Lounge
Four reasons to attend the Mumbai Gallery Weekend 2025
Summary
From major solos, new bodies of work, humanising of innovative technologies and deep dives into practices, there are many reasons to attend the 13th edition of this annual cultural fixture
For some years now, the Mumbai Gallery Weekend has kickstarted the art season. In 2025 too, the annual cultural fixture is back with 33 participating galleries and a host of new shows. However, the thirteenth edition seems to be a tad bit different from the earlier ones. For instance, the scope of the shows seems to be more comprehensive—there are deep dives into a single artistic practice, newer languages of abstraction, fresh bodies of work, celebration of gallery milestones, and innovation with medium and materiality. For Shireen Gandhy, director, Chemould Prescott Road—which is the organising gallery for this edition—it is the spirit of collaboration that keeps the Mumbai Gallery Weekend going. “There is trust, understanding and a great amount of enthusiasm. Apart from that, there is also sharing of resources, knowledge and a level of frankness," she adds. If you don’t make it to the shows this weekend, despair not, as most of these will continue beyond the four-day-collaborative event. Lounge lists four reasons to visit the annual fixture.
New solos
One of the major shows, which opened during MGW, is Rana Begum’s eponymous solo at Jhaveri Contemporary. Her fourth solo at the gallery (on till 22 February)showcases the evolution of the London-based artist’s vocabulary of abstraction, and also focuses on specific aspects of her practice—namely relief pane; works, metal sculptures and watercolours. “Rana Begum works in so many myriad ways, with metal and sheet being used as a medium often in her practice. However, in this case, the new body of work, you can also see the gentle use of watercolour," elaborates Gandhy.
Then there is Soghra Khurasani’s ‘Grounded’, at Tarq (till 15 February). This vast body of work—including her signature woodcut print—carries forth the artist’s engagement with simple forms from the landscape, which she then interprets in context of complex issues of growth, hope, death and life. The show is themed on the premise that while we might be divided by inequalities, it is our shared home on Earth that grounds us and unites all of humanity. “Living near vast agricultural lands [in Vadodara], I embark on long walks, creating small impressions during these sojourns and using them in my work. I create rough sketches and build them into my work in my style," Khurasani had mentioned in an earlier interview to Lounge. So, in this body of work, she offers details of wild shrubs, uprooted fields, tilled soil, and withered plants used to mark boundaries on land.
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Another show that stands out in this season is Aravani Art Project’s‘On the Cusp of the Eighth Day’ at Gallery XXL (till 2 March). This collective, led by trans women and cis-women—has made public art and murals their medium in its nine-year-long journey. It is interesting to see the artists make their way into a white cube gallery space with this show. The exhibition also offers context to the collective’s journey of talking about societal prejudice, identity and idea of belonging, through photographs and testimonials.
If you were to move from Jhaveri Contemporary to Akara Contemporary, a new style of abstraction would await you in Sathi Guin’s work. As part of her show, ‘Of Silence and White Noise’ (till 15 February), you are greeted with nebulous organic forms created using dots and lines. The works are open to interpretation—some might see them as cracked earth and others as luminous clusters floating through space. The gallery terms them as “deliberate non-representation, which confront delicate negotiations of the subconscious, navigating everything from the mundane and trivial to the deeply engrossing." The acrylic paintings prompt one to think about the passage of time. One aspect of this comes through in the quiet ritualistic way in which the artist repeatedly brings dots and lines together in these spatial forms. This energy is then transmitted to the viewer, who undergoes a meditative experience while understanding the subtle shifts of colour and tonality in Guin’s works.
Another highlight is Parul Gupta’s ‘In Praise of Limits’ at Nature Morte (till 23 February). The artist taps into the everyday dialogue between human beings and architectural structures through lines and different forms. There is a sense of movement and spatiality that one gets from Gupta’s works, as she shows architecture not in isolation but in relation to the people who experience and inhabit it.
Pushing boundaries
According to Gandhy, the Mumbai Gallery Weekend allows for galleries to uncover newer terrain with their artists. She cites the example of Project 88, which is showing works by Prajakta Potnis. “She uses a surfeit of multimedia, which could include moulds, roots, or festering roots; where the weight of darkness is materialised in slate, used as roof tiles and blackboards," she elaborates. “You also have a varied amount of group exhibitions as in the case of Art Musings, celebrating 25 years, or a specially curated exhibition at Sakshi Gallery bringing together a large part of their programme."
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Then there is the Sri Lankan-born British artist, Christopher Kulendran Thomas, who continues to break new ground with ‘Exhale’ at Experimenter (till 22 February). His is a stark example of artists humanising technology—using it as a tool to create meaning out of human experiences. He brings together historical timelines onto a single canvas, basing his practice on lived and narrated history, especially in context of Sri Lanka’s civil war. “He uses a computer science programme based on algorithms called neural network funneling, wherein thousands of images relating to politics, art history and conflict, are used to generate data sets of images. The images produced by the network are then painted by hand on canvas," adds Gandhy.
