“The function of art, above all, is to contribute to man’s understanding of himself and the world he lives in,” is how the late legendary artist Satish Gujral described his tryst with art. Satish Gujral 100: A Centenary Exhibition, commemorating the centenary of Satish Gujral (1925 – 2025) was inaugurated at the National Gallery of Modern Art recently. Presented by NGMA in collaboration with the Gujral Foundation, the ongoing exhibition showcases Gujral’s seven-decade engagement with material, form, memory and space. The exposition has over 150 works of Satish Gujral, showcasing his vast body of work, including sketches, paintings, sculptures and murals.
Mohit Gujral, Vivek Aggarwal, Kishore Singh and Sanjeev Kishor Goutam
An opportunity to engage with Gujral’s ideas, art and legacyFrom witnessing the trauma of Partition and the birth of a new nation to reflecting on the rhythms of everyday life, Gujral’s works emerge as repositories of lived experience and memory. During a special walkthrough, curator Kishore Singh observed, “Over the years, in his artworks his language changes, the expressions change. His art ranged from the empathetic to the playful, from the poignant to the joyful. It came from a place of silence.”
Feroze Gujral and Alpana Gujral
Offering an insight into Satish Gujral’s creative process, his journey from Jhelum to Bombay, then Mexico and back – across cultural, political scenarios, the exhibition is a retrospective and a reflection on the legendary artist’s legacy.
A section of the exhibition recreates Gujral’s studio, displaying his brushes, photographs and diary notes, turning the space into a living archive of his creative world
About how this exhibition honours both his parents, Mohit Gujral said, “The exhibition showcases the diversity of the person that my father was. Through this exhibit, you will discover two people today. One was a great artist, whose foundation was his strife and his suffering, which defined the beginning of his life. And the second part you will see is my mother, Kiran, who was all over the show, who was symbiotic as his partner, who I think helped define the second-half of who he was.”
Paresh Maity
The centenary is not only a moment of remembrance, but an invitation to engage with Satish Gujral’s ideas, courage and lifelong experimentation across disciplines
Mohit Gujral, Satish Gujral’s son
“Satish Gujral occupies a pivotal place in the story of Indian modern art. This exhibition is a celebration of the artist, the sculptor, the muralist, the architect and his entire life journey,” said Sanjeev Kishor Goutam, Director General, NGMA.
Ritu Kumar and Jyotsna Suri
Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher; Jatin Das and Aditya Arya
Kapil Sibal, Pawan K Varma and Rajeev Talwar
Indrani Dasgupta, Vasuki Punj and Chetan Seth
Some of his later artworks were luminous
Dr Naresh Trehan and Madhu Trehan; Belgian Ambassador Didier Vanderhasselt with Peter Knoope
