Bikaner House to host Japanese artist Mari Ito’s first solo exhibition in India, Origin of Desire
GEEK/ART will present the New Delhi opening of the Tokyo- and Delhi-rooted exhibition project on April 25, bringing Mari Ito’s botanical, surreal and Nihonga-inflected visual world to Indian audiences.
New Delhi: GEEK/ART, an art gallery rooted in the multiplicities of Asia and active across New Delhi and Tokyo, is set to present Japanese artist Mari Ito’s first solo exhibition in India, Origin of Desire, at Bikaner House in the capital.
The exhibition marks a significant introduction of Mari Ito’s work to Indian audiences and reflects GEEK/ART’s continuing effort to build conversations between Asian artistic practices, global discourses and institution-led collaborations across geographies. With its base spanning both New Delhi and Tokyo, the gallery has positioned itself as a platform that brings together varied disciplines, sensibilities and experimental approaches in contemporary art.
Titled Origin of Desire, the week-long exhibition will open with a special Opening Party on April 25 at Bikaner House, New Delhi. The showcase will feature a body of new small- and large-scale paintings along with a special installation, offering visitors an immersive encounter with Ito’s distinctive artistic universe. The exhibition will remain open to art lovers until May 1.
Mari Ito’s practice has been described as a botanical fabulist aesthetic rooted in Nihonga painting, while also being shaped by her life in Barcelona and influenced by Japanese surrealism and folkloric animism. Her works are marked by a quiet yet radical tone, where organic forms, dreamlike imagery and layered emotional textures come together in visually compelling compositions.
Through Origin of Desire, the exhibition is expected to open up a thoughtful space for viewers to engage with Ito’s unique visual language, one that draws from tradition while extending into contemporary and transnational artistic expression. The show also underlines the growing cultural exchange between India and Japan through contemporary art and curatorial practice.
Wribhu Borphukon, Curatorial and Gallery Director, has extended a warm invitation to art lovers, collectors, critics and members of the cultural community to attend the exhibition and be part of this important moment in Mari Ito’s artistic journey.
The exhibition is expected to draw attention not only for being the artist’s first solo presentation in India, but also for the way it situates Asian contemporary art within broader global conversations while remaining deeply rooted in regional histories, aesthetics and lived experiences.
With Origin of Desire, GEEK/ART once again signals its commitment to showcasing bold and nuanced artistic voices from Asia, while creating fresh opportunities for dialogue between artists, audiences and institutions in India and beyond.
