Art Fervour, KOLKATA (2026)

21/08/2026

‘𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯’ brings together a series of large-scale oil paintings and paper-based works by Mehak Garg (Mehak Garg), marking the artist’s first solo exhibition presented at Gallery Maxima (Gallery Maxima), Mumbai.

Set within domestic interiors, the works explore the spaces between people, where physical proximity does not always translate into connection. Family members share rooms, beds and sofas with the ease of familiarity, yet rarely seem to interact. At times, they appear to be waiting for something entirely forgotten.

What occupies the space between them is often light and silence. Light streams through windows or diffuses softly through the room, falling across differently coloured walls, rumpled blankets and bodies sprawled over beds, sofas and diwans. There is something distinctly familiar in these interiors, especially in the slanting rays of late-afternoon sun and that particular sense of drowsiness when it feels as though someone might fall asleep at any moment.

Garg treats the air within these rooms not as an empty backdrop but as something almost tangible, shaping the emotional tenor of each scene. Her palette moves through soft peaches, muted greens, warm earth tones and subtle blues, while the smaller shadows hold an unexpected variety of colour. The small, consistent brushstrokes create a thin, even layer of texture across the surface, almost introducing another kind of space between the viewer and the domestic world being painted.

The exhibition moves between intimate works measuring just five inches and a monumental sixteen-foot painting, each held together by the same attention to atmosphere and detail. In a moment when many painters are returning to ordinary domestic life, these works linger on something photographs do not always carry with them: the comfortable clutter of a room, the sweet embarrassment of being seen and the feeling of distance turning, slowly, into memory.

Mehak Garg’s ‘𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯’ is on view till 26 September at Gallery Maxima, Mumbai.

All media courtesy of Gallery Maxima.

Cover Image: Detail of ‘Rose’, Oil on canvas, 2026 by Mehak Garg.

Installation vi

20/08/2026

As part of the parallel programming for 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 at NMACC, we curated 𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙚 – a collaborative drawing workshop led by visual artist Meghna Patpatia (Meghna Singh Patpatia), exploring the structures, rhythms and forms found in the natural world.

The workshop brought participants into the process through guided drawing exercises inspired by botanical forms. Some explored the basics of drawing and observation, while others experimented with collaborative drawing through the Exquisite Co**se game. Across these different approaches, the session became a space to look closely at nature, play with form and simply spend time making – with each participant taking away their own experience of the workshop.

For us, parallel programming is about creating new entry points into an exhibition: opportunities to look closer, participate, experiment and engage with its ideas in unexpected ways.

A big thank you to Meghna for leading the workshop, and to everyone who joined us for an afternoon of drawing, collaboration and a little creative unpredictability. 🌿

𝙄𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙚 is one of several workshops we’ve curated as part of the parallel programming for 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. We have more artists, ideas and experiences lined up at NMACC over the coming months, extending the exhibition into new forms of participation and engagement.

Keep an eye out for what’s next. ✨

[Art Fervour, NMACC, Second Nature, Parallel Programming, Public Programming, Cultural Programming, Art Workshops, Infinite Tree]

19/08/2026

What can ‘𝘿𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩: 𝘼 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘿𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮’ tell us about the histories we choose to preserve?

Photographs don’t just record history. They shape it. What gets photographed, collected and archived influences what remains visible, and whose lives become part of the visual record.

This is what makes the work of Nepal Picture Library (Nepal Picture Library) particularly significant.

‘𝘿𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩: 𝘼 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘿𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮’ brings together more than 80 historical and contemporary photographs documenting the lives and experiences of Nepal’s Dalit communities. First exhibited in 2016 as part of Photo Kathmandu, the project draws from personal albums and institutional archives across approximately 20 sources.

For communities whose visual histories have often been underrepresented, the project moves beyond narratives of marginalisation to make space for cultural memory, identity, aspiration, community and agency.

Established in 2011, Nepal Picture Library (NPL) is a digital photo archive run by photo.circle (photo.circle), working towards a broad and inclusive visual history of Nepal. Its archive now holds over 120,000 photographs from private and organisational sources across the country.

Archives are never only about the past. They shape what remains available to the future. For communities whose histories have been overlooked or misrepresented, preserving photographs can mean preserving memory, identity and evidence.

All media courtesy of & respective photographers.

Image Caption & Credits:

Kailali, 2007

The Tikapur municipality bowed to the demand of upper-caste villagers to separate their water supply from that of Dalits. At the Dalit tap seen here, this separation is welcome, for it emancipates them from the daily humiliation of awaiting the goodwill of an upper caste to pour them some water from afar.

Kathmandu, 1963.

During a morning break at Pharping Boarding School, everyone was served tea in ceramic tea cups, except for this sweeper, who, because of his caste, was given his tea in an empty tin can.

