It’s that time of year again, here in Delhi.
The weather is brilliant.
There are shows and exhibitions galore, and it all feels just too wonderful.
And so, as tradition dictates, off we went this afternoon for the preview day of the India Art Fair.
As I said in my review here last year, this show combines interesting art with THE most fabulous people watching. People really do dress to look the part, and I for one am all for it.
I enjoyed the India Art Fair, as I always do, but this year marks the first time that I most definitely preferred the photography on display to much of the painted artwork. More anon.
Firstly, regulars:
Husain (above).
Subodh Gupta (below):
And the one below decorated with plants:
There were some paintings that left me…umm…indifferent:
One I liked (below) having first mistaken to for an Impressionist-era work:
The artists is R. Govindraj, Painted in 1960 and called “Banyan Tree” – liked this a lot.
Then, of course, a shout-out to my talented friend Valay Gada:
How sweet is this ink drawing of Valay’s (below)?
Love the luminescence of this painting by Sujith S.N. (below). It’s untitled (which always, quite irrationally, irritates me).
This gorgeously enormous bell jar with things displayed inside was eye-catching and made me think “Ooh, I should do something like that…” which is a good sign, I s’pose:
To be fair, this was an installation, with things moving – and the bell jar was truly huge – but I definitely felt inspired to try a smaller, static version.
There was a series of very clever, quirky paintings by Ajay Dhapa which I liked but had one big reservation about (get me, Art Critic!). I felt these detailed, clever paintings didn’t need the almost gimmick-y effect of an object stuck onto the paintings.
Like so:
Or so:
From a distance, these paintings looked like a Persian miniature…kind of on a carpet…and then you spot the quirky touches:
Like the chap in the repair shop, tucked away in the corner of a painting (you can see the full painting, above):
Now look back at the first of Mr. Dhapa’s paintings…spot the gas cylinder now?
And now to the photographs.
Such a fun collection of photographs from rural Punjab by Rajesh Vora, documenting the decorative flourishes on village homes:
From a body-builder…
…to a footballer
(Don’t miss the army tank on the neighbour’s roof!)
And the undisputed star of Punjab roof-tops – Air India:
There was a gorgeous composition from the late Dinabandhu Das (1914?-1999) who enjoyed documenting old mansions, symbolic of a changing, disappearing lifestyle:
This is the work of art that, had I been allowed to, I would’ve taken home with me.
I do this little experiment every year, and this moving, dignified composition was most definitely my 2025 winner.
Finally, before I leave you – amid exhortations to go visit the India Art fair and enjoy the vibrancy on offer – there was one very eye-catching installation just outside the main exhibition area, called “I am not your Dalit” by Yogesh Barve.
It onsists of all the words ever written by the reformer Dr. Ambedkar (quickly, for non-Indians, Dalit is a term used to refer to any member of a wide range of social groups that were historically marginalized in Hindu caste society).
I’ll let the Hindustan Times explain it for you:
And the final shout-out is to my talented niece Anam who owns and runs the well-known tea shop and bakery “Elma’s”. They have a pop up café at the Art Fair, and it is well-worth a visit.
I mean, this Rainbow cake is a work of art in itself, right?
Tell Anam I sent you!
