Indigenous Accents: a solo exhibition by Raj Kishore Gupta

Indigenous Accents, a solo exhibition by Chandigarh-based artist Raj Kishore Gupta, will open at LTC, Bikaner House, on July 2 and continue until July 6. Curated by Uma Nair, the exhibition presents a body of work developed during the Covid-19 pandemic, drawing inspiration from indigenous visual traditions across India and the world.

The exhibition explores Gupta’s engagement with Warli, Gond, Phulkari, Pahadi, African and Australian Aboriginal art, reinterpreting these influences through personal memories, landscapes and cultural experiences. Featuring butterflies, trees, flowers, animals and ancestral motifs, the works create layered visual narratives that move between abstraction and storytelling.

A distinctive feature of the exhibition is Gupta’s use of live-edge wood, including sheesham and kikar slabs, circular tree trunks and wooden beams. Allowing the natural grain, cracks and contours of the wood to shape each composition, the artist transforms the material into an active participant, blurring the boundaries between painting, relief and sculpture.

The exhibition also revisits Gupta’s early training in printmaking, incorporating the rhythmic layering, intricate line work and structural precision of woodcuts and linocuts into his contemporary practice. A series of sculptural wooden beams further extends his exploration of indigenous traditions, memory and cultural continuity.

Complementing the artworks is a series of portraits of the artist by photographer Avani Rai, offering an intimate glimpse into Gupta’s creative process and artistic journey.

Founded by Gupta’s daughter Aashita Gupta, the Raj Kishore Gupta Foundation makes its debut with this inaugural exhibition, supporting artistic exchange across generations.

When: July 2–6;

Where: LTC, Bikaner House, New Delhi