Remembering is the first institutional solo exhibition of her work in Arpita Singh’s six-decades-long career. Showing at Serpentine North in London, the exhibition features art curated in partnership with 87-year-old Singh, who has been long hailed as one of the most consequential artists to break through in the wake of Indian Independence.
Singh was born in Baranagar in 1937, the artist first attracted attention in the 1960s, evolving a style that bridged Surrealism, figurative work and Indian Court painting narratives. Melding this with bursts of abstraction, Singh utilised pen, ink and pastels to create kinetic lines and dramatic textures.
Remembering investigates the artist’s tireless experimentation with mark-making and colour as a means of expressing emotion in response to political unrest and international humanitarian crises. Alongside such themes as gender, motherhood, feminine sensuality and vulnerability, Singh interrogates violence and political upheaval in India and across the world.
Left: Arpita Singh, Devi Pistol Wali, 1990. Courtesy of Museum of Art & Photography, Bengaluru, India. © Arpita Singh.
Right: Arpita Singh, Buy Two, Get Two Free, 2007. Private Collection. © Arpita Singh.
Her work possesses a singular ability to merge the private with the public. Bettina Korek, CEO of Serpentine Galleries, says, “Through a practice that blends Bengali folk art with modernist explorations of identity, Singh vividly portrays scenes of life and imagination, stories and symbols, uniting the personal and the universal.”
Among her most memorable pieces is 1990’s Devi Pistol Wali, painted in oil on canvas. The artist conjures up an image of the many-armed Hindu goddess Devi wearing a white sari while standing on a prone man. Against an absurdist backdrop of floating cars, turtles and aeroplanes, the goddess holds a pistol, a vase of flowers and a mango. This captivating picture draws on Indian myths to reflect the difficulties encountered by women negotiating public spaces.
The critic Ella Datta sums up how central Singh is to modernist Indian art. “The price of Singh’s paintings has been climbing steadily, but the monetary value of her paintings is not of such critical importance. What is most significant is that Singh has left a mark on the visual imagination of generations.”
Author: James Rampton
Arpita Singh: Remembering
Serpentine NorthKensington Gardens, London W2 3XA20
March-27 July 2025
Free entry.
More information, HERE.
Lead image: Arpita Singh, My Lollipop City: Gemini Rising, 2005. Vadehra Art Gallery © Arpita Singh. Image cropped from original due to formatting restrictions.
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