The exhibition Remembering at the Serpentine Gallery presents a deeply immersive exploration of New Delhi-based painter Arpita Singh’s six-decade-long career. Curated by Tamsin Hong, Exhibitions Curator at the Serpentine, this first institutional solo showing is both a critical milestone for the artist and a valuable opportunity for global audiences to engage with the evolving trajectory of Indian contemporary art. Singh’s works, spanning a range of media from early watercolours and ink drawings to large-scale oil paintings, underscore a commitment to complex, multilayered narratives that are at once personal, social and political.

The exhibition takes a multifaceted approach to Singh's art. The selection of 165 works not only demonstrates the breadth of her artistic evolution but also brings forth the ways in which Singh has navigated and responded to historical events, personal loss and broader social shifts. For British and global audiences, this exhibition functions as an introduction to Singh’s distinct visual language that marries the local (Indian) with the global modern – folk and miniature traditions of India, modernist languages of abstraction, expressionism and surrealism, cartographic studies of countless world maps and incessant variations of mark-making.

Of the 29 oil paintings displayed along the perimeter of the gallery, Hong highlights specific works by hanging them on walls with multiple vantage points, anchoring the exhibition in Singh’s artistic mediations. She explores public and private spaces from the vantage of a female protagonist who observes unfolding geopolitical events in the last six decades. In the vertical painting Devi Pistol Wali (1990), a reinterpreted Durga, an older multiarmed woman in a white saree who stands atop a man curled in a foetal position. The gun in her raised arms is pointed at a small figure of a man dressed in black and white. This figure, representing a babu, a bureaucrat or a corrupt official, has remained a constant in Singh’s work as a symbol of a collective (as opposed to individual will and free thought). This contrast between the feminine and masculine is one of the recurrent themes throughout Singh’s work—women are often depicted in vulnerable positions juxtaposed with the power dynamics of political or patriarchal systems.

The exhibition's impact is anchored in its ability to communicate a vision of India that is both personal and political. Singh’s art delves into the tumultuous events of modern Indian history, as evidenced in works like My Mother (1993), where the foreground of a watchful, elderly woman contrasts against a chaotic, violent backdrop of military and civilian people, automobiles and barricades. This juxtaposition subtly critiques the tensions of post-independence India, particularly following the Babri Masjid riots in 1992. The visual narrative goes beyond national identity, encouraging audiences to reflect on the global relevance of such stories—how violence, identity and memory are universal concerns.

Singh’s thematic focus on the body, particularly the female body, offers a personal and gendered vantage point. Works such as Untitled (2001) feature figures that are vulnerable, aging and unfetishised. These raw representations speak to the lived experiences of women, inviting empathy and offering a counterpoint to more conventional depictions of femininity. Nilima Sheikh's comments on the “gravitas” of the body in Singh's works capture the artist's approach to portraying women—not as passive subjects, but as active figures shaped by history and their own resilience. This treatment of the female form feels particularly poignant in the context of Singh’s experiences, especially after the loss of her daughter, which is perhaps reflected in the multiple mourning figures that feature in her later works, such as Women (2020).

The overarching vision of Singh's work, as presented in the exhibition and catalogue, is that of a world-building artist—one who has shaped her universe within the picture plane. She creates an environment where symbols, motifs and compositions merge to create both intimate spaces and vast, chaotic landscapes. The exhibition showcases her consistent experimentation with space, texture and form, from geometric abstractions in the early years to the more figurative, surreal elements in her later works. The recurring motifs of aeroplanes, tortoises and the maternal figure tie her works together, creating a visual continuity that also anchors the political and social shifts she explores.

Singh’s paintings encapsulate the personal and political experiences that have shaped her artistic vision. There are paintings of friends and colleagues, a suite of works inspired by star signs, paintings of the quiet life of couples, as well as ink studies done simply as exploratory paintings. Not one to ascribe strong narrative underpinnings to her work, Singh’s art resonates deeply with those who have experienced personal loss, societal change, or the struggles of identity. In keeping with Serpentine's aim to push the boundaries of a Eurocentred world, Singh’s art addresses universal themes through deeply personal, symbolic language.

Arpita Singh’s solo exhibition ‘Remembering’ is on view at the Serpentine North Gallery from March 20 - July 27, 2025.