The Stainless Gallery in New Delhi is set to unveil Forms ////Formation, a group exhibition that delves into the nuances of collaboration, artistic evolution, and the intricate forces shaping creative partnerships. Running from 3 to 16 February, 2025, the exhibition presents a compelling mix of artistic expressions—painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and ceramics—curated over eight months through dialogue and shared creative journeys among the participating artists.
Anchoring the exhibition are some of India’s most revered artists, including ceramist Ira Chaudhuri and painter-printmaker-educator Anupam Sud, both of whom trained under the legendary Somnath Hore and Jagmohan Chopra. The show also features Padma Bhushan awardee and celebrated sculptor Biman Das, who currently chairs AIFACS, alongside renowned artist Seema Kohli, who recently inaugurated her new studio space in Delhi.
The late Rini Dhumal’s powerful works, which celebrate feminine strength, add depth to the exhibition’s exploration of formation and transformation. Her husband, senior artist P.D. Dhumal, will also present his works. Eminent photographer Aditya Arya, Director of Museo Camera Gurgaon, will display cyanotype prints and conduct a workshop at the gallery, enriching the interactive aspect of the exhibition.
Artist Ananda Moy Banerji, instrumental in uniting the diverse group of participants, will showcase his latest paintings. Fellow founding members of Multiple Encounters—Dattatraya Apte, Sushanta Guha, and Kishore Chakraborty, all early recipients of the Charles Wallace India Trust Award—will contribute their works, underscoring the depth of artistic continuity and exchange. The exhibition also embraces the dynamism of mid-career and emerging artists, including Alita Chandra, Prasanta Kalita, Madhur Sen, Saurabh Narang, Annu Gupta, Priyanka Batra, and Nanki Singh, offering a fresh perspective on artistic collaboration.
Reflecting on the essence of Forms ////Formation, artist and curator Saurabh Narang describes the show as “an exploration of the transformative power of collaboration in art. Through this exhibition, we aim to delve into how artists, despite their differing approaches and individual aspirations, come together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. It’s a celebration of how collective energy shapes not just art, but the very process of creation itself.”
The roots of Forms ////Formation trace back to last year’s retrospective group exhibition Rupantar, curated by Dr. Alka Pande at The Visual Arts Gallery, New Delhi. The show brought together five founding members of Multiple Encounters, an artistic collective that emerged from the Indian Printmakers Guild at Lalit Kala’s Artist Studio in Garhi. Spanning over four decades, their work illuminated the evolution of artistic practice within a shared creative space. This collective synergy sparked broader inquiries into the nature of artistic partnerships—how creative individuals adapt, sustain a collective identity, and evolve together despite differing visions.
The exhibition unfolds as an inquiry into the shifting roles within collaborative art-making, the negotiation of shared responsibilities, and the influence of circumstances on creative expression. It examines how artistic collaboration flourishes, even when individual goals diverge, and how mutual learning fosters artistic and personal evolution.
For Narang, working alongside senior artists was an immersive, almost transformative experience. “It felt as if I underwent reformation in some sort of pilgrimage,” he reflects, extending gratitude to Multiple Encounters, particularly Ananda Moy Banerji, whose mentorship was instrumental in bringing Forms ////Formation to life.
The exhibition, open to the public daily from 11 AM to 7 PM, invites visitors to engage with the dynamic interplay of artistic exchange, reflecting on the profound impact of collaboration in shaping creative legacies.
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