INDIAN REPRESENTATION AT FRIEZE LONDON AND FRIEZE MASTERS 2024
Returning for its 21st edition, Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2024 once again took over Regent’s Park from October 9th to 13th. This year’s event was marked by large, engaged crowds, lively booths, and strong sales that remained steady throughout the fair’s duration.
Photo courtesy: Chemould Prescott Road
With more than 170 galleries from 47 countries, the fairs introduced several new features, including a redesigned format at Frieze London that gave younger galleries and emerging exhibitors a more prominent role. While there were concerns ahead of the event regarding the challenges facing the London art market, the atmosphere during the week was one of positivity, with collectors, dealers, and industry insiders expressing optimism about the future.
Among the standout exhibitors were several Indian galleries showcasing a diverse range of works that caught the attention of international audiences. Here, we take a closer look at the exhibitions that made a lasting impression.
Chemould Prescott Road — Nilima Sheikh
Chemould Prescott Road made its debut at Frieze Masters, participating in the special “Studio” section curated by Sheena Wagstaff with a solo booth dedicated to the works of Nilima Sheikh. For over two decades, Sheikh’s art has focused on the political and cultural struggles of Kashmir, a region with a rich and complex history. Her work intertwines delicate landscapes with powerful narratives of racial and gender violence, often integrating excerpts of poetry directly onto the surface of the images.
Photo courtesy: Chemould Prescott Road
Sheikh’s art draws deeply from Eastern traditions, such as miniature painting and oral storytelling, while addressing contemporary issues through an evocative, lyrical lens. Her exploration of Kashmir’s turmoil, informed by her background as both a historian and an artist, has led to the creation of a visual language that reflects the region’s historical and present-day struggles.
One of the standout pieces in the exhibition is Terrain: Carrying Across, Leaving Behind, an eight-panel work that encompasses the history and folklore of Kashmir through a combination of text, image, and symbolism. Sheikh’s art, rooted in both the personal and the political, has long been recognized for its ability to communicate the layered realities of the land she portrays, and her inclusion in Frieze Masters was a powerful testament to her enduring impact.
Photo courtesy: DAG
DAG — 20th Century Indian Modern Art
A. Raiba | Avinash Chandra | Biren De | G. R. Santosh | George Keyt | J. Sultan Ali | Jyoti Bhatt | Laxman Pai | Paritosh Sen | Prosanto Roy | Rabin Mondal | Ramkinkar Baij | S. K. Bakre | Shanti Dave
DAG’s booth at Frieze Masters presented a captivating selection of 20th-century Indian modern art, featuring a diverse group of artists, including A. A. Raiba, Avinash Chandra, Biren De, G. R. Santosh, and Paritosh Sen. The collection highlighted the rich and varied approaches to modernism taken by Indian artists, particularly their engagement with global movements like Cubism.
Photo courtesy: DAG
While Cubism in Europe was born out of a sense of fragmentation and social anxiety, Indian artists adapted its visual language to express their unique cultural context. The artists in DAG’s selection used Cubism to explore themes of identity, tradition, and modernity, creating works that retained an inherent connection to India’s aesthetic traditions while embracing experimental forms.
The selection paid homage to India’s interaction with Cubism and modernism more broadly, showcasing the ways in which Indian artists absorbed and reinterpreted these movements. Key works by tantra artists Biren De and G. R. Santosh stood alongside pieces by modernist pioneers like Ramkinkar Baij and Laxman Pai, offering a comprehensive look at the evolution of Indian modern art.
Photo courtesy: Experimenter
Experimenter — Bani Abidi | Fragments from a nightmare
Experimenter’s presentation at Frieze London featured the work of Pakistani artist Bani Abidi, whose practice engages with issues of nationalism, identity, and the Indian-Pakistani conflict. Born in Karachi, Abidi’s early experiences shaped her interest in exploring how political tensions and historical events influence personal and collective experiences. Her multimedia practice combines video, performance, and photography to offer a subversive, often satirical critique of the ways in which history and conflict are represented in the media.
