Art and algorithms: Tao Art Gallery showcases contemporary Indian creations

Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 960 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

Tao Art Gallery recently hosted the exhibition Systems, Silhouettes, Synchronicities, a joint showcase featuring the works of two powerful abstract artists — Isha Pimpalkhare and Anni Kumari. See our coverage of earlier exhibitions at this popular Mumbai art hub here.

The artists’ practices intersect at the confluence of art, science and philosophy. In this photo essay, we feature some of the thought-provoking and outstanding creations from the exhibition, along with curator insights.

“At the root of both practices is an exploration of the complex systems of the world around us: nature, the universe, mathematics, and philosophy,” curator Sanjana Shah tells YourStory.

Anni Kumari was born in 1983 in Jamshedpur. She has a BA in political science from Miranda House, Delhi University, and a BFA (painting) and MFA (painting) from the College of Art, Delhi.

She is a visiting professor in the Department of Visual Arts, Ashoka University, Sonipat. She has also been a grantee at Sahapedia-UNESCO, Artreach India, Lalit Kala Akademi, Ministry of Culture (Government of India), and the University Grants Commission.

Kumari’s artworks ask questions about cosmological systems. “She has explored them through her creation of dense interdependent structures using optical illusions, algorithms and numeric sequences,” Shah explains.

Isha Pimpalkhare was born in 1992 in Pune. She is a textile and mixed-media artist currently based in Munich, Germany. Alongside her studio practice, she works as a Senior Colour and Material Designer at Designworks, the design innovation studio and thinktank of the BMW Group.

She has been formally trained in design. Her artwork is positioned at the intersection of art and design, with a deep focus on the human relationship with the natural world.

Pimpalkhare’s exhibited works feature delicate textiles. “They depict the fragility of both human and natural phenomena occurring around us, and the interdependent relationship humans have with their environment. The concentric patterns, precariously-held linear framework, and fluidity of silhouettes creates a harmonious ecosystem resonance,” Shah describes.

Founded in 2000 by self-taught artist and connoisseur Kalpana Shah, Tao Art Gallery has grown into one of Mumbai’s most respected and influential art spaces over more than 25 years. What began as a passion project has become a landmark institution for both modern and contemporary Indian art.

The gallery is known for embracing creative expression in all its forms — painting, photography, sculpture, video, installation and performance art — without rigid aesthetic boundaries. From established modern masters to emerging voices, the gallery’s programming champions diversity in medium, style and generation, and thus creates a living conversation between historical art legacies and new artistic explorations.

Set in the bustling Worli district, the gallery space has carefully curated lighting, open layouts, and modern aesthetics. They enhance the way art is seen and felt, making each visit immersive rather than passive.

The gallery also hosts workshops and interactive sessions that educate audiences and invite deeper engagement with art. It publishes books on Indian art and artists, helping document and disseminate creative thought.

Many featured artists have been promoted in international exhibitions and collaborations, broadening the reach of Indian contemporary art. The gallery thus acts as a gateway into India’s rich art heritage and a pathway toward its evolving contemporary future.

Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?

(All photographs taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at Tao Art Gallery.)