Apr 11, 20229 min read

10 best art galleries to visit in Mumbai

Updated: May 19, 2023

Best art, artists to visit in Mumbai, buy or get inspiration from other artists all over India.

Art has the power to speak to you through pictures that aren't possible to elaborate in the words. It is an open diary without words that allow you to visit, judge, critique, love & inspire. It brings life to empty walls of your heart and makes it aesthetic.

There is no age to enjoy art. It is enjoyed by everyone.

I am sure you have heard "everything you need is already inside you, everything you seek is within you, and you are exactly where you need to be at this moment. That magic that happens if you allow yourself to believe not just that you are ENOUGH, but that deep inside you is the magic that you seek.

Mumbai is the financial, commercial & entertainment capital of India & Mumbai can not be completed without its beautiful art & history. Mumbai have it's own high and lows even though the people of Mumbai enjoy its complex relationships with the art around it.

It is a beautiful and colorful city and gives so much inspiration to artistic souls like me.

And as part of Mumbai, I have to share some best galleries and museums in the city of Mumbai.

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I take you on my journey to an art exhibition exhibited by: Chithra, Antoney Mukhathala, Bhadran A.J., Mohanan Vasudevan, Mohana Subrahmani, K.P. Muralidharan, Pranavam Sreekumar, Prathapan Rajappan, Shameer Haripad, Kiran Gangaram Kumbhar & Dilip Mali. I met and got motivated by an amazing group of artists over there and learned from their artwork and experience.

