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.
’The fact that she is a woman is absolutely essential here,’ says Indian art collector and philanthropist Kiran Nadar. ’She didn’t get acknowledged whilst she was alive but now she is receiving it here.’ Pictured left: Untitled, c. 1970. Right: Untitled, c. 1975
This particular show combines more than three decades of Mohamedi’s work, including her few early oil paintings, collages, drawings in ink and graphite, watercolours and photographs. Pictured: Untitled, c. 1969
’Indian art has always had a moment and the West is now recognising it,’ says Nadar. Pictured: Untitled, c. 1970
In Indian modernism, Mohamedi will always represent the powerful and brave figure that broke away from a dominant figurative-narrative mainstream practice. Pictured: Untitled, c. 1972
Mohamedi, according to Nadar, wasn’t the type to theorise heavily about her work but documented her internal dialogue in a form of soliloquy. Pictured: Untitled, c. 1975
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
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.
-
Tuneshine is a new way of bringing back the lost art of the album cover
The compact Tuneshine screen uses LED tech to illuminate the artwork of whatever you’re currently streaming
-
Inside the new theatre at Jacob’s Pillow and its ‘magic box’, part of a pioneering complex designed for dance
Jacob’s Pillow welcomes the reborn Doris Duke Theatre by Mecanoo, a new space that has just opened in the beloved Berkshires cultural hub for the summer season
-
What to see at Rencontres d’Arles 2025, questioning power structures in the state and family
Suppressed memories resurface in sharply considered photography at Rencontres d'Arles 2025. Here are some standout photographers to see
-
‘Her pictures looked like pictures everybody knew were the truth’: Diane Arbus at the Armory
Matthieu Humery curates more than 400 of Arbus’ photographs at New York’s Park Avenue Armory – every picture she was known to have printed
-
Mystic, feminine and erotic: the power of Penny Slinger’s bodies as landscape
Artist Penny Slinger continues her exploration of the sacred, surreal feminine in a Santa Monica exhibition, ‘Meeting at the Horizon’
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
It was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this week
This week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, Divers
Geordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took place
Marc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colour
The Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
Ai Weiwei’s new public installation is coming soon to Four Freedoms State Park
‘Camouflage’ by Ai Weiwei will launch the inaugural Art X Freedom project in September 2025, a new programme to investigate social justice and freedom