Vyakt Avyakt: The Manifest and the Unmanifest opens at Art Mumbai 2026, bringing fifteen works from the Dabriwala private collection into a public setting for the first time. Built over three generations since the 1970s, the collection traces the evolution of Indian modernism and now steps onto the Mahalaxmi Racecourse venue, inviting visitors to encounter a curated slice of that legacy.

The show’s title gestures toward the philosophical tension between the visible and the invisible, echoing the neti‑neti approach of "not this, not this." Through abstraction, each piece probes questions of energy, perception and existence, moving beyond straightforward representation toward a dialogue between the manifest and the unmanifest.

Artists on view include Jyoti Bhatt, Sayed Haider Raza, Akbar Padamsee, Vasudev Gaitonde, G. R. Santosh, Ram Kumar, Shanti Dave, Sohan Qadri, Ambadas, Jeram Patel and Prabhakar Barwe. Highlights such as Raza’s Congo, Padamsee’s Rouen and Santosh’s Shattering Thought (1962) illustrate the breadth of colour, form and symbolism that have defined Indian abstraction.

The Dabriwala story began with Rajendra Dabriwala’s early acquisitions of Bengal modernists and expanded to the Progressive Artists’ Group, later nurtured by his son Surbhit. Their commitment to research, scholarship and education now fuels a public programme aimed at younger audiences, encouraging a personal, investigative approach to collecting.

Running from 12 to 15 November, the exhibition not only showcases seminal works but also frames a conversation about how collections are formed, how artistic ideas evolve, and how contemporary collectors might forge their own paths beyond established names.

View original article