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At the Venice Biennale, India explores the meaning of home

Five contemporary artists take the idea of home to the Venice Biennale, translating India’s history through material and mythology

5 min readMay 2, 2026 11:36 AM IST

Alwar Balasubramaniam at the Venice Biennale that opens on May 9 (Alwar Balasubramaniam and Talwar Gallery, New York | New Delhi)

Inside a medieval warehouse at the historic Arsenale — located along the Venetian lagoon — one of the walls holds an oval form of earth and resin with cracked surfaces that appear fragile and primordial. The fissured terrain emerges from artist Alwar Balasubramaniam’s lived environment, away from the urban bustle, in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli. The intricate patterns themselves are the result of an intensive process that evolved over four-five months under his vigilance and reflects his preoccupation with the relationship between man and nature. At the Arsenale, it also appears to establishes a dialogue between the historic warehouse, elemental materiality and the notion of home as it represents India at its National Pavilion for the
61st edition of the Venice Biennale, which opens on May 9.

Presented by the Ministry of Culture and curated by Amin Jaffer, curator and director of Al Thani Collection, the pavilion marks India’s third official participation in the over 130-year biennale history, and its first since 2019. It brings together five contemporary artists from across the country, working with diverse mediums and artistic approaches, all uniting under Jaffer’s evocative theme, “Geographies of Distance: Remembering Home” that ponders the very idea of home. “The pavilion explores home not as a fixed physical location but as an emotional space carried within the self, a repository of culture, personal mythology and emotion. Using materials associated closely with Indian civilisation, the chosen artists create a singular meditation on the fragile nature of home, which is both personal and universal, quiet and resolute,” states Jaffer. He notes how the project also responds to the biennale’s larger theme this year, “In Minor Keys” conceived by the late curator Koyo Kouoh.

So if Balasubramaniam has worked with natural elements for his two works, Drift and Not Just For Us, artist Asim Waqif has used bamboo, a material he has engaged with for over three decades. Winner of the National Award at Lalit Kala Akademi’s 64th National Exhibition, Skarma Sonam Tashi will be presenting an installation that is informed by the landscape and cultural ecology of Ladakh, and uses materials such as clay, cardboard and papier-mâché to reflect on themes of fragility, impermanence and transformation in contemporary times.

In Sumakshi Singh’s installation, she takes forward her earlier work 33 Link Road, where she had recreated her grandparents’ now demolished Delhi home in delicate thread and embroidery that gave the structure fluidity often not associated with rigid concrete structures. Deeply embedded within Indian civilisational history, the materiality also moves beyond the personal into the historical, intertwining memory, architecture and cultural inheritance.

Ranjani Shettar at the Venice Biennale that opens on May 9 (Ranjani Shettar and Talwar Gallery, New York | New Delhi)

Balasubramanian notes how the very idea of home expands through his works. “The earth from my studio represents a direct contact with me, but it has potential to make viewers to see and reflect or remember their home,” he states.

Ranjani Shettar’s work, titled Under the Same Sky, develops from her long engagement with natural materials and organic forms. Referencing varied topographies, the dense installation in handwoven cotton fabric, lacquer and steel is composed of more than 50 suspended elements that respond not only to shifting light and shadow, but also the movement of viewers who can walk through the immersive environment. “There is a visual harmony. It’s like a piece of music where the eyes can trace the ups and downs ,” says Shettar, describing how the final composition has evolved through improvisation and subtle adjustments. Home, she adds, is also a state of mind, where one feels a sense of belonging and ease.

At Venice, Beyond the India Pavilion

The central exhibition “In Minor Keys” includes works by Sohrab Hura and artist duo Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser).

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KNMA will present Nalini Malani’s “Of Woman Born” at Magazzini del Sale. The 67-channel animation and soundscape will transform the venue into a constantly shifting “thought chamber” on women, myth and global conflict.

Archivio di Stato is showing Dayanita Singh’s “Archivio”. Curated by Andrea Anastasio, the exhibition is a tribute to both the Italian archives she has photographed over the past decade and her own archive of images made in Italy over the last 25 years.

Pinault Collection is presenting Amar Kanwar’s “Co-Travellers” at Palazzo Grassi. Curated by Palazzo Grassi, it features two key multimedia installations: The Torn First Pages and The Peacock’s Graveyard.

Paresh Maity will be exhibiting his sculpture Equilibrium at Marinaressa Gardens. Presented by Art Alive Gallery, the geometric brass structure embodies both strength and refinement.

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Pooja Singhal, founder of atelier Pichvai Tradition & Beyond, will present “From India, to Venice” at Palazzo Barbaro. The exhibition will include temple maps and works that draw from Venetian painter Giovanni Antonio Canal.

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

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