Shailaja Art Gallery Show Explores Artistic Dialogues Across Generations

The Contemporary Lore: Sojourn of Styles and Generations Unfurled is creating a space where generations of Indian artists come together in conversation rather than competition. Presented by Shailja Art Gallery, the exhibition brings together 23 contemporary artists working across painting, sculpture, and mixed media to explore how artistic ideas evolve across time.

Curated by Kiran K. Mohan, the exhibition challenges the traditional way art is often categorised by age, reputation, or career stage. Instead of separating senior and emerging artists, the showcase places them side by side to create a dialogue built around shared themes, visual languages, and material experimentation.

The exhibition features works by artists including Ashok Bhowmick, Asit Patnaik, Bharti Prajapati, Shaji Apukuttan, and Nilisha Phad among others. The artworks range from abstract explorations and figurative storytelling to socially reflective pieces that deal with identity, memory, urban life, and emotional landscapes.

One of the central ideas behind The Contemporary Lore is that artistic lineages are not linear. The curatorial approach encourages viewers to look beyond labels such as “emerging” or “master” and instead focus on the emotional and conceptual connections between artworks. According to organisers, the exhibition attempts to move away from market-driven hierarchies and create a more open conversation around contemporary Indian art.

The showcase first opened at Bikaner House before moving to the gallery’s Gurugram space, where it continues to engage art lovers, collectors, and young creatives. Alongside the exhibition, the gallery has also positioned itself as a broader cultural platform that supports interdisciplinary artistic exchanges and emerging voices in the Indian art scene.

At a time when India’s contemporary art landscape is rapidly evolving, The Contemporary Lore reflects a growing shift towards inclusivity, experimentation, and cross-generational collaboration. Rather than presenting art history as a fixed timeline, the exhibition invites audiences to see it as a constantly evolving and interconnected conversation.