The Progressive Art Gallery in Dubai has set up an exhibition entitled – “Intertwined: Revisitation of the Indian Art Narrative,” showcasing the theme of art as protest, especially in the context of contemporary India. The exhibit is open to the public till 31st May and has been curated by Wendy Amanda Coutinho, an independent curator who works in the UAE.

The theme of art as protest strikes one as important in the contemporary political landscape, and thus, the exhibit focuses on the concepts and peculiar art styles that challenge the current views and opinions held by society and politicians at large, and thus highlights their specifics, like in the case of Raza’s meditative abstraction, Souza’s provocative figuration, or Gaitonde’s Zen-infused minimalism.

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“This exhibition is a celebration of artists who didn’t just paint pictures, they carved paths,” says Harshvardhan Singh, Director of Progressive Art Gallery. “Their works, drawn from across decades and ideologies, converge here to speak a common truth—art is, and always has been, a powerful agent of change.”

The exhibit also pays tribute to many controversial artists, such as SH Raza and Tyeb Mehta. “From the pioneering Progressive Artists’ Group—including M.F. Husain, F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza, K.H. Ara, H.A. Gade, and S.K. Bakre—to modern visionaries like Tyeb Mehta, Bhupen Khakhar, Jehangir Sabavala, and V.S. Gaitonde, ‘Intertwined’ highlights how these artists resisted not just colonial hangovers, but also the confinement of ideologies, markets, and expectations,” says the press release.

The exhibition, in addition to showcasing the prominent artists of India, also provides an international audience to homegrown talent. The display of female artists like Anjolie Ela Menon, B. Prabha, Madhvi Parekh, and Arpita Singh deliberately draws the viewer to combat their long – held gender biases and makes them view their skill on an intellectually equal stage.