A powerful mirror to modern society - Arpita Singh at the Serpentine

In her first solo-institutional show outside of India, Remembering charts Arpita Singh’s six-decade-long career as a prolific post-Partition artist based in New Delhi. When pressed for a response on this great achievement by art historian, Cleo Roberts-Komireddi, she simply states that the“Serpentine is a known gallery, so it is a prestigious thing for me”. This is not to say the artist isn’t pleased by this expansive exhibition on her work, instead it more heavily reflects on the artist’s personality and puts into context her constant struggle to resist any fixed meaning that may be attributed to her work. Singh’s work, she often says, exists in its own space and its meaning belongs to the audience. 

Market deep-dive

Singh’s auction history reveals a steady climb punctuated by breakout moments. Her large-scale oil paintings have fetched significant sums at major houses including Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Notably, works such as Munna Apa’s Garden achieved $506,500, while The Ritual sold for $336,000, placing her among the highest-selling Indian female artists. In 2024 alone, Singh’s works generated ₹23 crore (approximately $2.8 million), underscoring her market strength. 

Image taken during the press view of Remembering, a solo- exhibition of works by Arpita Singh at the Serpentine Gallery (2025)

Singh’s rise parallels a broader reevaluation of South Asian art in the global market. Recent years have seen record-breaking sales, such as Maqbool Fida Husain’s Untitled (Gram Yatra) fetching $13.7 million, and increased representation of South Asian artists in major Western institutions. This momentum is fueled by a combination of growing diaspora patronage, institutional interest, and a desire for more inclusive art historical narratives. 

Her market appeal is multifaceted: collectors value her consistent thematic focus, the rarity of her major works, and her pivotal role in Indian modernism. Unlike trend-driven contemporaries, Singh’s oeuvre offers a cohesive narrative that appeals to both seasoned collectors and institutions seeking depth and cultural resonance.

Exhibition highlights 

Everything on Singh’s canvas appears to be floating in time and space, creating a sense of both cultural/ spatial specificity and universality. The artist however states that gravity simply does not exist on the canvas and each figure or symbol or word comes to her through memory and tells her where it wants to be placed on the canvas. She takes this idea further by stating that this memory does not simply belong to her but to her ancestors, whose memories are also passed down to our bodies. 

Arpita Singh, Devi Pistol Wali (1990), Museum of Art & Photography, Bangalore, Photo: © Rhea Mathur, Serpentine Gallery, 2025.

This complex idea of memory that Singh believes in, ultimately aims to tie the world together. While her reflection on the aftermath of a violent partition between India and Pakistan is evident within the layers of paint on her canvas, she also retains a sense of ambiguity within her symbols, allowing them to represent a different time period. Her aim is to allow someone in the future to reflect on her work and be able to find themselves within the piece. 

This is also evident in My Lily Pond (2009) in which she paints an expansive sea riddled with soldiers moving towards drowning bodies of people. In a corner, she writes ‘Guantanamo Bay’ but the image she creates resonates with a global history of war, stretching into the present. In other paintings such as Devi Pistol Wali (1990), the central figure holds a gun in her hand while she appears to be shooting at a man with sword and a shield in his hands. Hence, her works allow Singh to reflect on a human history of violence and bloodshed. 

Arpita Singh, My Lily Pond (2009). Photo: © Rhea Mathur, Serpentine Gallery (2025).

On the contrary, when visiting the Serpentine’s North Gallery and seeing 165 of the artist's works in one space, it is also evident that there is a joyfulness to them. While Singh’s works come across as a mirror reflecting modern society, they also act as reminders that there is always a tomorrow. Throughout the years, she consistently uses vivid shades of blue, red and yellow incorporating everything from fruits and flowers to a couple sitting and having tea; the world is present on Singh’s canvas, open to exploration.