Photo by Jim Fisher

Bahja

17/08/2026

Thinking about starting your art collection? We’ve got you. 👀

Collecting isn’t just about knowing what to buy – it’s about figuring out what you actually like, and giving yourself enough time to get there.

Look beyond the trends. Read. Go to exhibitions. Talk to gallerists. See as much art as you can. And when you’re ready to buy, start small and buy selectively. You don’t need a statement piece to build a meaningful collection.

Consider this your Art Fervour-approved collecting 101.

13/08/2026

It’s Art Night Thursday today! 🌙

Mumbai’s galleries are staying open late (from 6pm to 9pm!), so naturally, we’ve picked 6 shows to make a night of. Swipe through for our recommendations and plan your gallery-hopping route.

See you at the galleries! 🌷

Cover Image: Aksh Diwan Garg,‘Topper cousin with bad styling’, Oil on linen, 2026. Courtesy of Art and Charlie (Art and Charlie).

This group exhibition explores the relationships between humans and the environments we inhabit as living constellations shaped by objects, structures, habits and various forms of life. Together, these relationships form a kind of urban biome: an intricate ecology shaped by cultural, social and economic forces, and one that is especially complex within contemporary India.

Featuring the works of Krisha Bhuva, Nivedita Shinde, N.Divya, Simran Yagyik, Sunil K, & Hemanth Kumar.

✦ Image credits: Krisha Bhuva (Krishaa🦭), Between Gaze and Retreat I, Watercolour on Raw Silk.

‘Beyond the Binary’, curated by Georgina Maddox, explores gender, identity and selfhood beyond fixed binaries, bringing together diverse artistic perspectives on fluidity, embodiment, memory, culture and lived experience.

Featuring the works of Arun Rao, Bobo Calcutta, Inder Salim, Jehangir Jani, Maria Lopez, Mira Felicia, Naman Kumar, Prerit Jain, Satadru Sovan, Sunil Gupta, Tejal Shah and Veer Misra.

✦ Image credits: artwork from Group Show, Beyond The Binary. Courtesy: Apre Art House (APRE Art House)

Mehak Garg’s paintings unfold largely within domestic interiors and spaces charged with intimacy and emotional distance. Garg is not drawn to moments of dramatic encounter, but to those quiet intervals in which a person remains physically present while attention drifts elsewhere.

✦ Image credits: Mehak Garg, Walking The Darkness Around Her, Oil on Canvas, 2026. Courtesy: Gallery Maxima (Gallery Maxima)

‘Wedding Season’, curated by Mihir Thakkar, is Aksh Diwan Garg’s debut solo exhibition, taking the Indian wedding as its starting point but looking beyond the bride and groom to everything happening around them. Think sequins,

12/08/2026

Every gallery hopes to leave a trace.

For Trace Gallery, Kolkata, the idea was built into the name: a mark left behind, a point of departure for what comes next.

When we started working with Trace ahead of its launch, we had to try and figure out: what kind of mark does Trace want to leave on the contemporary art ecosystem?

Answering that meant sitting down with the team and putting Trace’s story into words – what the gallery stood for, where it came from and how it wanted to bring emerging practices across art, design and music into wider cultural conversations.

This helped us create a foundation with which Trace could introduce itself to the world – through its website, a dossier for its first exhibition, Where Do I Pause by Raj Chowdhury (Raj Chowdhury), as well as through PR coverage in GQ (GQ India ), Vogue (VOGUE India), Grazia (GRAZIA India) and other publications.

Our biggest takeaway? A gallery’s story begins long before its doors open. The story actually begins with mapping out how an institution wants to speak to the world, and the point of view it wants to share with audiences.

We’re grateful to Anissa Sonthalia (Anissa Sonthalia) and the Trace Gallery (Trace Gallery) team for trusting Art Fervour with this beginning ✨

[Trace Gallery, Kolkata Galleries, New Gallery Launch, Raj Chowdhury, Brand Narrative, Art Marketing, PR]

Images courtesy: Trace Gallery, Kolkata

12/08/2026

Looking for your first role in the art world? 👀

If you live and breathe South Asian art and culture, we might have a spot for you!

We’re hiring for two roles at Art Fervour:
✦ Video Editing Intern
✦ Content Ideator Intern

We’re looking for curious minds who love a good art-world rabbit hole, know how to turn research into stories and have plenty of thoughts on what the art world should be talking about.

Both roles are full-time and remote, with a 3 or 6-month commitment.

🌷Think you could be a fit? Send your CV + work samples to [email protected] with the role you’re applying for in the subject line.

And if you know someone who belongs in this world, send this their way.

Cover Image: “A Reclining Beauty”, made by Mohammad Baqer in Zand Iran, dated circa 1759/60. Courtesy of wikimedia.org.

