Arati Uppal Singla’s upcoming solo exhibition, “ Aurelia-between bloom and breath,” is set to run at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, from November 2nd to 6th, 2025. This exhibition captures the clamour of fear and debate surrounding climate change while bridging it with a greater picture centred around observation and enduring resilience. The exhibition will feature over 70 new works across varied media. These new works are a gentle yet firm pull to pause, look, and marvel at the quiet grace and regenerative cycles of the natural world. This event seeks to celebrate the “delicate beauty and hopeful promise of nature.”
The Meaning Behind ‘Aurelia’
The title, “Aurelia,” is a metaphor. Etymologically, it is a Latin word meaning “golden”; it is also the scientific term for a butterfly’s chrysalis, an unnoticed stage of metamorphosis. This concept forms the philosophical core of Singla’s exhibition. It defines the extraordinary beauty and strength that are often found in the most delicate, overlooked processes. It essentially frames the exhibition as an exploration of the silent and overlooked corners of nature, which also plays a very crucial role in the whole system of existence. Aarti asks viewers to slow down and notice, not howl at the climate crisis, but to bear witness to nature’s potentiality, its capacity for repair, which often goes unnoticed.
The basic idea that Arati urges to propagate is that humanity’s true role may not be as ‘saviours’ of the planet, but as companions, a call to step back and listen to the healing spirit of nature. It is a meditation on the gifts we possess as humans, the infinite palette of colours in nature, the precision in mathematical geography present in the leaves and petals, the nuanced structures of flowers, and the other unseen forces of wind and water. The exhibition aims to display the ordinary as miraculous, guiding the viewer to find the golden thread that runs quietly through the fabric of life.
Memory And Material
Aarti describes herself as a “polyglot in artistic language,” which is vividly evident in the orchestration of the show. Her personal recollections and nostalgia of simple memories with nature, such as gathering seeds, noticing flower patterns, are all encapsulated as her childhood memories create the emotional base on which her art breeds. This emotional base permits her to explore and acknowledge the sense of both presence and loss, expressing the beauty of life while also accepting its passing.
Arati’s versatility lies in her swift shifts between finely defined realism and abstraction. Her work spans across varied media such as watercolours, ink, Natural pigment, and Egg Tempera. These media are reflective of balance in her practice. Her art emerges as a dialogue between precision and experimentation, while continuing a grounded attachment with minimalism.
The Artist
Aarti Uppal Singla possesses a multi-disciplinary background for the exhibition. She holds a graduate degree in Graphics and a Master’s in English from Panjab University, alongside roles as educator, curator, and community-builder. She founded The Art Exchange Project, a forum for workshops and artist talks, and runs a graphic studio, Easel Ideas, and stationery brand Kagazi Ghoda. Aarti was named Artist of the Year by the Bharat Nirman Foundation in 2020, and the exhibition continues a steady trajectory of solo and group shows over the last decade.
| Exhibition | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | Aurelia – Between Bloom and Breath |
| Artist | Aarti Uppal Singla |
| Venue | Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi |
| Preview & Opening | 5:00 PM, Saturday, 1st November 2025 |
| Show Dates | 2nd – 6th November 2025 |
| Show Timings | 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM daily |
| Number of Works | Over 70 new paintings |
| Mediums | Watercolours, Ink, Natural Pigment, Egg Tempera, and more |
| Theme | Resilience, transformation, and the quiet grace of nature |
Key Highlights
- Over 70 new works spanning realist studies and expressive abstractions.
- Title: Aurelia, a metaphor referring to chrysalis or golden transformation.
- Rich material palette: natural pigment, egg tempera, ink, watercolour.
- Artist’s dual role as maker and community-builder (The Art Exchange Project).
- An exhibition that chooses observation and humility as responses to environmental anxiety.
Takeaway
Aurelia — Between Bloom and Breath is an invitation for contemplation. Rather than adding to the noise of alarm, Aarti Uppal Singla offers a practiced, measured alternative: attention. The mediums she works with demand patience and precision. Aurelia acts as a gentle reminder that transformation often arrives through small acts of attentive looking and listening. By framing nature not as a subject for debate but as a guide and companion, Aarti Uppal Singla reminds us that the power to heal, endure, and transform is an innate quality of the world around us.
