Nasreen Mohamedi: the new Met Breuer brings modernist India to New York

The opening of The Met Breuer, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s modern and contemporary program, has also brought a retrospective of Indian modernist Nasreen Mohamedi to New York. Open now, the exhibition – organised by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, with the collaboration of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi – is paying homage to an artist often discussed as underappreciated.
'The fact that she is a woman is absolutely essential here. She didn’t get acknowledged whilst she was alive but now she is receiving it here,' says Indian art collector and philanthropist Kiran Nadar who is also the founder of the eponymous Delhi art museum. 'There has been an Agnes Martin comparison yes, but this now allows people see the work the way its meant to be seen and it will open new windows for people to experience art. But, you see, Indian art has always had a moment and the West is now recognising it,' she continues.
In the history of the art world’s Indian modernism, Mohamedi will always represent the powerful and brave figure that broke away from a dominant figurative-narrative mainstream practice. She, in her own right, pioneered the way the world looks positively at modernism and abstraction coming out of the Indian continent.
This particular show combines more than three decades of her work, comprising her few early oil paintings, collages, drawings in ink and graphite, watercolours and photographs. Mohamedi, according to Nadar, wasn’t the type to theorise heavily about her work but documented her internal dialogue in a form of soliloquy, in tiny personal diaries and notebooks, which will also be on display.
’The fact that she is a woman is absolutely essential here,’ says Indian art collector and philanthropist Kiran Nadar. ’She didn’t get acknowledged whilst she was alive but now she is receiving it here.’ Pictured left: Untitled, c. 1970. Right: Untitled, c. 1975
This particular show combines more than three decades of Mohamedi’s work, including her few early oil paintings, collages, drawings in ink and graphite, watercolours and photographs. Pictured: Untitled, c. 1969
’Indian art has always had a moment and the West is now recognising it,’ says Nadar. Pictured: Untitled, c. 1970
In Indian modernism, Mohamedi will always represent the powerful and brave figure that broke away from a dominant figurative-narrative mainstream practice. Pictured: Untitled, c. 1972
Mohamedi, according to Nadar, wasn’t the type to theorise heavily about her work but documented her internal dialogue in a form of soliloquy. Pictured: Untitled, c. 1975
INFORMATION
'Nasreen Mohamedi' is on view until 5 June. For more information, visit the Met's website
Photography courtesy The Met Breuer
ADDRESS
The Met Breuer
945 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daniel Scheffler is a storyteller for The New York Times and others. He has a travel podcast with iHeart Media called Everywhere and a Substack newsletter, Withoutmaps, where he shares all his wild ways. He lives in New York with his husband and their pup.
-
Unlike the gloriously grotesque imagery in his films, Yorgos Lanthimos’ photographs are quietly beautiful
An exhibition at Webber Gallery in Los Angeles presents Yorgos Lanthimos’ photography
By Katie Tobin Published
-
Remembering architect David M Childs (1941-2025) and his New York skyline legacy
David M Childs, a former chairman of architectural powerhouse SOM, has passed away. We celebrate his professional achievements
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
At the Institute of Indology, a humble new addition makes all the difference
Continuing the late Balkrishna V Doshi’s legacy, Sangath studio design a new take on the toilet in Gujarat
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella Valley
Will Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
By Will Jennings Last updated
-
This rainbow-coloured flower show was inspired by Luis Barragán's architecture
Modernism shows off its flowery side at the New York Botanical Garden's annual orchid show.
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘Psychedelic art palace’ Meow Wolf is coming to New York
The ultimate immersive exhibition, which combines art and theatre in its surreal shows, is opening a seventh outpost in The Seaport neighbourhood
By Anna Solomon Published
-
Wim Wenders’ photographs of moody Americana capture the themes in the director’s iconic films
'Driving without a destination is my greatest passion,' says Wenders. whose new exhibition has opened in New York’s Howard Greenberg Gallery
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
20 years on, ‘The Gates’ makes a digital return to Central Park
The 2005 installation ‘The Gates’ by Christo and Jeanne-Claude marks its 20th anniversary with a digital comeback, relived through the lens of your phone
By Tianna Williams Published
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any other
Gia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
By Billie Walker Published
-
‘American Photography’: centuries-spanning show reveals timely truths
At the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Europe’s first major survey of American photography reveals the contradictions and complexities that have long defined this world superpower
By Daisy Woodward Published
-
Miami’s new Museum of Sex is a beacon of open discourse
The Miami outpost of the cult New York destination opened last year, and continues its legacy of presenting and celebrating human sexuality
By Anna Solomon Published