"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words."
This thread of art galleries woven within South Mumbai will help you check one item off Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's list: see a fine picture.
Although Mumbai's Jehangir Art Gallery remains a long-standing classic, these other spots showcase artists from across the world and offer a wide range of media.
Gallery XXL
Focusing on urban contemporary art, Gallery XXL draws inspiration from the neo-expressionist artist, Jean Michel Basquiat, who challenged traditional notions of what art could be and who could create it.
The gallery’s name and that of Basquiat’s medium in the movie Downtown 81 are one in the same: 'extra large'.
Gallery XXL collaborates with Indian and international artists who opt for the road less taken to explore urban art techniques. In other words, they choose an inter- or transdisciplinary approach and jigsaw various concepts and fields of study together to create art.
The gallery’s most recent exhibition, TEMPERATURES - Interactions with Colour and Form, showcased the body of work by artist Tomislav Topić — created in India with mediums like oil on canvas, pigment in paper and installations of fiber glass, lacquer and steel. TEMPERATURES aimed to evoke audiences through warm and cool tones, playing with the senses and observing surrounding patterns.
Gallery timings: Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30 AM - 7:30 PM
Address: First Floor, Arsiwala Mansion, 21, Wodehouse Rd, Colaba, Mumbai - 400005
Chatterjee & Lal
A product from the marriage between Mortimer Chatterjee and Tara Lal, the gallery highlights Mumbai’s maturing art scene.
While Chatterjee & Lal prioritized the work of emerging and mid-career artists, their collection has expanded to include historical material that dives deeper into 20th-century art and design.
And I Want to Travel Blind was the gallery’s first exhibit of 2025, showcasing the installation(s) of artist Kausik Mukhopadhyay. Described as ‘a map and evidence of collaborations between different kinds of skilled labour,’ Mukhopadhyay’s work with construction materials commented on how human craft has morphed into an obsession of controlling inanimate objects. And if we are unable to exercise that control, we do not hesitate to dispose of — and replace — them.
Gallery timings: Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Address: Floor 1, Kamal Mansion, 01/18, Arthur Bunder Rd, Colaba, Mumbai - 400005
Nature Morte
The combination of challenging and experimenting with forms of art was the founding of Nature Morte. The gallery pioneered conceptual, lens-based and installations genres that defined a generation of Indian artists who went from a national to an international scale of exposure.
Nature Morte organizes projects and exhibitions with international artists who come to India, combining their works with those of Indian artists for cross-cultural communication, reinforcing the fluidity of artistic genres.
Currently on display are Adébayo Bolaji’s paintings, part of the collection, What the Flame Could Never Burn. Taken from the artist’s experience in Jaipur, the abstract artworks orbit around an idea of humanity: the endurance of volatile conditions and the aftermath of the same in the context of identity, power and cultural memory.
What the Flame Could Never Burn is on display until 2nd August, 2025.
Gallery timings: Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Address: Block A, Third Floor Apollo Bandar, Colaba, Mumbai - 400001
Method
Embrace introspection and its opposite. Unafraid to engage deeply with the self. Explore the cultural, political and sensory ecosystems that shape our time. These pillars form the foundation of Method.
Based on the belief that art is not just about creation, but conversation, transformation and manipulating form and certainty, the gallery is committed to nurturing young artists and their emerging practices.
Rather than arriving at a single answer, Method facilitates open-ended inquiries. It gives the artists space to experiment and collaborate, encouraging the dissolvement of the boundaries between visual, digital, performative and material art.
Method is presently displaying The Sacred & The Splintered, a collection of installations by Arun B that flips the idea of static art on its head. Instead, the sculptures aim to transport the audience into a headspace of introspection, filled with vulnerability, discomfort and transcendence.
The Sacred & The Splintered is on display until 3rd August, 2025.
Gallery timings: Wednesday to Sunday, 2:00 PM - 8:00 PM (weekdays), 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM (weekends)
Address: 86, Nagindas Master Rd, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai - 400001
TARQ
Founded by Hena Kapadia, TARQ values producing meaningful conversations about the diverse interpretations of art and contexts within which it is created.
Calling itself a 'laboratory,' the gallery is a space for young contemporary artists to experiment and push the boundaries of how art in India is exhibited and perceived. Additionally, TARQ's outreach program — an educational initiative — combines workshops, gallery walk-throughs and talks to engage with a diverse audience and stimulate informed conversation about contemporary art in the future.
TARQ is currently exhibiting The Artist As (curated by Vaidehi Gohil and Sonakshi Bhandari), which features all 18 artists from the gallery’s program. The question that lies at the root of the exhibition is: 'what is the artist, if also not a gatherer, a dreamer, an observer, a constructor of meaning?'
The interaction of form, content and thought in the exhibit prompts viewers to challenge traditional notions of artistic processes, from the medium and material to the subject of the artwork.
The Artist As is on display until 14th August, 2025.
Gallery timings: Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Address: Ground Floor, KK (Navsari) Chambers, 39, AK Nayak Marg, Azad Maidan, Fort, Mumbai - 400001
Nine Fish Art Gallery
Within the expansive art ecosystem of South Mumbai is Nine Fish, striving to create a platform for emerging artists across South Asia who engage in the connection between multiple media and themes.
Collaboration is at the core of Nine Fish, bridging cultural contexts, partnerships with other galleries and institutions, and creative genres — including printmaking, installations, photography, performance and new media — alike. The gallery aims to anchor itself within tribal art and craft practices, launching research projects in the field of architecture and design.
Gallery timings: Monday to Sunday, 10:30 AM - 7:30 PM
Address: The New Great Eastern Mills 25-29 DR, Ambedkar Road Near Rani Baug Byculla, Mumbai - 400027
This guide opened as an embedded narrative of sorts: a curated list of South Mumbai’s must-visit art galleries, derived from one of von Goethe’s every-day essentials: 'see a fine picture.' But upon reflection, these spaces do more than display art.
Through the exposure to a spectrum of artistic practices and global perspectives, art galleries facilitate stimulating discussions about today’s ever-changing society, as well as the role of expression within it. And in doing so, meet another one of von Goethe’s ideals: 'to speak a few reasonable words.'
