Art Mumbai

APARAJITA JAIN MAHAJAN
Aparajita Jain Mahajan was born in 1980 in New York, USA. She earned her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, majoring in Film, Animation, and Video. In 2007, she further refined her visual language at the Art Students League of New York. Alongside her art practice, Aparajita has been actively involved in social projects. She created animations for the Eternal Gandhi Multimedia Museum in New Delhi and assisted filmmaker Saeed Mirza in his 2004 tribute to Gandhi. While living in Auroville, a universal township, she taught art at an outreach village school and created a documentary about this unique institution.

Since 2009, Aparajita has participated in numerous exhibitions, including “Miniatures Conjure Delights” in 2024 at Garrett Museum of Art, Indiana, USA, “Entwined” at Apparao Galleries, Chennai (2024), “Unveiled Horizons” at Vida Heydari Contemporary, Pune (2023), “Between Interruptions” at Angelica Kauffman Micro Gallery (2023), the Architectural Digest Fair 2023 with VHC, and the Terrain Biennial 2023 with Angelica Kauffman Gallery in Chicago, USA. She was also part of the digital exhibition “Attachment; Abbreviated”, organized under the “Taking Up Space” initiative by the Thrive Together Network (2022), among many others.

Aparajita Jain Mahajan lives and works in Pune, India.

DEBASREE DAS
Debasree Das, born in Guwahati, India, in 1979, holds a Bachelor's degree in Printmaking from the Government College of Art & Crafts, Guwahati (2005), and a Master's in Printmaking from the Faculty of Fine Arts, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (2007). Working across a diverse range of mediums, Debasree engages with drawing, painting, hand embroidery, and appliqué on silk, canvas, paper, and more. Her mixed media paintings serve as cathartic expressions, allowing her to release sorrow and pain. The process of combining hand embroidery with painting helps her realize and empower her creative vision, imbuing each piece with personal depth.

Debasree has participated in several prominent group exhibitions, including the “Art Tint” group exhibition in Baroda (2024), Alumnus Exhibition at Space Studio, Baroda (2023), "59th National Exhibition of Art" at Lalit Kala Academy, Delhi (2018), "Baroda March Group Show" at CSMVS (2017), and "Behold the Nature" at Gallery Dhi Art Space, Hyderabad (2016). Her work has been recognized with numerous awards and fellowships, such as the Junior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (2017-2018), the Camlin Europe Art Tour Award (2010), and the Asia Pacific Artists Fellowship at the National Art Studio, Changdong, South Korea (2013).

Debasree Das lives and works in Vadodara, India.


DEEPIKA SAKHAT
Deepika Sakhat (b. 1990, Mumbai, India) completed her Bachelor in Visual Arts (Drawing and Printmaking) from Vasai Vikasini College of Visual Arts in 2016 and Master in Visual Art (Printmaking) from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda. Deepika’s work reflects a deep connection to nature, celebrating open spaces, wildlife, and the freedom of birds. Through the symbolism of the bird, she explores themes of freedom, spontaneity, and the beauty of nature’s cycles, using the bird as a metaphor for the human experience and journey. Her process is meditative, with a focus on minimal expression, using various painting and printmaking techniques to evoke calmness and inner reflection.

Deepika Sakhat has exhibited in various group shows in India and abroad including at “Natura Urbana” by Ether Project in 2023, “Emerging Palettes” by Srishti Art Gallery, Hyderabad in 2022, “Emerging Reflection” at Apparat Gallery, Chennai in 2022, Aalap Exhibition, Academy of Fine Art, Kolkata, Art for Hope in 2021, Soul and Spirit Art Exhibition in 2020, Abir first Take, Ahmedabad in 2019, Monsson Art Show in Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai in 2016 and many others. Deepika Sachet was a part of Space Baroda Residency in 2022, and Dehgam Artist Residency, Ahmedabad in 2018.

Deepika Sakhat lives and works in Vadodara, India.

DEMOS CHIANG
Demos Chiang was born in 1976, Taipei, Taiwan. Working across mediums like painting, sculpture and multi-media installation, Chiang’s design- and art-oriented practice—a fusion of Eastern and Western cultures—is influenced by his traditional roots and the Western education he received in his formative years.

