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From inclusivity to NFTs, this year's IAF edition is buzzing with exhibitions and programmes that talk about a brighter, more democratic future
The India Art Fair returns to New Delhi for the first time since the pandemic and brings with it a host of new talent and compelling programmes. NFTs have become the talk of the art world, and this year’s exhibitors are grappling with complicated questions about the unfurling digital ecosystem. A host of galleries from around the country will be making their IAF debuts this year and will spotlight both contemporary talent and established names.
Ojas Art will showcase works by Madhubani artist Santosh Kumar Das, Gallery Art Exposure will display rare works by Jogen Chowdhury, Vida Heydari Contemporary will bring together artists from Iran and India, and Art Incept, APRE Art House and Modern Art Gallery will all present group shows. Also not to be missed, the Kiran Gujral Art Foundation will host an In Memoriam showcase of burnt wood sculptures by the late Satish Gujral, titled “The Art of Silence.”
IAF Facade by Anshuka Mahapatra
Supported by The Gujral Foundation and Artdemic, the India Art Fair enlisted Anshuka Mahapatra to design the tent façade for the fair. Mahapatra, who typically engages with text in her practice, sourced regional language poetryfrom across India to create a multi-lingual collage of pastel typography. “We created phrases which would go with the theme of Future Flex,” said the artist. “We want to present it as very hopeful, and something to look forward to.”
The Future is Femme by Aravani Art Project
The entryway into the fair is enlivened by a mural titled “The Future is Femme” created by trans-women and cis-women led art collective Aravani Art Project, with the support of the Saffronart Foundation. “The concept is a lot about intersectional feminism because that is what we practice at Aravani,” explains Aravani director Poornima Sukumar. “We wanted to put this out as an ode to other feminist movements which strive to be intersectional.”
Exhibitions by BeFantastic
Bengaluru-based organisation BeFantastic will showcase a number of projects that stand at the intersection of art and technology. Audiences can learn about socio-political issues by communicating with AI-generated bots, explore the complexities of climate change through an interactive mural, and much more. “The idea is that when art and technology come together, we make artwork which is interactive, and can tell stories of a positive and optimistic future,” explains BeFantastic founder and director, Kamya Ramachandran.
On view at The Studio
I Look At Things With Eyes Different From Yours by Shilpa Gupta
Shilpa Gupta has created a T-shirt based on a 2010 artwork that was adapted into a light installation last year that volunteers will wear around the fair. The T-shirt reads “I Look At Things With Eyes Different From Yours” and will also be available for purchase (all proceeds will be donated to charity). “I am interested in the very act of looking,” says Gupta. “With the world becoming increasingly polarised… we need space to listen and allow for difference.”
“and Archive” by Thukral and Tagra
Artist duo Thukral and Tagra offer an interactive glimpse into their artistic practice through a series of unique artistic games and books. The artworks were developed over a decade of research and first-hand experience, and aim to alert audiences to some of the most pressing issues of our time. Notable works include “Weeping Farm, 2022,” which addresses the plight of female farmers, and “2030 Net Zero, 2022,” which talks about climate change.
On view at The Studio
Exhibitions by Terrain.art
At its IAF debut, NFT art ecosystem Terrain.art will present two exhibitions in addition to a parallel offsite show in New Delhi’s Khuli Khirkee. In “memorising pf-nh”, digital-native artists Amrit Pal Singh, Laya Mathikshara and Khyati Trehan will present works that stand at the intersection of art and technology. Manjot Kaur, Thukral and Tagra, Raqs Media Collective and others will come together for “Non-fungible speculations” and critically engage with the applications of NFTs.
On view at Booth E6
Lighted Cave by Space 118 grant-winning artist and sculptor
Artist and sculptor Tapan Moharana reimagines the Rabana Chhaya tradition of shadow puppetry, which is native to Odisha, as a complex narrative of ecology and displacement. Moharana uses leather puppets, clay objects and paper silhouettes to create a stunning visual performance in light and shadow. He also comments on the mythological traditions that shadow puppetry is associated with, and questions how—and whether—those mythologies impact the way we view our own social and political experiences in the present day.
On view at The Studio
“inversion, incision, immateriality” by Shrine Empire and Space Studio
This kinetic light installation by artist Ayesha Singh and architect Abhimanyu Dalal is an exploration of language. “The work creates intentional and unintentional multilingual words for people to discover,” explains Singh. “For instance you might find an Urdu word written in Gurmukhi, Tamil and Urdu.” The work aims to bring people from different linguistic backgrounds together to discover meaning in the installation, which is projected onto the architecture of the space.
On view at Booth F4