A seasonal round-up of art exhibitions worth visiting in Delhi this month:
Shobha Broota has carved a distinctive space within modern Indian art over a six-decade career. Her practice has evolved from early figuration to an abstract visual language. On display at this retrospective are early portraits, experiments with printmaking, large canvases, and textile-based work, exploring key phases of her practice through mediums like pencil, pastel, oil, acrylic, and thread. As a trained classical vocalist and sitarist, Broota relies on her musical training to create her rhythmic compositions, many of which centre on the bindu or dot. Her technique involves flicking paint without letting the brush touch the surface to emulate the softness of her personality.
On View: August 30 – October 18, 2025, at DAG, 22A Windsor Place, Janpath, New Delhi
This exhibition features a substantial body of Baroda-based artist Shrimanti Saha’s oil paintings, including five large-scale works and 11 smaller autobiographical pieces. Saha’s practice explores the human condition through mythology, raising questions on ecology, gender, identity, fiction, and statecraft. Influenced by Indo-Persian miniatures, European art history, cinema, literary criticism, and science fiction, she creates immersive narrative worlds blending the real and imagined.
On View: October 4 – November 1, 2025, at Vadehra Art Gallery, D-53, Defence Colony, New Delhi
Marking 20 years of artist duo Thukral and Tagra’s studio, Games People Play 02 is envisioned as “a playtest in exhibition-making,” rolled out over 10 days with 10 works. Each day introduces a new emotional or mental state, including vulnerability, hope, belief, and resilience. Highlights include works like ‘Assets and Liabilities,’ where demonetised Indian currency is reimagined as a table-tennis game, metaphorically depicting disrupted economies and their effect on collective memory.
On View: October 7 – 16, 2025, at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
This annual exhibition highlights emerging artistic talent from over 700 nationwide entries. The top 60 artists showcase more than 120 works across mediums like paintings, printmaking, sculptures, video installations, and digital art. The exhibition culminates in the RJMF Awards ceremony on October 14, honoring four winning artists with Rs 1,00,000 each and continued mentorship.
On View: September 29 – October 15, 2025, at Dhoomimal Gallery, G-42, Outer Circle, Connaught Place, New Delhi
Focusing on three artists—Wahida Ahmed, B. Pradhan, and Mohd. Musa—this exhibition explores displacement, migration, and belonging. Curated by Prayag Chakradhar, it traces the “cartography of exile,” bureaucratic violence, and the dismantling of communities and identities by borders. Mediums include charcoal drawings, experimental materials documenting folklore, and meticulous wooden sculptures that appear welded from metal.
On View: September 27 – October 26, 2025, at Exhibit 320, F-320, Lado Sarai, Delhi
Two contemporary urban artists are placed together to highlight commonalities in their practices rooted in Indian aesthetics. They draw freely from their surroundings, including regional motifs and the spirit of place, questioning dominant narratives.
On View: October 5 – November 1, 2025, at Ojas Art, 1AQ, Near Qutub Minar, Mehrauli, New Delhi
Showcasing India’s modernist sculptors, this exhibition traces the evolution of modern Indian sculpture from the early 20th century to contemporary times. Works by 23 sculptors, including Ramkinkar Baij, Krishen Khanna, Gulammohammed Sheikh, MF Husain, Akbar Padamsee, Amarnath Sehgal, and SH Raza, among others, are displayed.
On View: October 5 – 13, 2025, at Triveni Kala Sangam, 205, Tansen Marg, Todermal Road Area, Mandi House, Delhi
To launch its new space, Gallery XXL showcases Hanif Kureshi’s first solo exhibition on his birth anniversary, October 12. Artworks from the ‘Painter Kureshi,’ ‘Tetris,’ and ‘Urdu’ series highlight his fascination with streets and typography, transforming flat surfaces into sculptural forms.
On View: From October 12, 2025, at Gallery XXL, A-277, Defence Colony, Delhi
Curated by Dr. Kristine Michael, this exhibition explores the transformative language of glass through Hemi Bawa’s works. Light, form, and material converge, with a panel discussion on the history, practice, and future of Studio Glass in India.
On View: October 4 – 13, 2025, at the Gallery, Travancore Palace, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi
One of Shibu Natesan’s largest watercolour exhibitions, spanning his last 10 years of practice. It explores the artist’s introspection through the gaze of self and surroundings, using watercolour to reflect society and identity.
On View: October 8 – November 20, 2025, at Art Alive Gallery, S-221, Gamal Abdel Nasser Marg, Block S, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi
KNMA Saket hosts three exhibitions: ‘Extraordinary Line’ by Avijna Bhattacharya tracing post-independence to post-liberalisation drawn lines; ‘jo ġāyab hai, aur hāzir bhi’ by Neha ‘Zooni’ Tickoo showcasing Saba Hasan’s book sculptures; and ‘please touch gently (zines, comics, ephemera)’ highlighting zine and comic subcultures in India.
On View: October 5, 2025 – January 10, 2026, at KNMA, No. 145, DLF South Court Mall, Saket District Centre, Sector 6, Saket, New Delhi
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com
