A new gallery juxtaposes contemporary and historical artistic approaches between two port cities
The old Jew Town in Mattancherry will host the Kochi gallery
Pliny the Elder called it ‘the first emporium of the East’ in his Natural History. The Silapatthikaram of Sangam Literature marked it as a port city known for Roman trade. Yet, for gallerist Joe Cyril, Muziris represents an idea that extends far deeper than commerce can. As he opens doors to the Muziris Contemporary in Colaba this week, these ideas will seek to set roots in a new port.
“Even when I moved to Mumbai in 2015, after working with the [Kochi-Muziris] Biennale, I carried the idea with me — from one port city to another,” the Kochi-born Cyril shares. In February 2025, the gallerist returned to his hometown with the ambition of opening an art institution, the Muziris Contemporary. “But when the opportunity opened for a gallery in Colaba, we thought it was the right time,” he reveals.
A view of the new gallery space
At the heart of space
It is no surprise then that the gallery space at the Arsiwala Mansion — earlier home to Gallery XXL — becomes a part of its expression. “Our first show that opened on August 14, Memory Palace, explores this very concept. Ayaz Basrai [curator] binds it so well, taking its roots from the Roman tradition of using art to replicate memories of places, people and cultures like The House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii,” the gallerist points out.
Artwork by Kapil Jangid
Curator Ayaz Basrai explains further, “Art re-examines the nature of relationship between a patron and an artist, an artist and memories, and memories and the place. The showcase features artists examining their own memories of the cities, spaces they interacted with and remember in their own expression.” Basrai adds that the idea began with the Roman concept of the Memory Room, and thus, centres around works that touch upon themes of nostalgia, memory and rooted identity.
Artwork by Kuber Shah
The showcase will feature works by eight artists, including the Vayeda Brothers examining the idea of intergenerational knowledge of Warli art exploring the contemporary cityscape the community is surrounded by; Singapore-based Nandita Mukand turns to modern day industrial material to evoke a conversation with the natural world; or the elusive NN Rimzon exploring meditative forms shaped through his own cultural experiences down South. From Mumbai, Kuber Shah’s photographs document the Art Deco history of Mumbai’s architecture (the works on display include his documentation of Liberty Cinema), while Harsimran Juneja draws on graffiti and public speech through mixed media to question binaries. The list is completed by Tulika Shrivastava, Kapil Jangid and Santhi EN.
Artwork by Santhi EN
“The goal of the gallery was also to break these purist tendencies of what denotes fine art. I wanted to reach out to the ‘allied partners’ of the art world — researchers, academics and designers to add a curatorial layer,” adds Cyril.
Collapsing Evolving by Nandita Mukand. Pics Courtesy/Muziris Contemporary
Setting the scenography
The curation itself is allied with the space of the gallery. “It is something I have carried on from the Biennale. There is a closer relationship between the community, the artworks, the architecture of the spaceand the context of the show,” the gallerist explains.
Ayaz Basrai and Joe Cyril
To this end, the ancient confines of the Mansion were highlighted. From the original wooden beams that held up the buildings, the metal rafters, as well as bringing in teak wooden benches designed by Chacko, a Kerala-based design studio — shaped along the lines of the Kerala church benches; the gallery becomes an immersive space that echoes the ideas of its artworks.
Southern renaissance
The Kochi gallery, placed in the old Jew Town of Mattancherry, is now scheduled for an opening in November — closer to the Biennale, Cyril says. The two-gallery model will help build a syncretic flow of ideas. “There is an aspect of storytelling, cultural legacy, and artists from the South that I hope to juxtapose with the contemporary art in Mumbai,” the gallerist concludes.
TILL September 21; 11 am to 7 pm
AT Muziris Contemporary, 21, Arsiwala Mansion, Wodehouse Road, Colaba.
FREE
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