{"id":14415,"date":"2025-08-19T14:08:03","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/19\/from-l-a-to-jaipur-palace-rajiv-menon-centers-south-asian-artists\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T14:08:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:08:07","slug":"from-l-a-to-jaipur-palace-rajiv-menon-centers-south-asian-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/19\/from-l-a-to-jaipur-palace-rajiv-menon-centers-south-asian-artists\/","title":{"rendered":"From L.A. to Jaipur Palace, Rajiv Menon Centers South Asian Artists"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cNon-Residency,\u201d a group exhibition at the Jaipur Center for Art (JCA), was organized by Rajiv Menon Contemporary. Courtesy Jaipur Centre for Art and Rajiv Menon Contemporary<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As art market contraction became undeniable, few young galleries had the nerve to open and even fewer managed to find early success. One notable exception is Rajiv Menon<\/a> Contemporary, a new L.A.-based gallery dedicated to bringing contemporary South Asian and diasporic art to the United States. Since opening in 2023, Menon has quickly carved out a place within the L.A. art ecosystem and beyond, presenting work by some of the most compelling South Asian artists of the last generation, including Surendran Nair<\/a>, Bhasha Chakrabarti<\/a>, Anoushka Mirchandani<\/a>, Vikrant Bhise<\/a>, Tarini Sethi<\/a> and Viraj Khanna<\/a>, while also serving as a conduit for introducing young South Asian and Indian artists to U.S. audiences and vice versa.<\/p>\n

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With ambitious programming, a clear curatorial vision and dealer Rajiv Menon\u2019s relentless drive, the gallery has already attracted institutional attention, securing at least six museum acquisitions in its first year, including placements at the Portland Museum of Art, Bunker Art Space, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami. Several more placements are in the advanced stages of negotiation.<\/p>\n

Menon is now making his professional debut in his homeland, India, with \u201cNon-Residency,\u201d a group exhibition opening August 9 at the Jaipur Center for Art (JCA)\u2014a striking venue rooted in tradition yet oriented toward the contemporary, set against the regal backdrop of The City Palace. Observer caught up with the dealer just days before the opening of the show, which marks the first time a gallery has independently taken over the entire palace grounds for a single, self-curated exhibition. Featuring works by sixteen artists across painting, sculpture and textiles, the exhibition also represents the first expansive, curated platform dedicated to a generation of contemporary Indian diasporic artists working abroad\u2014artists whose practices engage aesthetics deeply tied to identity and tradition while navigating the cultural crosscurrents of migration and globalization. Reflecting the diaspora\u2019s role as a bridge between India and the West at a moment when Indian art is rapidly rising on the global stage, the show becomes a powerful collective act of homecoming.<\/p>\n

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Rajiv Menon. Photo by Tori Mumtaz<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI felt that there was so much good art coming out of South Asia and the South Asian diaspora, but there were dedicated spaces where these works were being contextualized in conversation with each other, particularly on the West Coast,\u201d Menon tells Observer. \u201cThere was a movement forming; I could feel it. It felt necessary to create a space that recognized this momentum and facilitated understanding it as something larger than any individual practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before opening his gallery, Menon\u2014the first-generation son of Indian immigrants\u2014was already an avid collector of South Asian art, closely tracking the rise of South Asian talent in the U.S. After earning his PhD from New York University, where he studied global media and visual culture with a focus on South Asian art, he recognized that a kind of collective school was beginning to emerge in North America. \u201cThe goal was to try to capture something bigger\u2014something I sensed was in the air. It felt urgent,\u201d he continues. \u201cI was very aware that many of the themes South Asian artists are working with\u2014migration, political precarity, urban alienation\u2014are deeply relevant in South Asia and globally resonant.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Menon, who was born in Texas and traveled often to India, it was always clear that these weren\u2019t marginal narratives\u2014they belonged at the center of global cultural conversation, and at the same time, they were defining key perspectives within India\u2019s rapidly shifting cultural identity.<\/p>\n

From the outset, Menon also knew he needed to focus on young artists. \u201cIt\u2019s still incredibly rare for a young Indian artist to exhibit in the U.S.; most have to wait until they\u2019re mid-career, and that struck me as a real problem that needed to be addressed,\u201d he reflects. Since India opened its economy in the early \u201990s, the country and its society changed almost overnight, he explains. A generation has since come of age in a radically different cultural landscape deeply linked to and embedded within global society.<\/p>\n

