Contemporary Indian Art


Contemporary Indian Art was an exhibition held from September 18October 31, 1982 at The Royal Academy of Arts in London. The exhibition featured two sections, I. The Gesture, and Motif, which was on view from September 18 – October 5, 1982, and II. Stories, Situations, which was on view from October 9 – 31, 1982. The exhibition was co-curated by Akbar Padamsee, Richard Bartholomew, and Geeta Kapur.
The exhibition was part of the Festival of India, a six-month showcase for Indian culture and art co-sponsored by the governments of the United Kingdom and India. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi remarked at the opening, The links between our two peoples have always been unique. That is why this artistic celebration means so much to us, and to them.

Participating artists

45 artists were represented in the exhibition, with 133 artworks on display. Artists in the exhibition were A. Ramachandran, Adi Davierwalla, Akbar Padamsee, Anupam Sud, Arpita Singh, Bal Chhabda, Bhupen Khakhar, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Biren De, Dhruva Mistry, Francis Newton Souza, G.R. Santosh, Ganesh Pyne, Gieve Patel, Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Himmat Shah, Jagdish Swaminathan, Jeram Patel, Jogen Chowdhury, K. Laxma Goud, K.C.S. Paniker, K.G. Subramanyan, Kanai Kunhiraman, Krishen Khanna, Krishna Reddy, Latika Katt, M.F. Husain, Manjit Bawa, Manu Parekh, Meera Mukherjee, Mohan Samant, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Nagji Patel, Nalini Malani, Nasreen Mohamedi, Ram Kumar, Ranbir Kaleka, S.H. Raza, Satish Gujral, Sudhir Patwardhan, Tyeb Mehta, V. S. Gaitonde, Ved Nayar, and Vivan Sundaram.