South Asian Contemporary Art at Art Basel Hong Kong 2025

Written by : Tanisha Gandhi

South Asian contemporary art took center stage at last weekend’s Art Basel Hong Kong, with its diaspora and regional voices pushing the boundaries of how art is exhibited and perceived. From personal explorations of identity and belonging to broader sociopolitical critiques, the works on display revealed the ever-expanding language of contemporary South Asian art.

Rupy C. Tut, Awakened, 2025. Courtesy Jessica Silverman Gallery and the artist.

The tradition of miniature painting—historically an art form created within royal workshops, primarily under the patronage of kings and noble courts—has long adapted to new sociopolitical contexts. At Art Basel Hong Kong, it emerged as a site of both continuity and rupture, transformed into a dynamic tool for contemporary storytelling. Rupy C. Tut, featured in Jessica Silverman Gallery’s group show, reimagined the form through narratives of displacement, identity, and gender. Her work did more than merely reference the miniature style of painting—it innovated within it, reframing a historical technique to explore one’s place in the world. Similarly, Aisha Khalid’s work at Anant Art’s booth bridged Mughal hashiya floral motifs with geometric infinity patterns, contemporizing the miniature method and creating a spiritually immersive space within an ever-evolving artistic language.

Jhaveri Contemporary’s group show brought together artists like Rana Begum and Lubna Chowdhary, whose works transformed architectural forms into rhythmic, almost meditative compositions. Simryn Gill’s pieces, in contrast, questioned our place within history, geography, and language. Matthew Krishanu revisited his childhood in Dhaka, while Harminder Judge conceived his works as portals to broader contemplation, much like the intimate portraiture of Lionel Wendt. Ali Kazim, depicted delicate, solitary figures inspired by miniature techniques, pushing the evolution of the tradition even further. He transformed its aesthetics into deeply introspective explorations of selfhood. His paintings evoked both presence and absence, situating contemporary existence within a continuum of artistic lineage.

Zaam Arif, The Light Falls Away, 2025. Courtesy Vadehra Art Gallery and the artist.

Zaam Arif, represented by Vadehra Art Gallery, similarly explored the strength in solitude through the introspection it enables. His works, often steeped in the imagery of water, blurred the boundaries between character and environment. Further questions of identity and nationhood permeated Vadehra Art Gallery’s artist section as they explored the psychological landscapes of contemporary existence. Bangladeshi artist Ashfika Rahman, winner of the Future Generation Art Prize 2024, used delicate aesthetics to counterbalance the weight of her subject matter, critiquing the role of women in society through the tales of Behula.

Other artists confronted their built environment as both an anchor and a departure point. At Shrine Empire, Sangita Maity’s work laid bare the ecological and social upheavals of industrialization in India’s mineral-rich Chotanagpur Plateau. Using photo transfers and copper plates, Maity traced the devastating expansion of iron ore mining, which has disrupted indigenous communities, severing their symbiotic relationship with forest land and sustainability. At Tarq, Saju Kunhan’s practice delved into familial archives, exploring history as a collection of fragmented memories. By layering maps, grids, and personal recollections, he navigated issues of migration and displacement, situating personal memory within the vast currents of political and cultural change.

Saju Kunhan, 11th May 1980 Wedding Day 3, 2024. Courtesy Tarq and the artist.

The galleries carefully curated artists who positioned traditional and modern techniques to interrogate contemporary power dynamics in their own unique language. Each subject was deeply investigated, positioning art not only as a tool of visual allure but also as a form of resistance and documentation. Across these diverse presentations, a common thread emerged: history was not simply being represented but restructured, interrogated, and reimagined. Artists engaged deeply with their chosen materials, allowing process and research to shape their narratives. Whether through the revival of miniature painting, the documentation of environmental degradation, or the layering of architectural memory, the works on display invited reflection—not just on the past, but on how it continues to shape our present.

The artists signaled a shift—where materiality and research are reclaiming space in global discourse. South Asian contemporary art stood out at Art Basel Hong Kong 2025 for its substance, offering a nuanced yet urgent dialogue between tradition and transformation.