Complications around export in India, as in other countries in the region, make showing these artists in the U.S. particularly challenging. \u201cYou have to be deeply committed to building a program that has to navigate those logistics\u2014making sure artists are able to get their work here, that it arrives safely, but also that it\u2019s shown in the right context,\u201d Menon explains. For him, that context is everything, and addressing it requires not only deep engagement but also a strong grounding in art history and visual culture in the region. It\u2019s something Menon brings to the table, both as someone of Indian heritage and as a scholar, where he focused on global and South Asian visual culture. \u201cI genuinely believe that kind of academic grounding is essential to doing this work justice and properly valorizing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Suchitra Mattai, set free<\/em>, 2024. Courtesy of Courtesy Jaipur Centre for Art and Rajiv Menon Contemporary<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the same time, while India has a solid and long-established gallery system, few galleries look beyond the local scene, rarely presenting Indian artists who live abroad or engaging deeply in international fairs. Some have become more visible at art fairs in the past two to three years, but because the domestic market remains strong and self-sufficient, there hasn\u2019t been the same pressure to expand globally. That also means there is still considerable untapped potential.<\/p>\n

Menon was ready to take on that challenge. \u201cI saw an opportunity to help bridge that energy into the U.S. There just weren\u2019t enough efforts being made to create those connections,\u201d he says. So he stepped up, positioning himself as a link between the two markets.<\/p>\n

In only a few months, Menon\u2019s program became a destination for celebrating South Asian art and culture. Among the gallery\u2019s notable supporters and regular visitors are actor Mindy Kaling<\/a>, poet and activist Rupi Kaur<\/a>, author and podcaster Jay Shetty<\/a> and actor Poorna Jagannathan<\/a>. This early success and the enthusiastic response, particularly from Los Angeles\u2019s South Asian diaspora, led to the opening of a permanent space in Hollywood, which launched during Frieze Los Angeles 2025.<\/p>\n

From the outset, Menon placed community activation and engagement at the heart of his vision. \u201cThe gallery\u2019s goal wasn\u2019t just to bring South Asian art into the L.A. landscape but also to bring South Asian people into the contemporary art landscape.\u201d Many people he spoke with had never felt welcome in an art space. \u201cSome didn\u2019t even feel they had permission to fully engage, even when the work on view is by South Asian artists, it can still feel alienating,\u201d he explains. Menon was determined to create a gallery rooted in a natural sense of hospitality where people feel genuinely welcome and comfortable asking questions. \u201cI try to be very present, offering walkthroughs even to those who may not be looking to collect right now because for me, culture is the beacon,\u201d emphasizes Menon.<\/p>\n

His aim is for the art he shows to contribute to a broader cultural conversation. \u201cI want visitors to leave with a deeper appreciation, knowing they might return, knowing this is a space for them,\u201d he adds. \u201cI love the idea that someone who\u2019s never felt at home in a gallery might make their first acquisition here, then go on to build a collection across L.A., across the U.S. and beyond.\u201d Menon hopes to foster a culture of connoisseurship within the diaspora while also creating space for a wider audience to engage meaningfully with South Asian art.<\/p>\n

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The JCA show explores contemporary Indian diaspora aesthetics and the cultural divides shaped by migration. Photo by Tori Mumtaz<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yet as someone deeply embedded in his community, Menon knew that when people feel invited into spaces, they show up to participate and support. For him, the recent mayoral election in New York offered a telling example: South Asian voters played a major role in the Democratic primary. \u201cThey hadn\u2019t been meaningfully engaged before, but once they were, they substantially moved the needle.\u201d Now, Menon sees the same dynamic taking shape in the art world.<\/p>\n

His community-centered approach and consistent focus on South Asian art have already delivered early results. Most of the museum acquisitions he secured this year came through South Asian diaspora collectors, many of whom were younger and had never donated to a museum or taken part in institutional philanthropy before but suddenly felt engaged and compelled to contribute to the broader representation of their communities within U.S. cultural institutions. \u201cThe moment people realize that making a museum donation can help anchor our cultural presence, there\u2019s a real desire to be part of that,\u201d he reflects. \u201cSouth Asians in America want to participate in shaping the culture\u2014they want to be part of that project of representation and influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Securing institutional recognition was critical for Menon, and the curatorial response confirmed the strength of his focused, intentional program. \u201cGetting these works into accessible public collections demonstrates that there was a gap that had not been addressed yet,\u201d Menon reflects. \u201cI\u2019m also deeply proud that many of these acquisitions have been made possible through donations from the South Asian community.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Menon, this feels like the beginning of something with the potential to become a true cultural force. \u201cThe South Asian community is a major presence in the U.S. but remains underrepresented in institutional spaces. That\u2019s what we\u2019re working to change,\u201d he says. His hope is that the momentum continues to build.<\/p>\n

