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Surprise is an apt word, especially considering the highly unexpected bunch of artists whose names feature in the show's roster. Zarina Hashmi, Aditya Pande, Manisha Parekh, Krishna Reddy, Jamini Roy, F.N. Souza, and Thukral & Tagra. We're quite certain Souza, the late founder of the Progressive Artists Group is probably turning in his grave at the thought of being placed in a show with Roy, a precursor to Indian modernism whose work was more aligned with the Bengal school, one that the progressives were hell bent on overthrowing.

But weirdly enough, that's what we enjoyed about the show, the irreverent spirit behind its conception and the sense of humor with which it has been executed. There is no pretense of there being any superficial curatorial intent other than to surprise the viewer and to contextualize the work of five different generations of artists by unabashedly hanging them alongside each other with no explanatory jargon to boot. We wouldn't necessarily mind if this became the off-season's trend.

Panoplism is ongoing at Nature Morte, New Delhi, until Saturday, April 27.

Galleries, Panoplism, Peter Nagy, Nature Morte, Aditya Pande, FN Souza, Krishna Reddy, Zarina Hashmi, Jamini Roy, Thukral and Tagra, Manisha Parekh

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