Naina Dalal: The Silent Fire Within – A Retrospective Drawings, Paintings, and Prints
The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, is honoured to present Naina Dalal: The Silent Fire Within, a landmark retrospective opening on 11 September 2025 at Sir Cowasji Jehangir Hall, Fort, Mumbai. Curated with curatorial advice from Girish Shahane, the exhibition will remain on view until 12 October 2025.
This extensive retrospective celebrates the life and work of Naina Dalal (b. 1935, Vadodara), an artist whose practice has spanned over six decades and whose vision bridges painting and printmaking with rare power and sensitivity.
A Life in Art
Born in Vadodara, Dalal received her early training at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda—one of the foremost centres of modern art in India. Her pursuit of artistic knowledge took her further to London and New York, where she encountered the vibrancy of international modernism while retaining a deep connection to Indian traditions. This duality—rooted in Indian ethos yet open to global dialogue—has remained central to her art.
Themes and Vision
Dalal’s work reveals a profound engagement with social realities, the struggles of women, and the fragile yet powerful relationship between humans and animals. Her canvases and prints speak not only of external realities but of internal fires—emotions, passions, and unspoken truths that run beneath daily life.
One of the most striking aspects of Dalal’s art is her treatment of eyes. In painting after painting, the gaze becomes a conduit of emotion—at times vulnerable, at times defiant, always speaking beyond words. This visual intensity lends her figures a voice that resonates with viewers across generations.
Bridging Painting and Printmaking
While celebrated as a painter, Dalal’s contributions to printmaking remain equally significant. She explored the medium with an inventive spirit, experimenting with etchings, lithographs, and woodcuts, producing works that reflect both delicacy and force. Her prints often mirror the painterly depth of her canvases while offering unique graphic expressions.
The Silent Fire Within
The title of the exhibition, The Silent Fire Within, captures the essence of Dalal’s journey. Her art has never been loud or ornamental, but it carries a burning intensity—a fire that questions, critiques, and embraces. It is this silent power that makes her oeuvre so relevant today, especially in conversations around gender, humanity, and empathy in art.
Legacy and Recognition
Dalal belongs to the pioneering generation of post-independence Indian artists who shaped modern art practices in Baroda and beyond. As a teacher, mentor, and practising artist, she has inspired generations of younger artists to engage with art not just as expression but as inquiry into society and self.
This retrospective brings together over six decades of her work, including drawings, paintings, and prints, offering audiences a rare opportunity to witness the breadth of her vision.
Curatorial Vision
The exhibition is presented with curatorial guidance by Girish Shahane, an eminent critic and curator. Shahane situates Parimoo’s work within the broader field of Indian abstraction, highlighting how his canvases anticipated future explorations of form, space, and visual rhythm in contemporary Indian art.
This exhibition is more than a retrospective; it is an encounter with passion, empathy, and truth in art. For lovers of Indian modernism, Dalal’s practice offers a bridge between tradition and experimentation, individual and collective, silence and fire.
Join us in celebrating the extraordinary journey of Naina Dalal, whose art continues to inspire and ignite conversations in Indian and global art histories.
