Journey down memory lane as art galleries in Delhi mark milestone anniversaries
This year marks the milestone anniversaries for several art galleries in Delhi that opened at various points in time
5 min read
MF Husain with Renu Modi, director of Gallery Espace (Express Photo)In October 1989, Renu Modi, director of Gallery Espace, organised her first exhibition. Featuring MF Husain’s autobiographical watercolours, the showcase also signified the artist’s support for the New Friends Colony gallery, for which he had also designed a logo with his trademark galloping horse.
“It was he who encouraged me to open an art gallery. I learnt all about light, form, sculpture and the power of lines through conversations with him. At the time, art was not treated as business and there was no strategy,” recalls Modi.
Celebrating 35 years of the gallery, she has witnessed the numerous shifts in the art market, its highs and lows, and the journey of several artists from being young art graduates to now becoming leading names in the art fraternity, including B Manjunath Kamath and GR Iranna. She has also seen the Capital’s rise as an important art hub.
“Most galleries were in Central Delhi till the ’80s. It was a very informal, embracing environment… I used to travel across India to visit artists in their studios,” shares Modi.
This year marks the milestone anniversaries for several art galleries in Delhi that opened at various points in time. While Gallery Espace turned 35, Arushi Arts is celebrating 25 years of its annual exhibition titled “Harvest”. Gallerie Nvya turned 21, Exhibit 320 is marking its 15 years, and Art Alive gallery will turn 25 in 2026.
Artists at a camp organised by Gallerie Nvya in South Africa in 2005
Tripat K Kalra, director of Gallerie Nvya, notes, “I always followed my intuition, both as a collector and a gallerist. During the initial years, I would buy works of senior artists but organise more exhibitions of younger artists to give them a platform.”
Purchasing her first set of artworks in the early ‘90s, she is now celebrating 21 years of her gallery with an exhibition titled “21: Memories & Milestones from then to now” at Bikaner House. It features distinctive works of over 35 artists, including SH Raza’s bindu, Krishen Khanna’s bandwallas, G Ravinder Reddy heads, Manu Parekh and Paresh Maity’s Banaras. Opening with one address in Friends Colony (East), the gallery now has spaces in Saket, Triveni Kala Sangam and the General Aviation Terminal. Kalra adds, “When the art boom happened, commerce in art suddenly became central, but my advice has always been to focus on understanding art while building a collection”
Younger at 15, Exhibit 320 was conceptualised as an inclusive space to showcase more experimental works. Its recent anniversary exhibition “Shared Worlds” at Bikaner House, for instance, brought together works in varied mediums — from Yasmin Jahan Nupur’s Crossing the Border in textile that reflects on collective memories and shared cultures, to Nandan Ghiya’s sculptural work that features found vintage photographs and Sumakshi Singh’s Monuments that recreated the columns from the Qutub Minar Complex on fabric.
Preparing for her 25th year in 2026, Sunaina Anand, director of Art Alive Gallery in Panchsheel Park, highlights how Indian art has seen several changes in these years.
She says, “It has been a long and interesting journey. When we started, Delhi was still evolving and Mumbai was the primary art destination in India. Now Delhi is also an important art center, with strong programming, publications, events such as India Art Fair and Delhi Art Week. The audience has also evolved and the collector base is broader and diverse. It’s not only about buying, the younger generation is also viewing art more keenly.”
Payal Kapoor, director of Arushi Arts — that has spaces in Okhla and Greater Kailash II — is taking her 25th annual “Harvest” exhibition to Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad. Occupying four galleries at the museum, the showcase that will open on August 31 will feature works of prominent modern and contemporary artists alongside folk artists and younger talent. “A lot of people wondered if this format would work, but now it has grown into becoming one of the biggest exhibitions of Indian art. Throughout the year, I see works of several young artists and the best are part of this exhibition,” says Kapoor.
Modi, meanwhile, will soon be adding another floor to the existing two-storey gallery. She shares, “The added section, named Espace Project Space, will be a cross-disciplinary space where I would like to experiment with exhibition formats in the commercial and non-commercial space, continuing our endeavour to promote art awareness through art education, which is essential for further growth and maturity of the art market.”
You May Like
