Shailja Art Gallery’s group exhibition The Contemporary Lore: Sojourn of Styles and Generations Unfurled concluded its New Delhi chapter at Bikaner House on 14 May 2026, and has since transitioned to its second venue at the gallery’s Gurugram space, where it remains on view until 13 June 2026.
Curated by Kiran K. Mohan, with an accompanying critical essay by art historian Johny ML, the exhibition proposes a compelling shift in how contemporary artistic practice is viewed and organised. Rather than adhering to the familiar structures of chronology, market hierarchy, or career stage, The Contemporary Lore stages a cross-generational dialogue between 23 artists, allowing their works to coexist as part of a shared conceptual and material inquiry.
The exhibition brings together a wide spectrum of practitioners, anging from senior artists with decades-long engagements to emerging voices experimenting with form and urgency. Artists including Anil Gaekwad, Ashok Bhowmick, Asit Patnaik, Bharti Prajapati, Bipin Kumar, Charudatt, Dilip Sharma, Haren Thakur, Harshwardhan Devtale, Hemraj, Jaikrishna Agarwal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, Milan Das, Meenakshi Jha Banerjee, Mukesh Bijole, Nilisha Phad, Pandurang Thate, Prem Singh, Rakhi Kumar, Sanjay K. Srivastava, Sekhar Kar, Shaji Apukuttan, and Yusuf contribute to a layered presentation spanning painting, sculpture, and mixed media.
Kiran K. Mohan’s curatorial premise emphasises the search for artistic language as a unifying thread. Each artist, through their chosen medium and methodology, engages in a process of negotiation between tradition and innovation, personal narrative and broader socio-cultural contexts. This emphasis on process over pedigree becomes central to the exhibition’s conceptual framework.
Shailja Jain, Founder and Director of Shailja Art Gallery, situates the exhibition within a broader critique of the Indian art ecosystem. By presenting artists as equal participants in a shared discourse, the exhibition challenges entrenched hierarchies that often privilege established names while marginalising emerging practices. The show also acknowledges the structural barriers that continue to shape artistic visibility in India.
Cover image: Shaji Appukuttan A river has run its course | Acylic on canvas | 2026
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