Hot List: Top Art Exhibitions to Visit in August 2025
Pick a city and art will find you
Between the slow roll of monsoon clouds and the persistent thrum of city life, August in India brings with it a different kind of weather. One made of pigment, texture, sculpture, and light. The country’s art scene, often overshadowed by fashion and film, finds renewed clarity this month.
In galleries, forts, and converted cinemas across Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and beyond, artists are staging a quiet (and not-so-quiet) revolution ,one that speaks in the languages of identity, memory, materiality, and desire.
This isn't art as decoration. But rather that which interrogates, seduces, and even offers new frameworks for who we are and how we live now.
In Delhi, a group of 21 women artists soften the edges of space, time, and form inside a black cube — building feminist, ecological, and political worlds with felt, thread, metal, and sound. In Mumbai, urban longing is carved into concrete and ink as desire is mapped across cityscapes in painterly and sculptural gestures. Meanwhile, a global conversation unfolds in a white-walled gallery off Colaba Causeway, where South African and South Asian identities converge through collectible forms of resistance and refinement.
But it’s not just the metros speaking. In Jaipur, contemporary voices echo through the sandstone corridors of Jaigarh Fort and the Mughal arches of Hawa Mahal. Here, installation meets architecture, history meets material innovation with monumental sculptures and delicate site-specific works transforming Rajasthan’s historic palaces into living, breathing exhibition spaces.
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These are spatial essays, visual provocations, aesthetic weather systems. They call to the collector, the critic, the curious. And more than anything, they ask us to slow down, look closer, and stay longer.
Whether you're tracing diaspora at the Jaipur Centre for Art or diving into visual rupture in Delhi, this month’s exhibitions are a reminder that India's cultural pulse beats strongest where tradition collides with contemporary thought.
Here’s your map to the most essential art shows to experience this August.
Top Art Exhibitions for the Esquire Reader
Objects May Appear Softer…
Where: Black Cube Gallery, Delhi
When: 24 July – 4 September
21 women artists exploring power, intimacy, climate, and identity through mixed media, the art exhibition is a subversive, deeply textural, and politically charged, the show is ideal for Esquire’s reader interested in avant-garde aesthetics and intersectionality.
South African & South Asian Art & Collectibles
Where: 47-A, Mumbai
When: From 9 August
South African and South Asian Art and Collectibles show is a cross-cultural, collectible-focused showcase blending tribal modernism, craft, and fine art. It is sophisticated, global, highly curatable, tailor-made for the collector or tastemaker.
Baarish: A Multi-Sensory Celebration of Monsoon Magic
When: July 26, August 23, 2025
Where: Travancore Palace, Delhi
Step into the historic Travancore Palace for Baarish, a unique three-part exhibition that brings the magic of the monsoon to life. Following the first event on June 21, which featured an insightful art talk by Eric Chopra on Moods of Megh and monsoon in Indian art, the upcoming editions on July 26 and August 23 will continue to immerse visitors in the monsoon through a blend of music, performance, art, and cuisine. A perfect cultural experience to reconnect with the spirit of the season.
No Race, No Colour,Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah
Where: Experimenter, Kolkata
When: 17 July – 20 September
The installations by Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah are the Sri Lankan artist's first solo gallery show on collective memory, violence, and resilience. Pakkiyarajah reflects, “There is no race, color, or creed in flowers. They accompany us on our journeys, serving as a silent witness in funerals, ceremonies, and rituals. They represent and remind us of our departed loved ones. Flowers never cause strife or devastation; instead, they quietly offer beauty and meaning as they bloom.
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Formation & Fracture
Where: Method Delhi
When: Until 3 August
"Formation & Fracture" is a group art exhibition showcasing the work of 13 alumni from the IMMERSE Fellowship at Method Delhi. The exhibition explores the tension between creation and destruction, focusing on how things (bodies, beliefs, landscapes, systems) come into being and how they can be broken or transformed. It's on view at Method Delhi in Defence Colony from July 4 to August 3, 2025.
Non-Residency
Where: Jaipur Centre for Art (City Palace)
When: 9 August – 8 September
Non-Residency at Jaipur Centre for Art (City Palace), running from 9 August to 8 September, explores diasporic identities through contemporary art. Set within a historic palace, this exhibition blends heritage with modern expression, offering a fresh curatorial voice and international relevance making it a timely, visually rich editorial opportunity.
Morphogenesis by Akhil Anand: A Fusion of Math, Mythology, and Nature
When: August 1 – 7, 2025
Where: ArtSpace by KalpaDruma, Chennai
Akhil Anand, son of chess legend Viswanathan Anand, presents his solo exhibition Morphogenesis this August in Chennai. The show merges mathematical precision with mythological narratives and natural elements, offering a visual journey into the patterns that define life and culture. Drawing from his father's legacy and his own artistic curiosity, Akhil’s work beautifully intertwines science and storytelling, making it a must-see for art enthusiasts and those with a keen interest in the intersection of art and intellect.
The Sculpture Park
Where: Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur
When: Till 15 October
Monumental works by Subodh Gupta, T.V. Santhosh, and others in a 17th-century fort that strike fusion of contemporary art and historical architecture by offering a unique cultural experience, blending tradition with modern creativity.