Close I Far Lean In, Step Back

Over several weeks of conversation with Vanita Gupta, Kavita Nayar, Savya Jain, and Aman Kumar Bavariya, one question returned again and again: what does it mean to be a contemporary artist today? Rather than seek a fixed answer, the artists used the question as a starting point to test assumptions, unsettle habits, and explore how scale can shape meaning.

Scale, here, is not simply a matter of size. It is a way of directing attention, altering distance, and changing how a viewer encounters an artwork. Bireswar Sen’s tiny Himalayan landscapes hold vast...