Us, Half-Lies Our Clothes Told Us and Lies Our Clothes Told Us—this captivating exhibition promises a brilliant reconstruction of textiles as living archives of our past.
On view at Experimenter, Sunny House, Mereweather Road, Colaba, Mumbai from 10th July – 20th August 2025
A Glazed History: Badri Narayan & the Vitrum Studio at JNAF, Mumbai
A Polish Jew, Simon Lifschutz managed to find sanctuary for himself in India during World War II and years later set up the Vitrum Studio in Mumbai, the city’s first studio to specialise in hand-painted ceramic tiles and glass mosaics. Indian artist Badri Narayan was the first to join this studio and remained its most passionate contributor till it shut down in 1974. This exhibition takes a deep dive into the world of Vitrum’s mosaics and objects, with a closer look at Narayan’s creations for the House. Featuring imagery by Narayan as well as objects like coasters, trays, tabletops and lamps created at Vitrum, this show brings to viewers the legacy of an artist par excellence as well as of the space where his creativity shone best.
On view at JNAF, CSMVS, 159/61, M.G. Road, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai until 31st August 2025
The Wondering and Wandering Mind by Haneen Almoosawi at Gallery Pristine Contemporary, New Delhi
Oman’s desert landscape is vast and stark and the perfect inspiration for artworks that require a pause in thought in today’s fast-paced world. Haneen Almoosawi, a young artist who calls the country home, presents a series of minimalist textured works that seem almost meditative in nature. The creations in this show play around with mediums, light, textiles and materiality, making for almost dreamlike canvases that are sure to engross viewers.
On view at Gallery Pristine Contemporary, A 178 Bhisham Pitamah Marg, Opposite Defence Colony, New Delhi from 18th July to 27th August 2025
Rain Dogs by Rohit Chawla at 47A, Mumbai
‘Dogs are a man’s best friend,’ goes the adage, but for ace photographer Rohit Chawla, they turned out to be his camera’s best friend too. Chawla, who spent much of the 2021 lockdown at a beachfront hotel in Goa, went through his days taking walks along the sands and capturing through his lens heart-touching images of the neglected stray dogs that roamed about. These images are now on display at an enchanting new exhibition in Mumbai, with proceeds from the show going towards the animal organisation Welfare of Stray Dogs. A much-needed tribute to man’s furry friends, Chawla’s latest exhibition brings to viewers both Goa’s gorgeous monsoons and its canine residents.
On view at 47A, Khotachiwadi, Girgaum, Mumbai from 4th July to 3rd August 2025
Ä€ranyaka by Arunima Choudhury at Emami Art, Kolkata
Gardening is a lot like painting, in that it requires the same level of patience, precision and finesse to have your greens bloom that it takes for a canvas to come alive. Kolkata-based artist Arunima Choudhury is both artist and gardener and uses her botanical knowledge in her creative work as well. A new exhibition features her new artworks, a mix of eco prints and creations on paper and cloth that each capture the complex relationship between humans and nature. Using colours derived from natural sources, Choudhury portrays dual themes of destruction and survival in her artworks Her creations bring out her immense love for nature as well as her anxiety about how humans interact with it.
On view at Emami Art, 777, Anandapur, Adarsha Nagar, Kolkata until 9th August 2025
Voices at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
One of the most iconic art venues in the country, this gallery provokes moments of nostalgia within anyone who passes through its doors. A new exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Voices, brings together creations by 26 Indian and international artists who challenge conventional ways of expressing art. Curated by art critic and historian Uma Nair, the show travels through mediums, themes, colours and forms to present a unique mix of contemporary artistic voices. From Arzan Khambatta’s sculptures and Muzaffar Ali’s paintings of horses to Bhajju Shyam’s intricate Gond artworks and Arpitha Reddy’s temple murals, this show could even be considered a tribute to the world of art as a whole.
On view at Jehangir Art Gallery, 161B, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai, from 16th – 24th July 2025
Riddles of the Wor(l)d by Pooja Shah at Akara Contemporary, Mumbai
Look through the images on display at this show and it could be a scene from any Indian’s life—from the grandmotherly figure sitting alone on her bed under a TV set, a mother seated at a doorstep with only a stray dog for company or an older lady getting her hair combed by a younger figure. The paintings from Gujarat-based artist Pooja Shah’s first solo show draw from the social sphere around us and illustrate both the stillness and the unsettling feeling these moments provoke within us. Playing with thin layers of paint and a subdued palette, Shah’s canvases delve into the psyche of the human mind just as much as they illustrate the everyday moments we live through.
On view at Akara Contemporary, 3C Amarchand Mansion, 16 Madam Cama Road, Colaba, Mumbai from 10th July to 5th August 2025
10 new art shows in India we’re excited about this June
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