While anthropomorphic forms in Chiang’s works reflect his concern for the current state of the world, his work also reveals his sensitive nature and compassion towards all beings— human and non-human. Layered using rich and diverse textures, with brush strokes evoking a sense of speed and fluidity, his paintings often contain poems in English that are meant as philosophical reflections. In his sculptural forms, Chiang employs the concept of vacuum to examine the notions of transience and time. Among other achievements, Chiang was invited as a main exhibiting artist at the 2021 Chengdu Biennale: Super Fusion, Seoul, South Korea.

Demos Chiang currently lives and works in Taipei, Taiwan.

HARISHA CHENNANGOD
Born in 1984, Kasaragod, India, Harisha Chennangod did his graduation in Painting from CAVA College, Mysore, and moved to Baroda to pursue a Masters in Museum Studies from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU Baroda. In his unique visual language of criss-crossing lines, gaps, and vibrant primary colours, he delves into the netted fabric of cityscapes, childhood memories, and woven handloom patterns. Such an exploration evokes rustic nostalgia draped in vivid hues as well.

Chennangod’s minimal abstract paintings have been a part of many shows across India and his works have found homes in Paris and London. Some of his recent exhibitions include, ‘Home an Irrevocable Condition’, a group exhibition at Pepper House by Kochi Biennale Foundation and Baroda Annuelle 2021 group exhibition at Gallery White Baroda, among several others. In 2016 & 2017 he had two artist exhibitions titled ‘Indian Encounters’ at Lapp Centre, Stuttgart, Germany. He has also been a part of many prestigious residencies in the past like the Post Graduate Residency at Vagamon organised by Kochi – Muziris Biennale, Visual Art Collective Art Residency in Bangalore and “Niracharthu” Artist Camp at Enkakad, Thrissur, Kerala.

Harsha Chennangod lives and works in Vadodara, India.

KANAN KOTESHWAR
Kanan Koteshwar, born in 1985 in Dabhoi, India, holds a diverse academic background that informs her artistic practice. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Home Science from the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda in 2005, followed by a degree in Early Childhood and Education from the same institution in 2007. In 2010, she completed her Master’s in Museology from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, and also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling. Her varied academic training profoundly shapes her artistic vision, where she finds poetic irony in the act of preserving what has seemingly lost its significance. She likens her work to finding life in the dead—reforming the broken and forgotten. In 2018, Kanan made her solo debut with the exhibition “Pracyuta” at Knots Experimental Art Space in Baroda. She has since participated in several group exhibitions, including “From Where All That Sweat” at Amuseum Art Gallery of Modern Art, Thiruvananthapuram, in 2022, and “Interlude 2” by Knots Collective at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda, in 2019.

Kanan Koteshwar lives and works in Vadodara, India.

MONALI MEHER
Monali Meher, born in 1969 in Pune, India, is a multidisciplinary artist who studied at the Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai. Her career has spanned several decades, during which she has performed and exhibited at prominent international venues such as Tate Modern, Sinop Biennale in Turkey, Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Art Dubai, MAXXI Museum Rome, Guangzhou Live in China, and the Prague Biennale. Her work has been featured in renowned institutions including the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen, Museum Arnhem, and Stedelijk Kunstakademie.

Notable highlights in Meher's career include receiving the prestigious ‘Golden Chimera Award’ at the ICASTICA Biennial in Arezzo, Italy, in 2013, and her participation in major events such as the 4th Thessaloniki Biennale, the Dakar Biennale, and the Kathmandu Triennale. In 2021, her performance at Arctic Action VI in Spitsbergen and her inclusion in the ‘Upcycling’ Sinop Biennale 8 exemplify her ongoing engagement with global audiences.

Meher’s practice explores themes of time, memory, and transformation, often through performance and site-specific installations. One of her most significant public installations, "The Bridge Is Open" (2011), under the Willem’s Bridge in Amsterdam, will remain on view until 2025. Throughout her career, she has been the recipient of several accolades, including LIVE Funds from BKVB Amsterdam in 2009 and the prestigious NN Art Award at Art Rotterdam in 2023. Her works have been supported by institutions such as AFK and Fonds BKVB and have been enriched by numerous residencies, including the UNESCO-Aschberg Residency in Vienna, the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam, the Casa Masaccio residency in Italy, and KHOJ in New Delhi.

Monali Meher lives and works in Ghent, Belgium.

