Gallery Dotwalk Showcases the Artistic Journey of A. A. Raiba

New Delhi; The capital city will witness an exceptional exhibition, A. A. Raiba: The Inner Contour, on the artistic practice of one of the early modern Indian artists, Abdul Aziz Raiba (1922–2016) organised by the NCR-based art gallery, Gallery Dotwalk. The exhibition preview will be held on 1st November 2025, 6 PM onwards at Travancore Palace, New Delhi, and will remain open for public viewing from 2nd to 10th November 2025, between 11 AM and 6 PM. Renowned Art Historian and Curator R. Siva Kumar will serve as the Curatorial Advisor. This large-scale exhibition brings together Raiba’s early paintings, a wide range of drawings, experimental works, artist books, and archival photographs, tracing his evolution from his early academic training at the prestigious Sir J. J. School of Art to his independent explorations inspired by his transformative travels through Kashmir and beyond.

Speaking about the exhibition, Sreejith CN, Founder of Gallery Dotwalk, said, “We are honoured to present one of India’s most distinctive voices in modern art. This showcase traces the evolution of Raiba’s visual language, showcasing the visual shifts and continuities that defined his career. Through this exhibition, Gallery Dotwalk presents its recent acquisition of Raiba’s body of work that is a visual treat for art connoisseurs. This exhibition is not merely a showcase of works; it is an introspective journey into Raiba’s inner world, his discipline, his resilience, and his remarkable ability to transform material limitations into artistic strength. We believe his story will resonate deeply with both seasoned collectors and new audiences, reaffirming Raiba’s place in the narrative of Indian modernism”.

The exhibition frames A.A. Raiba’s contribution to Indian Modernism through a focused analysis of his definitive use of the line. The curatorial vision of the exhibition highlights contour as an important formal theme of the exhibition. The contour is defined as a mere boundary in conventional artistic practice, but the exhibition showcases Raiba’s use of sharp and lyrical lines in contours, operating as a potent philosophical and formal threshold, capable of grounding subjective experience in visual form. This contour is a deliberate, frequently dark outline that simultaneously separates the figure from the field and links it inexorably to the surrounding cultural landscape of the subcontinent.

Raiba’s oeuvre is notably characterised by bold shapes and strong outlines- a distinct stylistic departure, marking his entry into the modern context, despite his initial training in the historically delicate tradition of Indian miniature painting. His conscious deviation from the Miniature technique through the use of bold shapes and outlines defined his artistic individuality. This curatorial vision proposes to elevate Raiba from an ancillary figure to a central protagonist whose unique sensibility emerged through a rigorous, self-directed exploration of form, material, and cultural vocabulary.