Akar Prakar presents Still, They Speak, a solo exhibition of works by Nagji Patel. To stand before a sculpture by the famous Indian Modernist sculptor is to encounter a distilled quietude, a stillness, in which the form, balance, and texture are held in perfect tension. In over six decades of his practice, Patel developed a sculptural language that echoed his expertise in the medium of stone, while showcasing a uniquely modernist aesthetic. The exhibition attempts to trace the arc of a career that exemplifies a grounded and disciplined approach to an artistic practice, even with his monumental oeuvre. The works on display also include a look into his archives and drawings. We see not only the finished object but the durational labour that produces it—the dust, the rhythm, the waiting. In an age increasingly dominated by digital mediation and physical alienation, Patel’s practice is a reminder of the potency of slowness, of repetition, of staying with the material.
The show is also on view at Akar Prakar’s gallery space in Defence Colony, New Delhi, from July 11 – August 11, 2025.
Find out more about the show here.