Top Art Exhibitions to Visit in India This November

As the monsoon season fades and winter approaches, a fresh wave of art exhibitions in India is poised to enchant and inspire. This November, the art scene is vibrant with a diverse array of shows, ranging from artist retrospectives and sculptural exhibits to new-age miniatures and the country’s first Salvador Dalí showcase. Here’s our curated list of the most anticipated art exhibitions in India that you shouldn’t miss this month.

Husain: The Timeless Modernist at DAG, New Delhi

Whether you’re an art connoisseur or not, the name M.F. Husain is undoubtedly familiar. Celebrating the artistic maestro’s illustrious career as a modernist, filmmaker, photographer, and more, DAG’s latest exhibition showcases over 116 pieces of art that traverse Husain’s career from the 1950s to the 2000s. From rare photographs and film props to sculptures and monumental paintings, Husain’s art has influenced generations of artists, creatives, and fans. This showcase brings it all under one roof, highlighting the master’s everlasting impact on India’s cultural landscape.

Location: DAG, 22A, Janpath Road, Windsor Place, New Delhi
Duration: Until 14th December 2024

Transfigurations by Sakti Burman at Art Musings, Mumbai

A world-renowned contemporary artist, Bengal-born Sakti Burman is known for his mystical and mythical artworks that have constantly drawn inspiration from his homeland of India and his adopted land of France, where he lived for a large part of his life. His latest exhibition in Mumbai presents viewers with bas-relief sculptures in brass, which, like many of his earlier works, are inspired by Indian myths, miniature paintings, and European art history. As eminent cultural theorist and art historian Ranjit Hoskote mentions, “Burman’s sculptural fragments, although complete in themselves, speak to us of the far longer choreography that is his life, his visceral connection to two civilizations and continents, his singular and courageous devotion to the artist’s vocation, which survives all challenges and cataclysms.”

Location: Art Musings, Admiralty Building, Colaba Cross Lane, Mumbai
Duration: Until 20th November 2024

Thota Vaikuntam: Redefining the Cultural Gaze at Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi

Growing up in the small village of Burugupalli, Thota Vaikuntam started his creative journey using charcoal and conte on paper. Soon, he progressed to acrylics on canvas that enhanced his vivid creations. Today, he is one of India’s most famous painters, with an artistic journey spanning over five decades. Redefining The Cultural Gaze looks back at Vaikuntam’s illustrious life behind the canvas, to examine how brilliantly the artist showcases Telangana’s cultural world to global audiences. Through his vibrant artworks rooted in Indian aesthetics, Vaikuntam’s works are great examples of the changing face of modernism and showcase the creative trajectory of a master artist.

Location: Art Alive Gallery, S-221, Block S, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi
Duration: Until 20th November 2024

Do You Know How to Start a Fire by Reba Hore at Experimenter, Kolkata

Everyone knows how to start a flame, but do you know how to put one out? Kolkata-born artist-activist Reba Hore was known for her paintings, which were her deeply personal reflections on daily life. A new exhibition in her birth city takes a look at many of the late artist’s paintings and works on paper, each one a vibrant take on the mundane life that surrounds us. The title alludes to the fire within a truly liberated artist to be as unabashed and unapologetic in her creativity as she wanted to be.

Location: Experimenter, 2/1, Hindustan Road, Kolkata
Duration: Until 30th November 2024

Tender Forces by Tarik Currimbhoy at Akara Contemporary, Mumbai

Artist-sculptor Tarik Currimbhoy’s large sculptures are reminiscent of dangling pieces of jewelry, larger-than-life versions of intricate patterns from the everyday. His latest show presents a series of fantastical sculptures made from diverse materials like stainless steel and bronze, that are as dynamic as they are simple. Through these kinetic sculptures, Currimbhoy plays with pattern, form, time, texture, and color to make for a riveting showcase.

Location: Akara Contemporary, 3C Amarchand Mansion, 16 Madam Cama Road, Colaba, Mumbai
Duration: Until 16th November 2024

Joining the Dots: The Past has a Home in the Future at Dhoomimal Gallery, New Delhi

Today, Connaught Place is the capital’s most popular financial and commercial center. But there was a time when it was also the center where politics, culture, art, and design flourished. A new group exhibition that features works in diverse media merges the spirit of the locale with the creativity it produced. Divided into three sections that bring together archival imagery, textiles, ceramics, sounds, and other artistic creations, Joining The Dots celebrates the spirit and the people of Connaught Place.

Location: Dhoomimal Gallery, G-42, Connaught Circus, New Delhi
Duration: From 7th November to 7th December 2024

Purvaee at KNMA, Noida

With ‘Evoking Pedagogic Lineages’ being the tagline of the show, this group exhibition aims to look back at an important phase of Indian art history, to explain to viewers how the first generation of Indian art teachers from acclaimed institutions influenced the works of those that trod creative paths after them. Featuring over 200 artworks from the museum‘s collection, Purvaee highlights the significant impact of these pioneering educators on the Indian art scene.

Location: KNMA, Noida
Duration: Throughout November 2024