The inauguration of 80-year-old artist Shailaja S. Kamat’s exhibition ‘Beyond the Shapes’ at the iconic Jehangir Art Gallery in Kala Ghoda was a buzzing affair, with members of the art community and Kamat’s family and friends turning up in hordes to support the artist and admire the resplendent display of her cityscapes. The exhibition was jointly inaugurated by IAS Nidhi Choudhari, Director of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, and noted philanthropist Dr Aneel Kashi Murarka. Also in attendance were Kamat’s mentor, artist Satyendra Rane, who has been a guiding force in her artistic journey, and her granddaughter Rajasee Kamat, who also served as the master of ceremonies for the evening. Featuring 35-40 acrylic-on-canvas works in the exhibition, the cityscape has been at the centre of Kamat’s practice over the last four years, shaped by her close observation of houses and architectural forms across cities, towns and villages. The changing light brought by different weather conditions, the mood of a rainy day or the quietness of night often find their way into her cityscapes, giving the same spaces different characters onto her canvas. Her vivid palette gives each landscape its own temperament, transforming familiar architecture into something almost dreamlike. Homes in cities and villages, along with mandirs, masjids and churches, appear alongside each other, reflecting the real diversity and unity of everyday life. Having observed these forms over the years, Kamat paints not merely what stands before her, but how it feels. Her cityscapes carry traces of an India she has watched change over eight decades, bringing together the old and new, the intimate and industrial, and the spiritual and everyday. Shailaja S. Kamat’s ‘Beyond the Shapes’ exhibition will be on display at Jehangir Art Gallery No. 4 till 13th September 2026, daily 11 am to 7 pm.