Video Editing Intern

Full-time / Remote
3 or 6 months

We’re looking for someone who can turn raw footage into engaging short-form content for Art Fervour.

You will:
Edit Reels + short-form videos
Work across art, culture & events

Bring ideas to life through pacing, sound & visuals
Looking for:
Strong editing skills + a good eye for visual storytelling
Comfort with Premiere Pro, CapCut or similar
Previous work samples required

Content Ideator Intern

Full-time / Remote
3 or 6 months

We’re looking for someone who can turn art-world rabbit holes into ideas people actually want to click on.

You’ll:
Research artists, exhibitions & cultural stories
Brainstorm social-first content ideas
Develop hooks, formats & concepts for Art Fervour

Looking for:
Strong writing + research skills
Curiosity about art, culture & the internet
A sharp sense of what makes a good story
Previous work samples required

08/08/2026

Contemporary Now returns to Chennai for its third edition this August, bringing together 66 artists across seven galleries, alongside a wider programme of exhibitions, artist walkthroughs, conversations and other events across the city.

At the centre of this edition is ‘Practices in Continuum: Tracing the Present’, which looks at artistic practice beyond the individual artwork. The idea is to consider the ongoing questions, experiments and ways of working that shape an artist’s practice over time.

The edition brings together a range of contemporary practices, while also creating opportunities to encounter artists and galleries through different formats and spaces across Chennai.

For this feature, we’re highlighting eight artists from the programme: Joya Mukerjee Logue, Dhruvi Acharya, Mahesh Baliga, Jagath Ravi, Garima Gupta, Maanas Udayakumar, Nityan Unnikrishnan and Gigi Scaria.

Swipe through to see the works we’ve picked from Contemporary Now Edition III.

📍 Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai
🗓️ 6–25 August 2026

Cover Slide Image Credit:
Joya Mukerjee Logue, Queenie, Oil on linen, 2023. Courtesy: Contemporary Now.

Joya Mukerjee Logue, ‘Remnants in the Bazaar’, Oil on linen, 2023.

Dhruvi Acharya, ‘chatter’, Glazed stoneware, 2025.

Mahesh Baliga, ‘Repellent VI’, Casein on board, 2025.

Jagath Ravi, ‘Punishment’, Acrylic on canvas, 2025.

Garima Gupta, ‘Morning After the Flood’, 2024, Pastels and colour pencils on paper

Maanas Udayakumar, ‘An evening with the girls’, Oil on Canvas, 2025.

Nityan Unnikrishnan, ‘All I Think of is Growing Old With You’, Acrylic on canvas, 2024.

Gigi Scaria, ‘On my way home III’, Acrylic on canvas, 2024.

07/08/2026

Abanindranath Tagore’s Bharat Mata (1905) is one of the defining images of modern Indian art. It is significant not only for its association with the anti-colonial movement, but also as a work representative of the Bengal School of Art.

The idea of Bharat Mata first emerged in late 19th-century Bengal and gained prominence through Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Anandamath (1882). Following the Partition of Bengal in 1905, the figure became closely associated with the Swadeshi movement and was often invoked alongside the rallying cry of Vande Mataram. Although Tagore originally conceived the figure as Banga Mata (Mother Bengal), the painting was quickly embraced by the nationalist movement as an image of Mother India.

Drawing from Buddhist, Hindu, and Mughal visual traditions, Tagore created an image that resonated across communities while giving visual form to Indian nationalism.

Swipe to take a closer look at one of the most influential images of the twentieth century. 👉

Reference:
Dr. Aparna Kumar, Abanindranath Tagore’s Bharat Mata: Bengal School painting and the idea of India, www.smarthistory.org

Image Credits:
Abanindranath Tagore, Bharat Mata, 1905. Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons.

[Abanindranath Tagore Birthday, Bharat Mata, Indian Nationalism, Indian Modernist Art, Modern Art, Art History, Buddhist Art, Hindu Goddesses, Goddess Art, Mughal Manuscripts, Indian Art History]

The halo is one of the painting’s most striking features – used across South Asian art to imbue figures with spiritual authority and divine power.

Tagore surrounds Bharat Mata with two concentric circles of light that radiate a warm glow. The motif recalls early Buddhist representations of the Buddha, particularly those from Gandhara, where halos denote enlightenment.

It also draws on the visual languages of 17th century Mughal manuscripts, where halos merge the emperor with the sun and moon, reinforcing ideals of divine kingship. By borrowing from both traditions, Tagore presents Bharat Mata as a figure of both spiritual and symbolic authority.

The lotus flowers beneath Bharat Mata’s feet recall a recurring symbol in Buddhist art. In the latter, the lotus represents pur

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