There’s never been a more exciting time to be an art lover in the city — and country. Indian artists have been having highly successful showings at art fairs abroad, and global interest in desi art saw the highest jump (32 per cent) out of any other country last year. The reverse is also true; Indian collectors have become major players in the international market. At a time when global art sales have taken a nosedive, the total auction sales from India’s biggest platforms have more than doubled between 2020 and 2022, going from $41.2 million to $92 million.

And this time it’s not just Delhi, but Mumbai too that’s at the centre of this new wave, with Art Mumbai’s third edition set to open here on November 13-16. In a stamp of overseas recognition for the Indian art scene, in just two years after its launch, the city’s first international art fair sees increased participation from international galleries, with 18 of them — including major players such as Lisson and Galleria Continua — exhibiting at Mahalaxmi Racecourse. Nine of them are returning to Art Mumbai, while nine will make their debut. Here’s the lowdown on these new galleries.

Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai
In the 40 years since it was establishment in New York City and subsequent gallery opening in Dubai, UAE, Leila Heller Gallery has gained worldwide recognition as a pioneer in promoting creative dialogue and exchange between Western artists and Middle Eastern, Central and Southeast Asian artists. “For Art Mumbai 2025, we will be presenting works by Arash Nazari, Aref Montazeri, Bahman Mohasses, Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, Dale Chihuly, Jehangir Vazifdar, Melis Buyruk, Naeemeh Kazemi, Parinaz Eleish, Ran Hwang, Reza Derakshani, Ryan Koopmans & Alice Wexell, Sultan Bin Fahad, and Wassef Boutros Ghali, showcasing a dialogue between our contemporary artists and our estates,” says Leila Heller, gallery president. “The Indian market is exceptionally strong and the collector base is both knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Indian collectors are highly active internationally, often serving on the boards of major museums worldwide,” she adds.

Thomas Erben Gallery, New York
In 1996, Thomas Erben established this contemporary art gallery in New York, showcasing multidisciplinary and internationally oriented exhibitions. “It is a bit unusual that a gallery does not present ‘paintings’ at an art fair,” says Erben, principal at Thomas Erben Gallery, “We opted to showcase art work which reflects more upon the ephemerality of life and our contemporary rather unstable condition.” The showcase will feature ink drawings by Aditi Singh, sculptures by Savia Mahajan created from decaying organic material, Goutam Ghosh’s palimpsests (layers of text superimposed on older writing/manuscripts), and Yamini Nayar’s sculptural photographs.

Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York
It’s a landmark year for the New York-origin Sundaram Tagore Gallery, which is celebrating 25 years since its inception. Today, it has outposts in London and Singapore as well. “Our gallery is devoted to the idea of cross-culture and globalisation,” says Sundaram Tagore, founder and president, “For our upcoming presentation, we will showcase the works of Sohan Qadri [India], Hiroshi Senju [Japan], Chun Kwang Young [Korea], and Mia Ando [USA], to mention a few. Each of them has lived outside their native culture, and their work reflects how they absorb and synthesise multiple cultural influences.” 
“Many prominent Indian art collectors have begun to explore and acquire exceptional art from beyond,” adds Tagore, “I have always believed that India flourishes when it is open and not insular.”

Gallery Isabelle, Dubai
The Dubai-based contemporary art gallery will present works by two Indian artists based in UAE — Vikram Divecha and Richi Bhatia — as well as leading Emirati artist, Mohammed Kazem. Kazem’s watercolour series, Neighbours, depicts fleeting human figures rendered through minimal, almost evaporating strokes. They capture the rhythm of movement between bodies, the silence of observation, the poetics of everyday togetherness. “We will also be presenting a wall installation by Vikram Divecha, featuring his Road Marking [2025] series developed in Kerala with road workers using industrial marking machinery. We will also showcase Richi Bhatia, whose intimate works combine pigments, burn marks, and fish scales on rice paper and fabric [Fatherland, 2020-21] to reflect on skin traces, home, and belonging,” says Jad Karam, gallery director.