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Viraj Khanna\u2019s \u201cWhy did I say Yes?\u201d at Rajiv Menon Contemporary in Los Angeles. \u00a9Ruben Diaz 2025<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a young gallerist, Menon is also deeply committed to engaging and educating the next generation of collectors. \u201cAs we\u2019re working with emerging artists, we also want to be mindful of young collectors,\u201d he says, noting the rise of a new generation of Indian collectors\u2014ones who don\u2019t want to collect the way their parents did. \u201cThey\u2019re rethinking what art collecting looks like generationally. Given the major cultural rupture India experienced in the \u201990s, their sensibilities are different,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe kinds of cultural commentary they\u2019re drawn to are different. And that\u2019s created a really exciting opportunity to build something new.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the gallery\u2019s opening, Menon has seen remarkable enthusiasm from young collectors. \u201cThey\u2019re excited to see India represented on a global stage in a fresh, forward-looking way.\u201d Watching young people begin to engage with museums philanthropically and recognize this as a long-term journey they can build on is deeply meaningful, both for the country\u2019s cultural production and its diaspora. \u201cIt\u2019s the beginning of something much larger.\u201d<\/p>\n

This line of reflection also informed the concept behind the exhibition that just opened at the Jaipur Center for Art (JCA), in a city known mostly for its cultural heritage. The goal was to intervene in a particular dynamic: the gap between the diaspora and the motherland. \u201cThere\u2019s a strong perception, especially among the creative classes in India, that the diaspora is behind\u2014that we\u2019re out of touch with modernity, clinging to a version of India rooted in the past. And there\u2019s truth to that,\u201d he explains. Still, Menon believes that emotional disconnect is fertile ground for creative expression. \u201cI wanted to challenge the idea that the cultural output of the diaspora is somehow tacky or outdated, when it is in fact generating some of the most significant works and practices that speak across South Asia and the West with complexity and depth.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Menon, one of the defining aspects of the art world in South Asia, particularly in India, is that it operates as a project of visual national identity. This extends across cultural production in India, he notes\u2014not just in art, but also in film and especially in literature. \u201cIndia is still a relatively young nation, and cultural output has always been a powerful tool in the project of nation-making,\u201d he notes. For this reason, he argues, it is now just as important to explore\u2014through both this show and his broader program\u2014what that project means for people of Indian descent who don\u2019t live within the country\u2019s geographic boundaries but still feel deeply connected to its cultural identity.<\/p>\n

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\u201cExhibitionism\u201d at Rajiv Menon Contemporary in Los Angeles. Courtesy of Courtesy of Courtesy Jaipur Centre for Art and Rajiv Menon Contemporary<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With formal training first in literature, Menon often draws on precedents from that field, pointing to writers like Salman Rushdie<\/a> and Jhumpa Lahiri<\/a>, who were instrumental in the global rise of Indian cultural presence. \u201cThey\u2019ve worked from within the diaspora, and it\u2019s that in-between, interlocutory position that allowed them to speak across both worlds with a kind of clarity and complexity that wouldn\u2019t have been possible from just one side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, India is incredibly heterogeneous with countless languages, regional cultures and perspectives, so defining a singular \u201cIndia\u201d is next to impossible, he acknowledges. Yet Menon believes it is precisely by navigating that heterogeneity that a broader and more resonant body of cultural work is emerging.<\/p>\n

Indian galleries are also doing a remarkable job of carving out strong, thoughtful positions within that landscape and engaging larger questions about national identity and how it is shaped, contested and communicated through art. From the late \u201990s through the 2000s, Menon notes, the dominant narrative was about India being globalized, with Western brands and sensibilities entering the country through consumer markets. But that story has shifted: today, India is increasingly seen as an agent of globalization, with its culture shaping global aesthetics well beyond its borders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a clear effort to articulate what India looks like on the global stage through art,\u201d he says. But Menon also raises a question often left unasked: what role does the diaspora play in that project? Can it help shape identity from outside the nation\u2019s borders? And if so, how can it responsibly and meaningfully engage while acknowledging both its distance and its connection?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what makes the stakes of art in India so high. It is a post-colonial country now transitioning into a major player on the global stage, and art is helping build and debate that identity\u2014anchored in tradition yet linked to the world\u2014in real time.<\/p>\n

Menon is convinced that this new generation of Indian artists and collectors, particularly those engaging with galleries outside India, will help define that identity. At the gallery, he is currently showing the intricate textile-based works of Viraj Khanna, who uses traditional embroidery as a narrative device in one example of how deeply rooted methods of making can carry massive global influence. \u201cThat\u2019s the cultural dynamic I\u2019m trying to capture. I don\u2019t want to frame Indian artists as simply striving to earn space in the West; I want to position them as active agents in reshaping it,\u201d Menon says. \u201cThere\u2019s an excitement around seeing Indian contemporary art on the global stage, and I think younger collectors are especially eager to be part of that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cCalifornia Fables\u201d at Rajiv Menon Contemporary in Los Angeles. \u00a9Ruben Diaz 2025<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More Arts interviews<\/b><\/h3>\n

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