Another artist who makes use of new technology is Santiago Giralda, who is showing ‘Maps of the Invisible’ at Galerie Isa (till 22 February).This is the gallery’s first show across both its spaces, and is displaying a four-metre-long triptych by the artist. The imagery is complex and beckons a viewer closer to make meaning of it. Giralda usually starts by photographing different landscapes in cities to see how urbanisation has crept into the natural environment. “He composes images on the computer and then edits these by interspersing them with additional material he finds online, thus melding the seen, personal memory with those drawn from outside sources," states the gallery note.
A must-attend is Chemould’s own show, ‘Radio Ceylon Paintings: Vol. I’,by artist Atul Dodiya (till 22 February).He creates portraits of lyricists, composers, singers, arrangers and classical maestros, who worked in the golden era of Hindi film music. Every single portrait seems to be holding many stories within—the artist, like a composer himself—leaves behind hints of these narratives in the gaze, the fold of the lips and the play of light and shadow. The works bring together so many aspects of Dodiya’s practice: his interest in cinema, and the music of the 40s-60s, which still plays in the background as he works, the use of shutters as a medium, and more. There is also a constant questioning of the sociopolitics of the time. “These people were a community of Indians, of an India which sadly isn’t, anymore. The names, always worshipped, read: Mohammed Rafi, Suraiya, Shamshad Begum, Talat Mahmood, Sajjad Hussain, Naushad, Shakeel Badayuni, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Kaifi Azmi, Sahir Ludhianvi; and the list goes on. Muslims were an important part of this industry. They were not singled out as outsiders or bullied to prove their patriotism. This was secularism in action," states the curatorial note.
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The past year has brought with it a new awareness about collectible design, and Anupa Mehta Contemporary Art takes the dialogue forward with its show ‘Tableaux: Contemporary Collectibles’ (till 18 January). A selection of artists such as Alamu Kumaresan, Arvind Sunder and Guler Ates are showcasing works alongside a special display of furniture by architect Pinakin Patel. The idea is to showcase intersections of art, design and architecture.
Meanwhile, Chatterjee & Lal are showing kinetic sculptures by Kausik Mukhopadhyay, which have been created over a period of four years. “The complex forms—in the shape of ships and watch-towers—dominate the gallery space and whilst there is always an element of play baked into Mukhopadhyay’s practice, this exhibition also hints at issues to do with surveillance in the contemporary moment," states the gallery note about the show, ‘And I Want to Travel Blind’.
Another thought provoking show is taking place at Tao Art Gallery, titled ‘Brain Rot’ (till 9 February). In his signature style, Kolkata-based artist Viraj Khanna uses sculptures, textiles and collages to explore the imperfections that run deep into modern lifestyles. The works, in a way, might seem absurdist and satirical at first, but compel the viewer to look inwards and question one’s own habits, attitudes and daily pursuits.
Pertinent themes
Themes of displacement, ecofeminism and identity continue to thread through this edition of the Mumbai Gallery Weekend. Priyasri Gallery, for instance, is showing works by two artists, Suraj Kumar Dolui and Oliva Saha, in ‘Resonances of Resilience: Feminine Narratives in Cultural Memory (till 12 January). Women—their labour and creativity—is not often acknowledged in the creation of objects, which are markers of cultural identity. Through their practices, the artists examine resilience, tradition, and self-expression, engaging with the intersection of personal experiences and broader societal narratives. Especially interesting is Dolui’s sculptural forms, including dolls, which mull over the place that society has ascribed to women in the social hierarchies. He draws inspiration from the everyday lives of Bengal’s Bagdi community, and focuses on the artistry embedded in the daily agrarian life like plastering walls with cow dung and soil. “These acts, laden with cultural memory, become metaphors for resilience and the integration of creativity into daily life," states the gallery note.
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A similar strain of thought, albeit with a completely different treatment, can be seen at the Kamalnayan Bajaj Hall and Art Gallery. The show, ‘Our Stone Age’ (till 31 January), brings to the fore photographic works by Iranian artist Shadi Ghadirian. Curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, the show presents three photographic series—’Qajar’ (1998), ‘Seven Stones’ (2013), and ‘Miss Butterfly’ (2011)—to interrogate the enduring intersections of identity, resilience, and systemic oppression prevalent in patriarchal systems that continue to shape women’s lives.
A series of works that you simply must see belongs to the ‘Fossils of Force’ by Kulpreet Singh at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke (till 6 March).It takes off from the artist’s earlier exhibition in the space, ‘Indelible Black Marks’, and revisits Singh’s experiences from the 2020-21 farmers’ movement in the National Capital Region.
Rooted in the city
The metropolis of Mumbai forms a muse for the show at DAG, titled ‘Once Upon a Time in Bombay’. The show looks at the evolution of the city, from a collection of seven islands to a thriving urban centre, through the 19th and 20th centuries. This transformation is chronicled through diverse styles and mediums, with the artists focusing on the traders, workers, architects, poets, and more, who powered this journey. The three sections—Sacred & Storied, By The Sea and Cityscapes in Time—allow the viewers to reflect on the city, which has such a hold on popular culture and imagination. A highlight includes a tinted lithograph, ‘Map of the Island of Bombay’ from 1923, which depicts the changes in Bombay through the process of land reclamation.
The Mumbai Gallery Weekend is being held till 12 January
