INDIAN REPRESENTATION AT ART DUBAI 2025 — PART II
Art Dubai, the Middle East’s premier international art fair, wrapped up its 2025 edition on April 20, having for three days transformed the city into a buzzing crossroads of global creativity.
Over the course of the event, an eclectic mix of artists, curators, collectors, and art lovers from around the world converged, creating not just a feast for the eyes but a hub for thought-provoking conversations. With an energetic lineup of talks, interactive workshops, and thought-leader panels each day, Art Dubai reaffirmed its status as a powerhouse for both the regional and global art scenes. From seasoned connoisseurs to curious newcomers, attendees left inspired and more deeply connected to the vibrant pulse of contemporary art.
Photo courtesy: Art Dubai
Here’s a glimpse at the standout Indian galleries and artists whose work made a lasting impression:
Gallery Espace
Gallery Espace showcased a dynamic selection of contemporary art at Art Dubai 2025. Featured artists included Chitra Ganesh, Dilip Chobisa, G.R. Iranna, Ishita Chakraborty, Manjunath Kamath, Purvai Rai, Valay Gada, and Waswo X. Waswo.
Photo courtesy: Valay Gada and Gallery Espace
Photo courtesy: Dilip Chobisa and Gallery Espace
At booth C‑16 in Arena Hall, the gallery presented Chitra Ganesh’s surreal narratives, Dilip Chobisa’s sculptural reflections on memory, and G.R. Iranna’s intimate portraits alongside Ishita Chakraborty’s kinetic installations and Manjunath Kamath’s explorations of nature and urban life. Purvai Rai offered layered meditations on identity, Valay Gada addressed migration through multimedia, and Waswo X. Waswo reimagined colonial India with wit and nuance.
Photo courtesy: Manjunath Kamath and Gallery Espace
Photo courtesy: Gallery Espace
Jhaveri Contemporary
Jhaveri Contemporary’s showcase at Art Dubai delves into transformative moments that shape our connection with the sea. For the first time, seven artists spanning various generations unite to present their works. The collection features paintings by Balraj Khanna, Matthew Krishanu, and Muhanned Cader; intricate drawings by Simryn Gill; a striking collage crafted from beach towels and neon by Shezad Dawood; a suspended textile installation by Shiraz Bayjoo; and hand-painted photographs by Vasantha Yogananthan. The artists, hailing from South Asia and its broader diaspora — including Mauritius, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and the UK — blend organic materials like sand, wood, and paper with industrial components such as neon. Together, they immerse viewers in the vastness of the ocean, inviting reflection on the tumultuous histories we share, while also offering a glimpse of solace in the face of an unpredictable future.
Photo courtesy: Shiraz Bayjoo and Jhaveri Contemporary
Photo courtesy: Vasantha Yogananthan and Jhaveri Contemporary
Photo courtesy: Sehzad Dawood and Jhaveri Contemporary
Latitude 28
This exhibition explores transformation through tension and release, challenging boundaries between substance and illusion, tradition and reinvention. The works invite active engagement, shifting perception with each look.
To Look, and To Look Again features contemporary artists who question the visible, urging viewers to look beyond the surface. Each piece holds layers of meaning, shaped by memory and history, where the past reshapes the present.
Photo courtesy: Khadim Ali and Latitude 28
Artists like Farhat Ali, Noor Ali Chagani, and Sudipta Das deconstruct form and narrative, blending cultures and exploring fragility, identity, and power. Others, like Waseem Ahmed and Khadim Ali, use material as resistance, challenging history and conflict.
These works break boundaries, urging viewers to keep looking — meaning is never fixed, but constantly unfolding. The challenge is to return and see again.
Photo courtesy: Sanket Viramgami and Latitude 28
Project 88
At Art Dubai 2025, our booth explores the fragility of memory through transformative artworks. Risham Syed’s Text and Contexts: The Olive Tree Series reimagines vintage silk panels into layers of political and historical significance, where delicate florals meet intense, conflicted maps.
Huma Mulji’s work focuses on erasure: email exchanges about collaboration are embroidered and crossed out, referencing political censorship and the ambiguity of memory.
Photo courtesy: Mahesh Baliga and Project 88
Khandakar Ohida’s When Tomorrow Unfolds creates a dreamlike space that critiques divisive politics in India, imagining resistance rather than documenting violence. Pallavi Paul’s Noor series explores memory’s duality, with motifs from chadars symbolizing fading and re-emerging affection.
Mahesh Baliga’s Wood on Paint series experiments with the translation of materials, using wood inlays to capture the fluidity of paint, while Shreyas Karle’s paradoxical wooden sculpture challenges the conventions of object functionality, moving only in circles.
Photo courtesy: Project 88
Shrine Empire
At Art Dubai, Shrine Empire showcased an experimental project where Arun Dev’s futuristic urban architecture intersected with Shruti Mahajan’s exploration of spaces filled with personal histories. This dialogue aimed to deepen our relationship with built structures. Baaraan Ijlal’s archival practice focused on power and politics, while Moonis Ijlal examined the psychology of form, inclusivity, and biodiversity. Divya Singh explored the poetics of space, time, and mortality, viewing spaces as portals.
Photo courtesy: Baaraan Ijlal and Shrine Empire
Photo courtesy: Divya Singh and Shrine Empire
Over months of collaboration, their works, inspired by the skyline, revealed how architecture connects with the limitless sky, symbolizing hope and possibility. Their shared themes — from futurism to heritage — enriched each other’s perspectives, blending architecture, history, and the cosmos.
Photo courtesy: Shrine Empire
Threshold Art Gallery
Gallery Threshold at Art Dubai Contemporary explored form, material, and concept, fostering a dialogue between nature, man-made, tradition, and modernity.
Shaurya Kumar’s work, blending digital manipulation, printmaking, and painting, reflected impermanence and questioned history.
Pandit Khairnar captured light and time, evoking introspection and the intangible aspects of human experience.
Photo courtesy: Threshold Art Gallery
Anindita Bhattacharya’s intricate pieces, inspired by miniature traditions and Mughal architecture, questioned human exceptionalism and explored the Anthropocene.
Ramesh’s layered compositions blended screen printing, watercolour, and painting, exploring mystical themes and the ephemeral nature of existence.
Text by Shalini Passi
Image Courtesy: Art Dubai, Valay Gada, Gallery Espace, Dilip Chobisa, Manjunath Kamath, Shiraz Bayjoo, Jhaveri Contemporary, Vasantha Yogananthan, Sehzad Dawood, Khadim Ali, Sanket Viramgami, Mahesh Baliga, Project 88, Shrine Empire, Baaraan Ijlal, Divya Singh, Threshold Art Gallery
Find out more about Art Dubai 2025:
