New Delhi is all set to host a significant cultural event with the opening of ‘Melange of Memories‘, a group exhibition that brings together the diverse artistic voices of thirty leading artists from across India. Curated by the renowned art historian JohnnyML and presented by Kali Charan Padhi‘s CanonFire Creatives, the exhibition promises a vibrant exploration of identity, culture, and artistic expression. The exhibition will feature 90 original works and will be on display from 31st October to 4th November, 2025, at the LTC Gallery, Bikaner House, New Delhi.
Melange of Memories orchestrates a conversation between artists who deliberate on distinctive visual vocabularies shaped by region, experience, and material practice. The curator labels the exhibition as a field for multiplicity, where corpora of memories appear in varying forms like myth, ritual, personal history, and social testament. The scope of the exhibition ranges from photorealism to folk-associated imagery, allowing viewers to witness a medium to retrieve, reconfigure, and re-live their lived experiences. Presenter Kali Charan Padhi adds that the show is “a celebration of our shared aesthetic and emotional landscape, where memory becomes a bridge between the past and the present.”
Artists & Artistic Modes
Non-representational works by artists like Shabana Quadri and Jyoti Khushwaha use colour, movement, and texture to directly evoke lived experience and emotional resonance. Artists Rajesh Singh and Promud Boruah represent two distinct generations of abstraction. While Yusuf contributes to the same field of abstraction through bolder lines and colour fields, with an adherence to the Indian sense of vibrant colours and the grace of high modernism. Sachin Jaltare stands out with his fluid harmony, fusing abstraction and figuration to create works that resonate with spiritual energy.
Vrinda Solanki, the senior-most artist, brings a different charm to the table by adorning the venue with early Indian Modernism with a figurative style; this definitely attests a timeless poise. Supriya Amber celebrates the essence of womanhood through depictions of tribal women, transforming their strength into universal icons of freedom. Rohit Supakar depicts socio-economic realities, making everyone critically judge the themes of power and inequality. Rahul Mitra transforms Dante’s Inferno into a modern purgatory, exposing the irony of human greed. Artists like Laxman Aelay paint rural women with profound empathy. Anand Panchal captures the stoic optimism of Latur’s villagers, celebrating human endurance. Dileep Sharma reflects the changing faces of identity through hybrid figures oscillating between divine and demonic.
Myth, Memory, & Modern Reinterpretation
Several artworks explicitly blend mythic content with contemporary contexts. Kanha Behera revives folk traditions and nostalgic childhood memories via vivid depictions of tiger dancers and hunting rituals. Gurmeet Marwah reinterprets childhood stories into bold graphic compositions that stir a strong wave of imagination. Nagesh Goud Bolgum reinterprets the life of Krishna, combining mythology and present contextualization, while Ramesh Gorjala aligns classical mural traditions with modern designs. Bipin Martha takes a syncretic view of religion, blending images of Krishna, Buddha, and Mahavira into meditative compositions of compassion.
Exhibition Details
| Exhibition | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | Melange of Memories |
| Artists | Thirty leading artists from across India |
| Number of Works | 90 original works |
| Curator | JohnnyML, renowned art historian and critic |
| Presenter | Kali Charan Padhi (CanonFire Creatives) |
| Inauguration & Dates | 31st October to 4th November 2025 |
| Venue | LTC Gallery, Bikaner House, New Delhi |
Key highlights
- Senior figures (e.g., Vrindavan Solanki) alongside mid- and younger-generation practitioners create a layered historical perspective.
- From abstract colour-fields to photoreal critique, folk narratives to sculptural painting.
- Contemporary reinterpretations of Krishna, folk ritual, and classical narratives.
- Works addressing inequality, material abundance vs. deprivation (Rohit Supakar, Rahul Mitra).
- Painting that crosses into objecthood and installation (Santhana Krishnan, Gurudas Shenoy).
- JohnyML’s refusal of rigid thematic confinement allows artworks to define the exhibition’s argumentative rhythms.
Takeaway
Melange of Memories is a kind of exhibition that values originality and unconventionality. By having memory as the base, curator JohnnyML and CanonFire Creatives assemble a show that rewards slow looking. Ultimately, it is more like a vibrant meditation on memory, identity, and imagination. Through a nostalgic lens, each artist constructs a world that is personal and universal at the same time. For art lovers, collectors, and audiences alike, Melange of Memories offers a rich field of exploration that asks us to remember and to rethink the terms of remembrance.
