India Art Fair 2026: The exhibitions worth your time

Every February, India Art Fair becomes the cultural compass of the subcontinent, and in 2026, it’s returning bigger than ever. Over the years, India Art Fair (IAF) has emerged to be the country’s most significant platform for modern and contemporary art, bringing together leading Indian galleries, international exhibitors, artists, collectors, curators, and first-time fairgoers under one vast roof. Whether you come to buy, browse, or simply be inspired, IAF has a way of pulling you into its artsy world.

Taking place from February 5 to February 8 at NSIC Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi, IAF 2026 promises a curated mix of gallery presentations, interactive booths, large-scale installations, talks, performances, and outdoor projects. Expect everything from design, photography, and cross-disciplinary works that blur the line between art and life. IAF 2026 is less about ticking boxes and more about slowing down and looking closely.

Here is a curated list of exhibitions and presentations at India Art Fair 2026 that deserve your time.

RECYCLE OF LIFE

Paresh Maity is one of India’s most celebrated contemporary artists, known for his mastery across painting, sculpture and installation art. He has held nearly 90 solo exhibitions, and his works are part of major public and private collections, including the British Museum in London and the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi. Maity’s practice is deeply rooted in the dialogue between nature, light and human experience, a lifelong fascination that has shaped his vibrant oeuvre. At IAF, Art Alive Gallery presents its Recycle of Life installation, a monumental outdoor work stretching 200 feet that uses repurposed wooden logs and recycled metal pipes to explore themes of continuity, decay and renewal. The piece evokes a visual and symbolic conversation between natural decay and human creativity, reflecting Maity’s commitment to sustainability and the cyclical nature of life itself.

TAAMR

Copper anchors this collection as both material and idea. Taamr is conceived as a pivot. As the Copper Age reshaped how humans built and progressed, Taamr marks a moment of shift for Ashiesh Shah, where art becomes bracketless. What you witness is familiar yet restless. The idea of “new” is not novelty, but recognition: seeing something known with fresh clarity. In every object, copper responds to touch, air, time and transfiguration, carrying traces of movement, use, and change. The surfaces across Taamr reflect this intent. Taamr stands as an ode to transformation, rooted in history, shaped by the present, and deliberately open to what follows.

KYNKYNY Art Gallery

KYNKYNY Art Gallery is set to present a curated showcase of three distinct contemporary practices by Sandilya Theuerkauf (sculpture and relief works using found plant-based material), Meenal Singh (large-format oil-on-canvas paintings driven by fluid pigment processes), and Janarthanan Rudhramoorthy (iron and steel sculptures exploring the body and spatial presence) at IAF 2026. Sandilya Theuerkauf will present sculptural and relief works shaped through an intimate dialogue with the natural world. Rooted in ecology and forest conservation, he collects fallen plant-based materials during his daily explorations, crafting each work from a single plant species as a meditative study.

Meenal Singh will present expansive oil-on-canvas works shaped by the fluid behaviour of liquid pigment. Working without brushes or direct contact with the canvas, she employs experimental, process-driven techniques to create immersive, abstracted landscapes where colour, movement, and materiality guide a contemplative viewing experience.

Janarthanan Rudhramoorthy will present iron and steel sculptures that explore the relationship between the human body and inner consciousness. Inspired by the layered structures of bird nests, his works transform dense materials into forms that engage with themes of presence and absence, impermanence, and transformation.

The Back Studio

Presented as part of curator Wribhu Borphukon’s light-focused programme ‘(Mal)functions of Light’ for the Young Collectors’ Programme, The Back Studio brings a precise, technologically driven approach to perception. Their works break light down into functional systems, flowing through structures, reflecting off surfaces and bodies, and subtly altering how space is experienced.

Mehak Garg

Mehak Garg’s paintings turn quiet domestic interiors into luminous, almost meditative spaces. Working in small formats, she continues her exploration of light—not as decoration, but as something that shapes mood, memory, and emotion. Soft glows, half-lit rooms, and subtle thresholds create scenes that feel familiar yet slightly unanchored, as if caught between waking life and introspection. Catch her works as part of Gallery Dotwalk’s presentation at Booth K06 at IAF.

All images: The artists

Also read: An insider’s guide to India Art Fair 2026

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