The fourth edition of Madras Art Weekend has kicked off in full swing at Chennai’s Taj Coromandel, pulling artists, designers, curators and gallerists into a vibrant cultural orbit. From intimate panel discussions to curated gallery showcases, the annual festival introduces a wide spectrum of artistic expressions to the city.
Thirteen galleries are showcasing their work at the event and walls are bright with work by some of India’s most iconic artists including Jamini Roy, MF Husain, and VS Gaitonde.
Artwork by Ashok Bhowmick presented by Dhoomimal Gallery.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
At the stall by Delhi-based Dhoomimal Gallery, artist Ashok Bhowmick’s artworks take centrestage. He uses his signature cross-hatching technique to showcase humans. The technique creates volume. It allows the artist to play with light and shadow using just the tip of his pen. Says Ashok, “My basic objective in painting is to make it very simple. I never want the viewer to feel challenged or instructed — the freedom I feel while creating is the same freedom I want them to have while observing my artwork.”
A total of 14 artists’ works were showcased at Dhoomimal, including KH Ara, Bimal Das Gupta, Thota Vaikuntam, Manoj Aggarwal and many more.
“We’ve tried to present a span of modern masters — starting with Jamini Roy in the old Bengal School, which bridges the Victorian and modern periods,” says Uday Jain, director, Dhoomimal Gallery.
He adds, “from there, we’ve included the works of senior contemporaries who shape Indian art history today. This is our third consecutive year at Madras Art Weekend, and we’ve noticed that Jamini Roy always resonates with viewers, as does artist Ram Kumar. Vibrant works connect strongly with people here, and mythology, too, continues to be a favourite.”
Artworks by Satish Gupta on display at Gallery Art &Soul stall.
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AKHILA EASWARAN
Artist, poet, and author Satish Gupta, too is presenting his meditative artwork for the gallery Art & Soul, Mumbai. His works often showcase Indian Gods and Goddesses, sculpted on colourful canvases, exploring the concept of spirituality, which is here depicted through the ‘cosmic matrix series.’ “I work with religious icons, only to move beyond religion… religion has been misused for power and manipulation, but when you go deeper, you find a shared purity of thought, of mind, of being — the shared sense of the universe,” says Satish.
In Gallery G, based inBengaluru, it is the theme Reimagining Bengal that showcases the layered artistic history of Bengal through artists like Rabin Mondal, Jogen Chowdhury, Haren Thakur, Kuntal Dutta and many more. Spanning diverse media — from Suhas Roy’s watercolours to Aloke Sardar’s acrylics — the exhibit presents Bengal in both modern and contemporary landscapes.
Where Strength Abides by artist and journalist Narayan Lakshman.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Artist and journalist Narayan Lakshman’s work is part of a showcase by Delhi-based gallery Art Magnum. His artwork Where Strength Abides is a meditative exploration of abstraction. “It continues my exploration of non-objective art– an experience rather than a defining thing. Inspired by the artist VS Gaitonde’s meditative approach, I built layered surfaces with wax, sand, gesso and impasto to create a quiet expansiveness — a space where the viewer’s eye can drift across the canvas, pause on subtle marks and textures, and simply relax, enjoy and savour the experience,” says Narayan.
A Bridge of Incidents by Ruchi Bakshi Sharma and Sanjeev Sharma presented by Baro Art.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
In Mumbai-based Baro Art stall helmed by Srila Chatterjee, it is a showcase of paintings, textiles, and contemporary art.
“Our curation really has been keeping in mind the scale of the works that Madras could appreciate. It is a mix of objects of design, craft, but also art, which ties it all together,” says Abhik Battacherji, curator, Baro Art.
There is Anwar Chitrakar’s artwork on Bengal pattachitra (a cloth-based scroll painting from Bengal and Odisha), then there is Ashish Malakar and Nandita Palcoudhuri’s sculpted piece titled Zenana, which is made with Sholapith framed into a wooden panel.
Also, check out Jabbar and Abdullah Khatri’s textile piece titled Earthen Hues, featuring clamp dye technique on silk. And textile artist Jagrity Phukan’s piece Paddy-Play-House. Crafted with muga silk, eri silk and cane, it is a way of honouring indigenous fibres and natural dyes grown on her ancestral silk farms.
After all, great art is personal.
The Madras Art Weekend is on till December 6, at Taj Coromandel. Registration at urbanaut.app.
Published – December 05, 2025 05:01 pm IST