Nasreen Mohamedi: the new Met Breuer brings modernist India to New York
The opening of The Met Breuer, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s modern and contemporary program, has also brought a retrospective of Indian modernist Nasreen Mohamedi to New York. Open now, the exhibition – organised by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, with the collaboration of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi – is paying homage to an artist often discussed as underappreciated.
'The fact that she is a woman is absolutely essential here. She didn’t get acknowledged whilst she was alive but now she is receiving it here,' says Indian art collector and philanthropist Kiran Nadar who is also the founder of the eponymous Delhi art museum. 'There has been an Agnes Martin comparison yes, but this now allows people see the work the way its meant to be seen and it will open new windows for people to experience art. But, you see, Indian art has always had a moment and the West is now recognising it,' she continues.
In the history of the art world’s Indian modernism, Mohamedi will always represent the powerful and brave figure that broke away from a dominant figurative-narrative mainstream practice. She, in her own right, pioneered the way the world looks positively at modernism and abstraction coming out of the Indian continent.
This particular show combines more than three decades of her work, comprising her few early oil paintings, collages, drawings in ink and graphite, watercolours and photographs. Mohamedi, according to Nadar, wasn’t the type to theorise heavily about her work but documented her internal dialogue in a form of soliloquy, in tiny personal diaries and notebooks, which will also be on display.
INFORMATION
'Nasreen Mohamedi' is on view until 5 June. For more information, visit the Met's website
Photography courtesy The Met Breuer
ADDRESS
The Met Breuer
945 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Daniel Scheffler is a storyteller for The New York Times and others. He has a travel podcast with iHeart Media called Everywhere and a Substack newsletter, Withoutmaps, where he shares all his wild ways. He lives in New York with his husband and their pup.
-
Corfu hotel Domes Miramare redefines beachfront bliss
Make like Jackie O at Corfu hotel Domes Miramare, a property with contemporary luxury and echoes of 1960s glamour in spades
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Art Basel Hong Kong 2024: what to see
Art Basel Hong Kong 2024 sees the fair back bigger and better than ever. Navigate the highlights with our guide
By Lauren Ho Published
-
This office interior by Faye Toogood is a communal space that encourages collaboration
The new Hato Studio London offices by Faye Toogood encourage IRL collaboration through a tactile environment
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
‘LA Gun Club’: artist Jane Hilton on who’s shooting who
‘LA Gun Club’, an exhibition by Jane Hilton at New York’s Palo Gallery, explores American gun culture through a study of targets and shooters
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Black cinema
‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) brings lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers to a contemporary audience
By Anne Soward Published
-
BLUM marks 30 years of Japanese contemporary art in America
BLUM will take ‘Thirty Years: Written with a Splash of Blood’ to its New York space in September 2024, continuing its celebration of Japanese contemporary art in America
By Timothy Anscombe-Bell Published
-
Todd Gray’s sculptural photography collages defy dimension, linearity and narrative
In Todd Gray’s New York exhibition, he revisits his 40-year archive, fragmented into elaborated frames that open doors for new readings
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Frieze LA 2024 guide: the art, gossip and buzz
Our Frieze LA 2024 guide includes everything you need to know and see in and around the fair
By Renée Reizman Published
-
New York artist Christopher Astley showcases an alternative natural world
At Martos Gallery in New York, Christopher Astley’s paintings evoke an alternative natural world and the chaos of warfare (until 16 March 2024)
By Tianna Williams Published
-
The Whitney plots Harold Cohen’s artistic AI adventures
‘Harold Cohen: AARON’, at the Whitney Museum of American Art celebrates the artist’s software – the earliest AI program for artmaking – as an artwork in its own right
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Ludovic Nkoth’s vibrant paintings reflect on migration
Cameroon-born, New York-based Ludovic Nkoth uses acrylic paint to strike a balance between abstraction and figuration
By Ugonna-Ora Owoh Published