Photo courtesy: Experimenter
At Frieze London, Abidi’s works focused on the impact of the 1947 partition, a defining moment in South Asian history, and how its legacy continues to shape contemporary life. Her ability to blend personal narratives with political commentary resonate strongly with audiences, reflecting the ongoing relevance of her themes.
Photo courtesy: Jhaveri Contemporary
Jhaveri Contemporary — Balraj Khanna
Jhaveri Contemporary’s booth highlighted the joyful and atmospheric works of Balraj Khanna, a London-based artist originally from Punjab. Khanna’s abstract compositions are notable for their gravity-defying forms and vibrant colours, evoking a sense of movement and weightlessness. His work often explores the relationship between the organic and the geometric, with shapes that appear to float and bend in imagined spaces.
Photo courtesy: Jhaveri Contemporary
In works like Lawn at Dusk (1965), Khanna uses elongated, circular forms in red and yellow set against a deep green background, creating a dynamic composition that feels both calm and energetic. His ability to capture the essence of natural forms while abstracting them into fluid, imaginative realms has made him a distinctive voice in contemporary art.
Photo courtesy: Nature Morte
Nature Morte — Saad Qureshi, Tanya Goel, Lorenzo Vitturi, Aditya Pande, Martand Khosla, Vibha Galhotra, Jitish Kallat, Bharti Kher, and Subodh Gupta
Nature Morte’s presentation at Frieze London centred on the theme of transformation, featuring a group of artists including Saad Qureshi, Tanya Goel, Bharti Kher, and Subodh Gupta. The artworks on display explored the idea of change as a continuous, evolving process, with materials and forms in a state of constant flux.
Photo courtesy: Nature Morte
Saad Qureshi’s Meld (2024) was a standout piece, merging architectural motifs with imagined landscapes to create a geography that feels both familiar and otherworldly. Jitish Kallat’s Here after Here after Here (2024) collapsed cosmic and earthly distances into a single, flowing narrative, while Bharti Kher’s Drunken Frenzy (2011) used bindis to explore bodily and emotional transformations.
The exhibition offered a rich exploration of how change — whether in material, form, or meaning — is an essential aspect of existence. Each artist in the group presented a unique perspective on the ways in which time, memory, and human intervention shape our understanding of the world.
Photo courtesy: Project 88
Project 88 — Neha Choksi, Rohini Devasher, Amol K Patil, Prajakta Potnis, Ashwini Bhat, and Mahesh Baliga
Project 88’s booth at Frieze London featured a diverse group of artists, including Neha Choksi, Rohini Devasher, and Amol K Patil, whose works explored the materiality of nature, memory, and the human experience. Choksi’s installation, Strata Bouquet (uncertain allies), challenged the boundaries between the organic and the manufactured by playing with the physical properties of stone and rock, creating a visually arresting piece that seemed to defy gravity.
Photo courtesy: Project 88
Rohini Devasher’s archival prints, meanwhile, explored the vastness of the night sky, offering alternative maps of the cosmos that invited viewers to reconsider how we perceive space and time. Amol K Patil’s sculptures, cast in bronze, explored the politics of urban redevelopment, capturing the remnants of human life in fragmented, eerie forms.
The exhibition as a whole offered a thoughtful reflection on the ways in which memory, materiality, and politics intersect in the contemporary world. Each artist brought a distinct perspective, creating a cohesive yet diverse presentation that resonated deeply with audiences.
Through their varied and dynamic presentations, Indian galleries at Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2024 made a powerful statement about the continued vitality and relevance of Indian contemporary and modern art. By drawing on diverse traditions, histories, and themes, these artists and galleries offered a compelling look at the ways in which Indian art continues to engage with both local and global contexts, ensuring that their voices are heard on the international stage.
Text by Shalini Passi
Image Courtesy: Chemould Prescott Road, DAG, Experimenter, Jhaveri Contemporary, Nature Morte, Project 88
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