Arpita Singh: Remembering at Serpentine North Gallery review

“Remembering draws from old memories from which these works emerged. Whether I am aware or not, there is something happening at my core. It is how my life flows.”

– Arpita Singh

The Serpentine Galleries first encountered Arpita Singh’s work while researching for Indian Highway, a 2008–2009 exhibition at Serpentine South. This initial introduction eventually led to Singh’s major solo exhibition at the gallery, furthering Serpentine’s legacy of spotlighting groundbreaking artists who have yet to receive widespread global recognition.

Emerging in the 1960s, she developed a distinctive practice that blends Surrealism and figuration with Indian Court painting narratives. Alongside fellow artists such as Nikita Sheikh, Nalini Malani, and Madhvi Parekh, she helped carve out space for women in India’s largely male-dominated art scene.

Arpita Singh, Remembering, Serpentine North ©  Photo: Jo Underhill. Courtesy Arpita Singh and Serpentine.

Born in 1937 in what is now West Bengal, Singh is one of India’s pioneering post-independence artists. Remembering marks her first institutional solo exhibition outside India, featuring key works from her prolific six-decade long career.

The exhibition loosely follows a chronological order, with major oil paintings displayed around the perimeter gallery and smaller-scale works on paper—watercolours, etchings, and ink drawings from the 1970s and ’80s—featured in the interior galleries. Singh’s work weaves together unsettling historical events with observations of everyday life, labyrinthine cityscapes (look for London!), and the inner worlds of women—portraying them alone, in social circles, or navigating streetscapes.

Arpita Singh, My Lollipop City: Gemini Rising, 2005. Vadehra Art Gallery © Arpita Singh.

Her emotional and psychological state seems to emerge on the canvas, interwoven with Bengali folk art, Indian storytelling, and reflections on social upheaval and global conflict. My Mother (1913), depicts her mother walking the streets, protected by her own single-mindedness. Inspired by the violence in India’s heavily militarised Northeast and the 1992 Bombay riots following the destruction of the Babri Mosque, this painting marked a turning point where societal violence and wars being raged at home in India or abroad became an explicit focus in Singh’s work.

The earliest works in the exhibition, Journey (1971) and Figures and Flowers (1972), are strikingly similar yet vastly different to her later work, showing her incredible thirst for experimentation. In the paper works, a certain level of intimacy, clear detail, and crispness draw the viewer in. Some were created to announce and celebrate weddings and birthdays of friends and family members, adding a deeply personal layer to her artistic output.

Arpita Singh, Remembering, Serpentine North ©  Photo: Jo Underhill. Courtesy Arpita Singh and Serpentine.

Moving through the exhibition, there is a natural inclination to engage with the artworks before turning to their titles, encouraging the viewer to focus on the work first and interpret what they are seeing. The layout of the exhibition avoids traditional interpretive texts or explanations of the artist’s influences. Instead, a catalogue provides deeper insights through reflections from long-time friends and fellow artists, offering a range of perspectives on the selected works. Additionally, QR codes are available, leading to the informative Bloomberg Connects app. (Though it may just be me, I find myself slightly averse to QR codes, as their prominence during the pandemic brings back memories we might rather forget.) A useful “Curator’s Introduction to Arpita Singh” can be found on Connects, and I recommend listening to it before beginning the exhibition.

Arpita Singh, Remembering, Serpentine North ©  Photo: Jo Underhill. Courtesy Arpita Singh and Serpentine.

The exhibition’s minimal labelling allows for a more intuitive experience—giving permission, in a way, to simply absorb and enjoy the art. What stood out most to me was Singh’s masterful use of colour, which was an absolute joy to witness.

Click here to discover the art exhibitions to expect at the Serpentine in 2025, including the opening of Giuseppe Penone’s Thoughts on the Roots at the Serpentine South Gallery on 3 April, and the 25th edition of the Summer Pavilion opening in June.

Date:  20 March – 27 July 2025. Location: Serpentine North Gallery, W Carriage Drive, London W2 2AR. Price: Free. Website: serpentinegalleries.org

Review by Natascha Milsom