Anwar Khan’s Mumbai exhibition blends mysticism with masterful techniques

Abstractionist Anwar Khan returns with INSTINCT, a solo exhibition at Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, running from March 18 to April 18. Blending mysticism with masterful technique, the show explores creation as an unconscious, almost spiritual act—where the artist becomes a vessel for something older and deeper than the self.

“Art is an act of surrender,” says Khan. “I do not dictate my creations; they emerge from an instinct.” This instinct drives the exhibition, where treated wood, ceramics, dry pastels, and hand-ground pigments come together in textured surfaces, calligraphic marks, and sculptural forms that feel both ancient and entirely new.

Known for his lyrical abstraction and meticulous craftsmanship, the National Award-winning artist (Lalit Kala Akademi, 1995) pushes into fresh territory here—embracing pyrography, installations, and monumental forms. “His silence erupts in unexpected emotions,” says Kalpana Shah, director of the gallery, while Sanjana Shah, creative director calls the work “a cultural find... like a relic unearthed in the future.”
Rooted in mysticism yet pushing the boundaries of the contemporary, the exhibition is an invitation to pause, reflect, and feel—beyond the noise.