There are exhibitions that celebrate an artist’s legacy.
Then there are exhibitions that quietly remind us why true artists never stop evolving.
After a twelve-year hiatus from presenting a new body of work, veteran artist Deepak Shinde has returned with The Bombay Flora Chronicle, an exhibition that feels less like a retrospective and more like the beginning of an entirely new conversation. Currently on view at Gallery Art & Soul, Mumbai, and curated by Sumesh Sharma, the exhibition has drawn an intergenerational audience of artists, collectors, patrons and cultural enthusiasts, all united by a shared sense of admiration and curiosity.
At 79 years old, with a career spanning more than six decades, Shinde demonstrates that artistic relevance is not measured by age but by an enduring willingness to experiment.
A Return That Feels Like a Reinvention
For many attending the opening on 13 August 2026, the exhibition was both a reunion with a familiar artistic voice and an introduction to an entirely transformed visual language.
Rather than revisiting established motifs, Shinde embraces a rigorous mixed-media practice, reshaping both material and technique to express ideas that have evolved over decades.
The result is a body of work that feels remarkably contemporary—layered, tactile and emotionally resonant.
It is the work of an artist still asking questions rather than offering conclusions.
Where Material Becomes Meaning
One of the defining features of The Bombay Flora Chronicle is its extraordinary material richness.
Built through multiple layers of texture, colour and surface, each artwork changes subtly with shifting light, revealing forms that emerge gradually rather than immediately.
Animals, mythological figures and human presences appear almost like memories surfacing through time.
Here, texture becomes memory.
Colour creates atmosphere.
Material itself becomes a language through which Shinde reflects on coexistence, ecology and the fragile relationship between humanity and the natural world.
An Exhibition That Spans Generations
The opening evening reflected the remarkable breadth of Shinde’s influence.
Among those who attended were leading contemporary artists Atul Dodiya, Jitish Kallat, Reena Kallat and Arzan Khambatta, all of whom praised the artist’s renewed experimentation and technical mastery.
Renowned patron Pheroza Godrej also responded warmly to the exhibition, recognising both the depth of Shinde’s longstanding practice and the vitality of this latest body of work.
Equally significant was the presence of younger artists and first-time viewers, many of whom encountered Shinde’s work through this exhibition.
Rather than presenting longevity as permanence, the exhibition positions it as a continuous process of observation, reinvention and creative risk.
Ecology, Myth and Memory Intertwine
Across the exhibition, individual narratives unfold while contributing to a broader meditation on coexistence.
A rhinoceros moves through the floodwaters of the Brahmaputra.
Flamingos migrate across continents before arriving in Mumbai’s wetlands.
Noah’s Ark becomes a metaphor for collective survival.
Visitors from distant worlds encounter birds before they encounter humanity.
Sacred waters become places of faith, transformation and reflection.
Though diverse in subject, these works ultimately return to a question that has defined much of Shinde’s artistic journey:
How should humanity exist alongside every other living being that shares this planet?
An Artist Still Searching
Reflecting on the exhibition, Deepak Shinde describes his latest works as an attempt to explore the overlooked spaces between memory, mythology, nature and imagination.
Rather than treating the medium as static, he embraces movement and uncertainty, allowing the material itself to mirror the evolving narratives within each composition.
That openness to experimentation perhaps explains why The Bombay Flora Chronicle feels less like the culmination of a distinguished career and more like the beginning of another chapter.
The Mauve Perspective
The greatest artists never become prisoners of their own legacy.
They continue to question, adapt and discover.
With The Bombay Flora Chronicle, Deepak Shinde offers more than an exhibition; he presents a masterclass in artistic evolution. In an age increasingly obsessed with speed and novelty, his work reminds us that true innovation often emerges from decades of quiet observation, discipline and curiosity.
After six decades of practice, Shinde proves that the most compelling creative journeys are those that never truly arrive.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition: The Bombay Flora Chronicle
Artist: Deepak Shinde
Curator: Sumesh Sharma
Venue: Gallery Art & Soul, Mumbai
Dates: 13 August – 3 September 2026
Timings: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM (Closed Sundays)