You can also visit my art prints & original artwork & shop them bottlebrushart

Jehangir Art Gallery The Jehangir Art Gallery was established in Kala Ghoda, Mumbai in 1952. It was founded with the help of donations given by Sir Cowasji Jehangir, Named after Sir Cowasji's late son Jehangir, Jehangir Art Gallery is more than a prime art exhibition space. Located in South Mumbai, it has been closely associated with the development of contemporary Indian art. Jehangir Art Gallery hosts exhibitions by painters, sculptors, print-makers, craftsmen, ceramicists, photographers, and weavers. The premises of Jehangir Art Gallery were earlier an enormous mansion. At present, the gallery consists of a total of four halls with all the possible facilities to showcase various mediums of visual art, namely Exhibition Gallery, Auditorium Hall, Terrace Art Gallery for photography and visual art, and the Hirji Jehangir Gallery. The esteemed gallery hosts as many as 300 shows per annum. An interesting phenomenon here is that artists who cannot make it to the gallery, display their work right outside the gallery, on the pavement. It is situated beside the famous Prince of Wales Museum, now known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, in the Fort area of Mumbai.
National Gallery of Modern Art A paradise for art lovers, the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai is a famous art museum possessing a magnificent collection of paintings, sculptures, and artifacts since 1996. The multitude of artwork present in this charismatic gallery has drawn millions of visitors and left them awestruck. A blend of art and culture, this gallery houses the artworks of phenomenal sculptors, artists, and painters including the legendary Pablo Picasso who is considered the epitome of art and painting. The oldest artwork is known to be around 160 years old. Ancient artifacts such as statues and mummies from Egypt have also played a crucial role in rousing the curiosity of the visitors. The National Gallery of Modern Art also organizes various art exhibitions which provide an intriguing platform to both the artists and the art lovers as the artists get a remarkable opportunity to showcase their talent while the art lovers can explore and quench their thirst for art. The gallery is located near Regal Cinemas in Colaba, South Mumbai. It showcases some of the oldest artworks, dating back to 1857, and is considered one of the best in India.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya The Prince of Wales Museum is a splendid structure situated in Mumbai and is regarded to be one of the heritage buildings of the city Now known as 'Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalay', The Prince of Wales Museum is a Grade I Heritage Building of the city and is counted amongst one of the most prominent museums in India. The complex exhibits a myriad collection of ancient artifacts, artwork, and sculptors of the country which give a unique insight into our past. The Museum was an outcome of a strong desire expressed by the public of the then Bombay at the beginning of the 20th century. The Museum building was designed and built by the Scottish architect George Wittet in the Indo-Saracenic style. With the commencement of the First World War (1914), the space was used as a war hospital, continuing to be so during the influenza pandemic ) in 1918-1920. During this period, the museum was renamed as the Lady Hardinge War Hospital. It was on the 10th of January, 1922 that the Museum finally opened its doors to the public with a speech by the then Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr. J.T. Brander, who stated the purpose of the Museum – “It should be largely an institution or foundation for promoting research in all branches of science and knowledge and not only a museum of curiosities for the sightseer”. Many things have changed thereafter, the city is now known as Mumbai, and the Museum which was named to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales (later King George V) was renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in 2001. In these 100 years, the Museum has fulfilled its aim to create awareness and sensitivity towards our heritage through its acquisitions, collection research, and a visitor-friendly experience for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment. Particularly, in the last decade, the Museum has transformed into a world-class visitor space. Today, it is one of the most sought-after institutions known for its best museum practice, international collaborations, and trend-setting projects. It welcomes over a million visitors every year, who experience a sense of joy, pride, and understanding of human achievement as they stroll through our galleries and our beautiful heritage gardens. A year back when the pandemic was raging, CSMVS mobilized digital platforms, providing many joyful and enriching experiences to its audiences. We played our role in healing society.
Nehru Centre Art Gallery Nehru Centre was conceived in 1972, not as a mute memorial, but as a living testament and monument of faith in Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of man, his compassion for humanity, his concern for human beings, and his undying passion to lift them to the greatest and highest purpose. The planetarium was only the first phase of an ambitious memorial that truly reflects the awe-inspiring spirit of a man who meant so much to three generations of Indians and which continues to inspire the present generation. The Nehru Centre Art Gallery was set up on November 14, 1992. It is dedicated to the promotion of young talent and provides a platform for them to exhibit their work along with that of eminent artists. The Gallery has featured a wide range of well-known painters and sculptors to students of art colleges. There have been several noteworthy exhibitions of paintings, sculptures, graphics, calligraphy, ceramics, textile paintings, and photography during the year the Art Gallery is situated on the ground floor of the Discovery of India Building with an attractive frontage in full glass that is first in view of all those who enter this complex. The huge public pulled in on a regular basis, from school children to out of town visitors for The Discovery of India, a permanent exhibition, also gravitate toward the Art Gallery as also those who visit the Nehru Centre’s Library which has a large collection of books on History, Geography, Science, Politics, Astronomy, Culture, and Art.
Sakshi Art Gallery Sakshi Gallery is one of the premier galleries in India. Since 1984, we have developed a strong repertoire of Indian and International artists and continue introducing and supporting emerging Indian artists. Sakshi Gallery has showcased landmark exhibitions of Indian art all over the world, representing important Indian artists like Rekha Rodwittiya, Surendran Nair, Jehangir Sabavala, Manjit Bawa, Manjunath Kamath, and others. It has endeavored to develop a strong program, working closely with important Indian and international artists as well as introducing many emerging ones. It has held exhibitions of Indian art all over the world and has introduced to the Indian audience work of illustrious international artists such as El Anatsui, Gregory Crewdson, and Julian Opie. Sakshi Gallery is located in the heart of Mumbai's art district in Colaba.
Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke’s unique position has evolved over the past 30 years. Usha Mirchandani, who had a career in advertising in New York during the 1970s, experienced art up close in some of its most radical and formative moments. Mirchandani returned to Bombay in the mid-eighties, where she established an art consultancy, joined later by her daughter Ranjana. In Berlin from 1997 to 2003, Ranjana Steinruecke ran a gallery introducing art from India in the new German capital, through iconic exhibitions by Atul Dodiya, Jogen Chowdhury, and Bhupen Khakhar among other artists. The gallery curated and presented “The Artist Lives and Works”, at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, which showed for the first time in Berlin the work of Shilpa Gupta, N.S. Harsha and Jitish Kallat among other young contemporaries from India. In 2006, the gallery opened in Mumbai with the intention to discover and nurture new and potent positions in painting that were emerging in India. Today, the gallery represents some of the country’s most sought-after painters including Ratheesh T., Sosa Joseph, Siji Krishnan, Aji V.N., and Abir Karmakar who explore a range of personal and political subjects through highly individualized approaches. The program includes as well some of the foremost practitioners of collage, sculpture, and photography, such as C.K. Rajan, Benitha Percival, and Gauri Gill.
Chatterjee & Lal Chatterjee & Lal was formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team Mortimer Chatterjee and Tara Lal. Today based in Mumbai’s Colaba art district, the gallery is an important node in the city’s maturing art scene. Whilst the gallery has always focused on the work of emerging and mid-career artists, more recently programming has included historical material that adds to the corpus of knowledge on twentieth-century histories of art and design. Gallery artists exhibit globally and the gallery participates in select art fairs. The directors have published authors, regularly sharing their insights on art in national and international publications.
Volte Founded by Tushar Jiwarajka in 2009, Volte Art Projects represents and works on projects with renowned and celebrated international contemporary artists and collectives including Sheba Chhachhi, Francesco Clemente, Wim Delvoye, Ranbir Kaleka, William Kentridge, Nalini Malani, Humans since 1982, James Turrell, and Based Upon. Over the past 12 years, it has achieved distinction as one of the most significant art initiatives in the Indian subcontinent. Today, following a move to the UAE, it envisions becoming a leading gallery in the Middle East and aims to foster and evoke an experiential and creative milieu within the contemporary art scene, by showing works that often blur the boundaries between art, design, science, and technology. The curatorial program will help introduce and realize large-scale and monumental projects by artists celebrated for their pioneering spirit of innovation, pushing boundaries, and harnessing the latest technologies. Volte Art Projects’ 8000 square foot gallery space is located in Dubai’s main cultural district, Alserkal Avenue.
Chemould Prescott Road Gallery Established by Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy in Mumbai in 1963, Chemould is one of the first exhibition spaces in India focusing on modern and contemporary art, that presents works by the country’s most prominent artists across interdisciplinary and experimental mediums. Through its online viewing rooms, artist projects, and significant presence in global art fairs and programs, Chemould is also at the forefront of international art platforms. In 2007, the gallery moved to a large loft-like space in a historic building on Prescott Road. Under the current directorship of Shireen Gandhy, Chemould has placed works in various private and public collections of leading international museums including the Guggenheim Foundation, the Tate Modern, the Kunsthaus Zürich, the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, The Cincinnati Art Museum, M+ and The Art Institute of Chicago. Now in its fifth decade, Chemould plays a vital role in India’s contemporary art landscape: the gallery holds a robust program and supports and showcases the careers of some of the most influential contemporary artists and estates from across the country.
Tasveer Even though the city lost its sole photography-focused gallery (Matthieu Foss) earlier this year, shutterbugs need not despair. Tasveer, a national photography collective, which has been bringing in international names like Norman Parkinson and Martine Franck and spotlighting the country's emerging and established talent (from the godfather of Indian photojournalism Raghu Raito Vogue fashion photographer Prabuddha Dasgupta) since 2006, hosts its show in Mumbai at the Institute of Contemporary Indian Art in Kala Ghoda. Though the exhibitions barely last for 10 days and tend to favor black-and-white photography, they occasionally throw open access to historic archives from the maharajahs to Magnum.