The Contemporary Lore: Sojourn of Styles and Generations Unfurled, an exhibition at Shailaja Art Gallery in Gurugram, brings together 30 works by 23 artists from across India. Curated by Kiran Mohan, the show features paintings, sculptures, and mixed media by emerging, mid-career, and established artists, including Jai Krishna Agarwal, Prem Singh, Charudatt Pande, Nilisha Phad, Ashok Bhowmick, Asit Patnaik, Bipin Kumar, and Shaji Apukuttan. The exhibition, which previewed at Bikaner House, runs for four weeks at the gallery and aims to present artists as equal partners rather than in a hierarchical art-historical progression.
The exhibition matters because it challenges the Indian art market's long-standing dominance by a few masters, which has overshadowed many senior and contemporary artists. By creating a non-hierarchical dialogue across generations and styles, the show rethinks how art is presented and understood, offering a platform for diverse voices to resonate as a shared visual conversation. This curatorial approach reflects a broader shift in the Indian artscape toward more inclusive and equitable exhibition practices.