Experimenter

Bani Abidi is part of the group exhibition 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸, opening today at Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam. Curated by Gabi Ngcobo, Honey Kraiwee, Alicia Grobholz.

Abidi is showing her body of paintings 𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭 at the exhibition.

“To draw, drawing from, drawing with, drawn to, being drawn in, a draw—returning to the drawing board as a space to rethink and make new plans for a desired waywardness…Departing from the extended sense of drawing, 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 foregrounds recognition, resistance, and reinvention.”

– Excerpt from the exhibition curatorial note

As part of the opening day program, Abidi will be in Round Table Talk with artists Cinthia Marcelle, Felipe Mujica, Misheck Masamvu, Nohemí Pérez, and Thierry Oussou today in the Auditorium, Kunstinstituut Melly, at 5 pm CEST.

𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 will be on view until 4 October 2026.

Images courtesy the Artist.

Team Experimenter wishes Karishma Swali, Founder and Creative Director, Chanakya School, a very happy birthday.

Images:

1) Karishma Swali. Courtesy Chanakya School. Image credit: Hashim Badani

2) Chanakya School, 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, Experimenter – Ballygunge Place, Kolkata, 2026. Installation view. Photo by Vivienne Sarky

Our Directors Prateek Raja and Priyanka Raja reflect on their time at 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia – 𝘐𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘒𝘦𝘺𝘴.

Swipe to see the highlights and read more in today’s Calcutta Times.

Team Experimenter wishes Vikrant Bhise, a very happy birthday!

We look forward to showing Vikrant’s works as part of our upcoming presentation at Art Basel in Basel 2026.

We are looking forward to returning to Art Basel in Basel this June with a group exhibition by Ayesha Sultana, Aziz Hazara, Bani Abidi, Bhasha Chakrabarti, Chanakya School, Christopher Kulendran Thomas, Prabhakar Pachpute, Radhika Khimji, Sohrab Hura, Soumya Sankar Bose, T. Vinoja, and Vikrant Bhise.

Experimenter at Art Basel in Basel
Hall 2.1 | Booth K9 | June 18–21
VIP Preview: June 16 & 17
Messe Basel, Messeplatz 10, 4058 Basel, Switzerland

Warm wishes for Bhasha Chakrabarti on her birthday today!

Chakrabarti’s solo exhibition 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 is on view at TA T – Tieranatomisches Theater, Rotunda until 11 July 2026 as part of her fellowship at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵. 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

“A mend lends continuity, yet the object is continually transformed with each stitch and over time; to take something apart, so as to put it together anew. Unlike institutional archivists, who seek to ossify artifacts as markers of lost cultures or knowledge, the artist-as-archivist here plays with objects and gestures, at once divine and daily, while introspecting on the absence of those who once tended them. Knowledge emerges as both intimate and embodied, narrated in actions, stories, and songs.”

– Excerpt from text by Mario D’Souza

Images courtesy the Artist.

Team Experimenter wishes T. Vinoja, a very happy birthday!

Images:

1) T. Vinoja, 𝘈 𝘔𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯, Experimenter – Colaba, Mumbai, 2025. Installation view. Photo by Anil Rane

2) Image courtesy the Artist

Join us for Art Night Thursday this evening at Experimenter – Colaba to see Sohrab Hura’s solo 𝘈 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳. We are open till 9 pm, so come say hello!

Friends in Mumbai, don’t miss your chance to catch previews of new shows and exhibitions on view across the city.

Soumya Sankar Bose’s ongoing solo 𝘞𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 at Experimenter – Ballygunge Place, Kolkata was recently reviewed by Somak Ghoshal for Mint Lounge.

Our thanks to Somak, Avantika Bhuyan, Mint Lounge, and Mint for the insightful feature. Read more in “Soumya Sankar Bose’s new work reflects on memories and moments from the end of life.” Click here: https://bit.ly/49sGlCk

The exhibition continues through 6 June 2026 from Tuesday – Saturday, 10:30 am – 6:30 pm. If you are in the city, do visit!

Highlights from standout collateral exhibitions around Venice Biennale 2026 Prateek Raja and Priyanka Raja.

La Biennale di Venezia

1.⁠ ⁠Fondazione Dries Van Noten, ‘The Only True Protest Is Beauty’, Palazzo Pisani Moretta
2.⁠ ⁠Nalini Malani, ‘Of Woman Born’, Magazzini del Sale, presented by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art as a Collateral Event of Biennale Arte 2026
3.⁠ ⁠Arthur Jafa, ‘Helter Skelter’, Fondazione Prada
4.⁠ Richard Prince, ‘Helter Skelter’, Fondazione Prada
5.⁠ Amar Kanwar, ‘Co-Travellers’, ⁠Palazzo Grassi
6.⁠ Michael Armitage, ‘The Promise of Change’, ⁠Palazzo Grassi
7.⁠ Janis Rafa, Fondazione In Between Art Film, Canicula, Complesso dell’Ospedaletto
8.⁠ Lorna Simpson, ‘Third Person’, ⁠Punta della Dogana, presented by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
9.⁠ ⁠Paulo Nazareth, ⁠’Algebra’, Punta della Dogana
10.⁠ ⁠Poetry Caravan, Giardini: a procession of poets took place in the Giardini della Biennale, inspired by Koyo’s Poetry Caravan, a voyage she undertook with nine African poets from Dakar to Timbuktu in 1999
11. ‘Still Joy: From Ukraine into the World’, ⁠Pinchuk Art Centre, ⁠Ashfika Rahman, Palazzo Contarini Polignac
12.⁠ ‘A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World’, presented by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, ⁠Yoko Ono, ‘Map Piece’, Abbazia di San Gregorio
13.⁠ ‘A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World’, presented by the Saudi Ministry of Culture, ⁠⁠Reena Kallat, Abbazia di San Gregorio
14.⁠ ⁠Anish Kapoor, Palazzo Manfrin
15.⁠ ⁠Ibrahim Mahama, ‘A Shea Garden’, Galleria Barovier&Toso, Rio della Ca**tà
16.⁠ ⁠The New Venue of the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Venice, Island of San Giacomo. Installation by Hugh Hayden
17.⁠ Prateek and Priyanka at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo