New Ways of Seeing

FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA: A CENTENARY EXHIBITION

Continuing with the celebra­tions of the birth centenary year of FN Souza, which took place last year, auction house Saffronart, in partnership with Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi; Grosvenor Gallery, London, and publishing house HarperCollins, presents Francis Newton Souza: A Centenary Exhibition a retrospective of one of India’s finest artists, the founder of Progressive Artists’ Movement. Curated by Roobina Karode, the exhibition will have talks, films, and the launch of an illustrated book on the artist. The retrospec­tive is the culmination of a year-long event, In/Of Goa: Souza at 100 that began in Goa in 2024, the place of his birth, before moving to London, and Mumbai, both destinations that were essential to Souza’s artistic practice.

Francis Newton Souza: A Centenary Exhibition is on display from January 10-22 at Bikaner House, Delhi

KALA GHODA ARTS FESTIVAL

Celebrating its 25th year, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival returns with the theme ‘silver’ to transform Mumbai into a vibrant hub of arts, crafts, and creativity with more than 300 programmes across 15 verticals. While the details of this year’s programme are yet to be announced, Asia’s largest multidisciplinary street arts festival will be held in more than 25 venues to examine multidisciplinary artistic practices covering art, music, theatre, dance, literature, heritage walks, urban design, and visual arts, among others.

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival runs from January 25-February 2, Mumbai

INDIA ART FAIR

For its upcoming 16th edition, India Art Fair promises to be even bigger and grander than before. Among the 118 exhibitors, includ­ing Indian and international art galleries of repute, showcasing masterpieces from Indian modernists to emerging artists, watch out for works by artists such as Anish Kapoor, Ai Weiwei, Huma Bhabha, and Oscar Murillo, besides conceptual artist duo Claire Fontaine who will make a site-specific LED installation inspired by the artists’ acclaimed series, Foreigners Everywhere. A big draw at the festi­val will be the retrospective of modernist Gulammohammed Sheikh at The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and another solo exhibition of contemporary artist Shilpa Gupta, held at Bikaner House. In November 2025, the art fair will debut in Mumbai.

India Art Fair runs from February 6-9, Delhi

TEXTILE EXHIBITION

Celebrating Ajit Kumar Das, one of India’s fore­most natural dye artists, this textile exhibition at Emami Art, Kolkata, brings together works that haven’t been displayed before, showing the skill and dexterity of Das’ hand-painted natural dye fabric works. For over five decades, Das has created works inspired by nature through experiments in the medium of natural dye, enhanced, modified, and refined by his experience at the Weaver’s Service Centre (WSC) in Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.

The Bird that Sings Within: An Exhibition of Textile by Ajit Kumar Das is on display at Emami Art, Kolkata from January 10- February 28

DALI COMES TO INDIA

For those who missed this iconic show last year, Dali Comes to India returns once again with some of the best works of the iconic surrealist artist, featuring rare etch­ings, watercolours, and tapestries from the prestigious collection of Pierre Argillet who was Dali’s friend and publisher. Curated by Argillet’s daughter Christine, Pierre Argillet Collec­tion is considered one of the most important private collections of Dali’s works, having been shown worldwide in the past.

Dali Comes to India runs at India Habitat Centre, Delhi from February 7- March 16

A NEW WAY OF SEEING

Jaipur Centre for Art (JCA), co-founded by Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur, and arts specialist Noelle Kadar, announced its inaugural exhibition, A New Way of Seeing in November 2024. Situated within the historic City Palace of Jaipur, JCA takes a serious look at cultural patronage while engaging in global contemporary art discourse. This flagship gallery space brings together an impressive lineup of renowned Indian and international contemporary artists, including Alicja Kwade, Anish Kapoor, Dayanita Singh, Hiroshi Sugimoto, LN Tallur, Manjunath Kamath, Sean Scully, and Tanya Goel. The exhibition explores contemporary art from some of the leading artistic voices around the world.

A New Way of Seeing is on display at Jaipur Centre for Art, City Palace, till March 16

CHENNAI PHOTO BIENNALE

Chennai Photo Biennale in its fourth edition questions the role of image-making and the exploration of photography particularly in a world that’s oversaturated with images. The Biennale brings together diverse practices by artists in the medium that still struggles to make its mark as a valid art practice. The Biennale features 12 lens-based artists from Tamil Nadu exploring themes of identity and culture besides another exhibition featur­ing works by women photo artists who use the medium to address issues affecting them. There are also works by 40 photographers from 30 countries selected through an international jury that are being showcased.

Chennai Photo Biennale Edition 4: Why Photograph runs in public spaces and galleries across Chennai till March 16

art and cultureart ExhibitionForecast 2025Francis Newton SouzaIndia Art FairKala Ghoda Arts Festival