M. PRAVAT
M. Pravat was born in 1972 in Kolkata, India. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in painting in 2002 and his Master’s in 2004, both granted by the Faculty of Fine Arts at M.S. University, Baroda. M. Pravat’s art practice examines architectural forms and materials through a fractured lens, using photography, paintings and installations. He believes that our lives are unquestionably shaped by the built environments we inhabit. Along with images and materials, architecture plays a pivotal role in the formation of our sensibilities, and in shaping our experiences and understanding of space and form. His practice is deeply embedded in the manifestations and imaginations of architectural spaces, where he attempts to shed the representational familiarity associated with our built environments, and in doing so, finds himself appropriating, redistributing, and reconfiguring the relationship between images and materials. Over the years, his works have been presented in solo and group exhibitions, biennales and art fairs in Colombo, Delhi, Dubai, Mumbai, New York, Seoul and Zurich. He was a recipient of the Pro Helvetia artist residency in Switzerland.

M. Pravat lives and works in New Delhi, India.

REZA DERAKSHANI
Reza Derakshani was born in 1952 in Sangsar, Iran. He pursued his education at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, under the guidance of prominent figures like Hannibal Alkhas, Marcos Grigorian, and Mohsen Vaziri Moghaddam. Later, he pursued further education at the Pasadena Art School in California. After teaching at the University of Tehran for several years, Derakshani embarked on a period of artistic exploration in the U.S. and Europe, where his work evolved to integrate Iranian artistic heritage with the influences of Neo-Expressionism and Western abstract movements. His work, often described as a modern extension of Persian miniature painting (Negargari), melds intricate symbolism with dynamic, large-scale compositions that are celebrated for their vibrant colour and radiant surfaces, incorporating materials such as silver and gold leaf.

Derakshani's artistic journey began early, with his first solo exhibitions in the early 1970s at the Ghandriz and Seyhoun Galleries in Tehran, gaining him swift recognition. Throughout the 2000s, Derakshani continued to exhibit widely, with notable solo exhibitions such as “Beyond the Darkness” at Khak Art Gallery in Tehran, and “Migration” at Leila Heller Gallery, New York. His work has also been featured in the 6th Tehran Contemporary Painting Biennial, held at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.

Reza Derakshani lives and works in Istanbul, Turkey.

SAMIM ALAM BEG
Md Samim Alam Beg, born in 1998 in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. He pursued his academic studies at Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2020 and a Master of Fine Arts in 2022, both in Sculpture. Samim’s artistic practice is characterized by a profound exploration of the interplay between cultural and natural landscapes. Driven by an insatiable curiosity, he experiments with objects and forms derived from nature, aiming to establish a thoughtful dialogue between architectural practices and visual art. His work seamlessly integrates the functional design of architecture with the intricacy of nature’s creations, using materials such as ceramics and metal to create sculptural transpositions of natural forms into delicate filigree. Photography also plays an integral role in his practice, adding another layer to his exploration of nature’s beauty and complexity.

In 2023, Samim’s work was featured in the Space 118 Fundraiser Show in Mumbai. He was also awarded the MFA Gold Medal, the Nirod Baran Memorial Prize, and the Bhunath Mukherjee Memorial Prize by Rabindra Bharati University. In 2022, he received the Students Annual Exhibition Gold Medal and the Salma Naqvi Award from Art Family. In 2021, he participated in exhibitions like Abir First Take in Ahmedabad and the Kochi Students’ Biennale and received the Kala Sakshi Memorial Trust Art Scholarship.

Samim Alam Beg lives and works in Kochi, India.

YASHNA KAUL
Yashna Kaul was born in 1995 in New Delhi. She completed BFA in Photography and Imaging from Tisch School of the Art, New York University in 2018. Through her practice, Kaul reflects on the nature of memory itself—how it is preserved, how it is altered, and how it is sometimes lost. Her work challenges to consider the ways in which photography can both reveal and obscure, offering a nuanced meditation on the role of images in the construction of our personal and collective identities.

Her work has been exhibited both in India and internationally. Her most recent exhibitions include 'Kyotographie' in Kyoto, Japan, in 2024; the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa in 2023; the Photo Vogue Festival in Milan, Italy, in 2023; and the India Art Fair in 2023, among others. She was awarded the 2024 Japan Photo Award and received an honourable mention for the 2023 PhMuseum Women Photographers Grant New Generation Prize.

Yashna Kaul currently lives and works in between Mumbai and New Delhi, India.