Chalo! India

This book explores the contemporary art of India in a volume as colorful, vibrant, and diverse as the country itself.

Chalo means ‘Let’s go!’ in Hindi and the enthusiasm of that expression is evident throughout the pages of this catalogue for an exhibition at the Essl Museum in Austria. Encompassing a broad range of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, and installation, the book features more than one hundred works by artists and collectives from all over India. Themes of identity, urbanization, spirituality, and politics reflect the country’s recent transformation into a global power. Accompanying the reproductions are essays that explore the impact of the economic and cultural revolution on India and focus on the modern art of specific geographic regions throughout the country. Looking beyond the popular Bollywood-influenced images of twenty-first-century India, this important volume reveals the complex artistic practices taking place throughout the country.