NEW DELHI.- Founded in 1986 by Geetha Mehra, Sakshi Gallery, one of India's pioneering contemporary art galleries, marks its 40th anniversary celebrations with a major exhibition curated by Manan Shah at the historic Travancore Palace, New Delhi, opening in September 2026. The anniversary programme began in January with Mumbai Gallery Weekend, followed by a presentation in London at the Mall Galleries in June, and will continue with subsequent presentations in Vadodara, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

Of Being and Becoming brings together over 50 artists across generations, including Vivan Sundaram, Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Nalini Malani, Rekha Rodwittiya, Ranbir Singh Kaleka, Navjot Altaf, Shilpa Gupta, Thukral and Tagra and others. The exhibition presents site-responsive works and installations that trace the evolution of artistic vocabularies, material practices, and conceptual inquiries from the 1980s to the present. The show positions the gallery not merely as a site of display, but as a dynamic space for dialogue, experimentation, and reimagination.

The exhibition reflects on how artistic vocabularies, material concerns, and modes of image-making have evolved in response to shifting social conditions and economic realities.

The participating artists share longstanding relationships with Sakshi Gallery and have collectively contributed to shaping the trajectory of Indian contemporary art. The exhibition serves both as a celebration and as a critical reflection on the gallery's enduring contribution to contemporary art in India, reaffirming its commitment to artistic experimentation, sustained dialogue, and intergenerational exchange.

Manan Shah, curator of the exhibition says, “Of Being and Becoming, introduces audiences to the changing visual syntax of the last four decades, showcasing together both early and recent works by artists who have significantly shaped the landscape of visual arts in India.

“In doing so, it presents itself as an archive of historical events and a witness to shifting power and political dynamics, tracing how these forces have shaped contemporary visual aesthetics. By bringing together three generations of artists in a single presentation, the exhibition is a visual narration of how the aforementioned factors have influenced this visual transformation.”

Artists

Alok Bal � Amit Ambalal � Anita Dube � Ankush Safaya � Arunkumar HG � Atul Bhalla � Bhanu Shrivastav � C Douglas � Chetnaa � Chintan Upadhyay � Gigi Scaria � Gulam Mohammed Sheikh � Hasan Ali Kadiwala � KG Subramanyan � Kim Seola � Krishen Khanna � Lakshman Rao Kotturu � Manjunath Kamath � Mrugen Rathod � Nalini Malani � Nandan Ghiya � Nandini Valli Muthiah � Nataraj Sharma � Navjot Altaf � Pablo Bartholomew � Riyas Komu � Roshan Chhabria � Salik Ansari � Schon Mendes � Shilpa Gupta � Shine Shivan � Siddhartha Kararwal � Sudhir Patwardhan � Sudipta Das � Sujith SN � Sumedh Rajendran � Sunil Gawde � Surendran Nair � Teja Gavankar � Thukral and Tagra � Veer Munshi � Vivan Sundaram � Vivek Vilasini

Manan Shah is a museologist, curator and writer, born and brought up in Kasheer (Kashmir). His writings and curatorial practices are attentive to the knowledge systems of antiquity that have informed the current-day cultural and political identity of South Asia. He has published in magazines and journals such as TAKE on Art, STIRworld.com, Inverse Journal, History is Now Magazine, World History Encyclopedia, amongst others.

Shah has previously curated for NewArtX, Mumbai; DHI Contemporary, Hyderabad; Art Centrix Space, Delhi; APRE Art House, Mumbai and LATITUDE 28, New Delhi. He has also curated a research-based photo project A Home in the Constant Flux: A Call to the Verb Memory across multiple cities.

He has also been invited as resource person for the curatorial and writing fellowship programmes by Art Ichol, Madhya Pradesh (2026) and Arthshila Santiniketan (2024). Shah has also edited an Indo-Swiss art residency catalogue, Of Barriers and Distances, DAAR (2024) and The Will to Live, Galley Dotwalk (2024).

Currently, travels between Mumbai and New Delhi, he is a co-founder of Dastāvez Collective. Shah has worked as an assistant editor at TAKE on Art Magazine and curatorial and programme consultant for Dotwalk Ajitara Art Residency (2023-24), before joining NewArtX, Mumbai as the lead curator.