This intimate art exhibition celebrates accessibility and community at the Forum Art Gallery

At the Forum Art Gallery, a well-intentioned proposal emerges: a one-of-a-kind 1×1 – Edition II brings together 23 artists from the Progressive Painters Association (PPA) in a small-format exhibition that eschews spectacle in favor of intention.

Rooted in the legacy of the Madras Art Movement and the Cholamandal artists’ village, the show revisits an idea first posed in the 1970s: when art is pared down, it can move into homes, hands and everyday life. Paintings, sculptures, metal carvings and drawings appear here in an intimate size, without diminishing the seriousness of the practice behind them. The first edition of the 1×1 type was held in 2018.

Dedicated to the memory of the late artist M Senapatipathy, a founding member of Cholamandal and a long-serving pillar of the PPA, this edition of the exhibition is a monument in art. It reflects a collective belief that art should remain accessible, sustained by community, and shaped by shared responsibility rather than market excess. “My father always believed that art should meet people where they are,” says Saravanan Senapathipati, current president of the PPA. “It felt natural to dedicate this exhibition to him, as the idea behind it comes from that belief,” he says.

M Senapatipati Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“Working in smaller formats changes the way you experience the work,” says Shalini Biswajit, founder of Forum Art Gallery and curator of the exhibition. “It becomes more intimate. You spend more time with it instead of being overwhelmed by the scale.” She notes that this change also opens up the possibility of collecting, especially for senior artists whose major works often remain out of reach. By bringing together established figures and young practitioners in a single dimension, the exhibition levels the playing field, giving practice and intention priority over size.

Established artists such as Akkitham Narayanan, C Douglas, P Gopinath, SG Vasudev, V Vishwanathan, Anila Jacob and Maria Antony Raj adapt long-established visual languages ​​on a smaller scale, working in painting, sculpture, metal relief and mixed media. She is joined by artists of later generations, including Hemalatha Senapathy, Saravanan Senapathy, Brinda S, Priya Gopal, Jacob Jebaraj and Suchitra Gopinath, whose works reflect personal, material and conceptual explorations shaped by the same collective environment. Viewed together, the exhibition offers a concise but layered view of practices linked by shared histories, yet marked by distinct artistic trajectories.

Saravanan Senapathi Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

M Senapathipathy’s works form the basis of the emotional center of the exhibition, where mythological figures appear not as distant deities but as human presences. Shalini says, “Even when he worked with the gods, he never considered them gods. He always looked at the human element first.” This sensibility is embodied in the works of his daughters, particularly Hemlata Senapati, whose small copper and brass sculptures echo her father’s early practice, while clearly diverging from it. Elsewhere, Akkitham Narayanan has stripped his meditative geometry down to its essential elements to create works that reward peace. In contrast, C. Douglas’s work achieves a sense of closeness at this scale, asking the viewer to slow down and be with them.

Taken together, the 1×1 type – version II resists the urge to perform. Instead, it demands attentive, patient, and personal attention. At the Forum Art Gallery, the exhibition reaffirms the Progressive Painters Association’s long-standing position: that scale need not dictate seriousness, and that the value of art is not defined by spectacle or scarcity.

1×1 of the Type – Version II is on display at the Forum Art Gallery until 22 January.