Visual Vistas from Indian Artworld at Frieze London 2022

The representation of the Indian creative spirit at Frieze London saw numerous renowned and emerging Indian artists bring forth current visual narratives on a global platform. Held from 12th October to 16th October at The Regents Park, London, the fair had some of the most influential galleries from the Indian art world showcase works by the biggest contemporary artists whose visual vocabularies have enriched the ongoing discourse of Indian contemporary art, ranging from personal anecdotal compositions to cultural commentaries.

Nature Morte, Booth B6

The Delhi-based art space had a lineup of celebrated artists from around the globe that included Tanya Goel, Jitish Kallat, Imran Qureshi, and Saad Qureshi. The works mainly traced the sublime nature of time, and how humans interact with it. Jitish Kallat’s artwork envisions the minute changes that affect the self and how the smallest change is connected to universal transformations, hence portraying the interconnectedness between the microcosm and the macrocosm. While Kallat’s practice is more meditative in nature, Tanya Goel’s complex compositions transverse through multiple meanings of colours that are in continuous flux.

2) Jhaveri Contemporary, Booth C11

Exhibiting works by Amina Ahmed, Mahirwan Mamtani, Matthew Krishanu, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Sayan Chanda, and Vasantha Yoganathan. This year the booth’s paintings, sculptures, photographs, and textiles are materialised on the spiritual themes of life, death, reincarnation, and yogic practices. Influenced by the Neo-Tantric art movement in India, Mamtani’s artworks emulate the iconographies of Indian tantra art. The booth’s eye-catching sculptures by Ramesh Mario Nithyendran with their vibrant colours and forms are a foray into the notions of avatars and totems found in Hinduism. The tapestry Thunderbolt Door by Sayan Chanda traces his experiences and exploration of Oriya folktales and mythologies, and his memories from his childhood home in Kolkata.

Project 88, Booth G23

Project 88 showcased works by Huma Mulji, Mahesh Baliga, Risham Syed, Sandeep Mukherjee, Shreyas Karle, Amitesh Shrivastava, and Amol K Patil. Each artwork dissects the transcendental nature of the spirit juxtaposed against the materiality of the corporeal body. In Sandeep Mukherjee’s Body Diagrams series the artist has charted the fluidity of his own body’s movements, placed on a two-dimensional surface. While Mukherjee’s practice is more personal and introspective, Amol K. Patil’s works view the human body as a visage of political conditions. His sculptural works are emotive symbols of the struggles of the marginalised working class, where the soil becomes a living, breathing reminder of it. Digressing from the lamentations of the human condition, the painterly aspects and details in Baliga’s works are tranquil observations of the stillness of the surroundings.

Experimenter, Booth A4

The works exuded an aura of inquiries and ruminations, delving into the themes of deconstruction and cultural identities, drawing a fine line between figurations and abstraction. The artists presenting at the booth were Radhika Khimji, Ayesha Sultana, Julien Segard, Sakshi Gupta, Prabhakar Pachpute, Soumya Sankar Bose, Praneet Soi, Krishna Reddy, Biraaj Dodiya, and Alexandra Bachzetsis. The embroidered collages by Radhika Khimji are a mesmerising interplay of the concept of fluid identities, body movements, and gestures, that are recontextualised in her figural cut-outs. There is an inquisitive spirit captured in Khimji’s work that sits in a balanced contrast with the Pachpute’s Anthills and Asylum Seeker which revolve around the artist’s political ideologies.

Vadehra Art Gallery, Booth A7

The gallery presented a solo exhibition titled View from Dockyard Road featuring works by renowned artist Atul Dodiya. Dodiya’s art practice is rooted in the socio-cultural climate of India. The iconic painted shutters function as enquiries into visual media of information that collective consciousness is exposed to. His artworks deconstruct the dissemination of information, and the surface of shutters serves that function. Taking the physical significance of dockyards in Mumbai, Dodiya has immortalised the material history of the place while tracing the evolving societal and cultural structures simultaneously as a result of the globalisation of the city. The sculptural installations accompanying the painted shutters are inspired by the poles festooned around the city corners, which become the mediums of information dissemination.