Lisson Gallery, London
Established in 1967, Lisson Gallery is one of the longest-running contemporary art galleries in the world. The gallery is set to showcase works by the controversial Anish Kapoor, Olga de Amaral, Ai Weiwei, Shirazeh Houshiary, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Otobong Nkanga, Jack Pierson, and Masaomi Yasunaga, “all of whom have a direct connection to India or a desire to bring their work to Indian audiences,” says Ellie Harrison-Read, director at Lisson Gallery. “Otobong Nkanga’s work will be shown at the fair ahead of her participation in the 6th edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. The gallery is showing Anish Kapoor’s works in Mumbai for the first time since we worked closely with him on his first-ever exhibition in India, which took place at the Mehboob Film Studios - and the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi - in 2010,” she adds. “There is an incredibly energised gallery scene in Mumbai, and we are looking forward to seeing the exhibitions that are being staged in the city as well as the presentations at the fair,” says the gallery director.

UNIT 7/Prahlad Bubbar Ltd, London
Known for its focus on classical South Asian art, Prahlad Bubbar gallery expanded in 2018 with the launch of Unit 7, to curate cutting-edge exhibitions of contemporary art. This modern wing will present work from four visionary artists: Shubha Taparia, Mohamed Monaiseer, Marta Roberti, and Samuel Dominguez. Dominguez is known for his timebased, sculptural installations, through which he questions our future relationship with nature in an increasingly technologically dominated world. Taparia is fascinated by the constant transformation of the urban landscape and the changes objects and places undergo over time, and uses gold as a universal, cross-cultural symbol of light, regeneration, and cyclical harmony.

Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo
This Colombo gallery will bring eight Sri Lankan artists spanning generations — Anupa Perera, Anushiya Sundaralingam, Arjuna Gunarathne, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, HA Karunaratne, Hema Shironi, Jagath Weerasinghe, and Tilak Samarawickrema. “Early pioneers like Karunaratne and Samarawickrema charted modernist pathways, while Weerasinghe and Thenuwara critically engaged with political ruptures in the country,” says Saskia Fernando, gallery director. 
Pro tip: Don’t miss works by HA Karunaratne, who is widely regarded as the father of abstract art in Sri Lanka. 

Runjeet Singh Gallery, England
This gallery in the English town of Royal Leamington Spa focuses on works by Indian diaspora, and will present four UK-based artists — Arjun Singh Assa, Simran Kaur Panesar, Rati Devi Sivyer, and Suminder Virk — that reinterpret traditional Indian narratives through the lens of memory and cultural fusion. “A standout work by Assa, Poorman’s Pony, is inspired by terrazzo benches and flooring at his childhood Gurdwara in Mombasa,” says Runjeet Singh, managing director, “Virk takes inspiration from the geometry and repetition of Brutalist and Modernist architecture, particularly in her home city, Chandigarh... Her vibrant compositions are marked by meticulously applied oil paint lines, inspired by traditional methods of henna tattooing.”

Runjeet Singh Gallery, England
This gallery in the English town of Royal Leamington Spa focuses on works by Indian diaspora, and will present four UK-based artists — Arjun Singh Assa, Simran Kaur Panesar, Rati Devi Sivyer, and Suminder Virk — that reinterpret traditional Indian narratives through the lens of memory and cultural fusion. “A standout work by Assa, Poorman’s Pony, is inspired by terrazzo benches and flooring at his childhood Gurdwara in Mombasa,” says Runjeet Singh, managing director, “Virk takes inspiration from the geometry and repetition of Brutalist and Modernist architecture, particularly in her home city, Chandigarh... Her vibrant compositions are marked by meticulously applied oil paint lines, inspired by traditional methods of henna tattooing.”

Other highlights
Art by stalwarts such as Tyeb Mehta, Anish Kapoor, Subodh Gupta, and Ai Weiwei 
Speaker Series on art and culture
Red: A pop-up theatre performance on Mark Rothko 
Performance by Dharavi Rocks, a band of talented children and young adults who use recycled materials as percussion instruments
A sculpture walk celebrating women sculptors
Recital by the Symphony Orchestra of India Music Academy 

82
Total no of exhibitors this year

18
Total no of international exhibitors

9
New int’l galleries this year