Gulam Mohammad Shekh Retrospective Exhibition: Dr. Ved Prakash Bhardwaj

This retrospective exhibition of Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh, which began on February 9, 2025, at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Delhi, offers a comprehensive view of his six-decade artistic journey. Sheikh is a pivotal figure in contemporary Indian art, known for his deep engagement with poetry, visual art, and art education. His work does not merely seek beauty but prioritizes ideas, often questioning and challenging the times he has lived through. Throughout his career, Sheikh has drawn inspiration from diverse sources, including the poetry of Kabir, digital art, and the intricate styles of Indian miniature painting. However, for him, no particular medium or style is as significant as the clarity and impact of expression. This is why his oeuvre includes both black-and-white and colored works. While primarily figurative, his paintings also reveal a subtle influence of abstraction. His art revolves around human life, capturing its visible and hidden dimensions with remarkable depth.

The exhibition, featuring over 190 works, provides an in-depth exploration of his multifaceted artistic journey. Sheikh’s art has never been linear; it is a dynamic interplay of social experiences, personal memories, cultural heritage, political realities, and global influences. The display includes watercolors, gouache, oil paintings, digital collages, paper collages, books, ceramics, and installations.

Among the major works on display are Speechless City (1975), City for Sale (1981–84), and Ahmedabad – The City Gandhi Left Behind (2015–16), which critically examine urbanization and political landscapes. His storytelling approach is evident in his Kavad and Accordion books, where he re-imagines traditional formats to weave layered narratives. His Kahat Kabir series, incorporating Kabir’s poetry, emphasizes themes of non-violence and communal harmony, underscoring the necessity of syncretic traditions in contemporary discourse.

Sheikh’s engagement with digital media is also a key focus of the exhibition. Works like Talisman: Amulet (2001) and the Mappamundi series (2001) redefine cartography as a space for historical reflection and dialogue. His most recent works, Caravan (2019–23) and Dus Darwaza (2019–24), evoke powerful themes of travel, memory, and the complexities of our times, further cementing his legacy as a storyteller and visual chronicler of history.