Dhoomimal Gallery (DMG), established in 1936 by Shri Ram Babu Jain is the oldest contemporary art gallery in India. Having recently completed about more than 80 years of successfully promoting Indian contemporary art, Dhoomimal has always been more of an institution than a mere commercial gallery. Shri Jain an ardent art lover was primarily into the printing and publishing business. It was Shri Jain's appreciation for art over the years that brought him into contact with some leading artists of the period. This led to the birth of the Dhoomimal Gallery at Connaught Place. The gallery made its beginnings by displaying the works of well-known painters of yesteryears like late Sailoz Mookherjea, Jamini Roy, F.N. Souza, M.F. Husain, et al and soon became a hub for contemporary art as well as a meeting place for the capital's artists. During the late thirties the Dhoomimal establishment came to support "Kalakar", a forum for the art minded individuals of the capital who organized musical evenings and sponsored art exhibitions. Shri Jain also initiated publication of monographs on some of the well-known artists of the country like Abdur Rahman Chugtai, Jamini Roy, Sailoz Mookherjea and others. This brought light to the otherwise yet obscure art world. After the untimely demise of Shri Ram Chand Jain, the leadership of the gallery passed on to the hands of his son Shri Ravi Jain who had just returned from America where he was involved with Indian art. The gallery under his leadership was rejuvenated and in the 70's, the Gallery entered its most active and glorious phase, by coming in close proximity and having regular exhibition of artists such as M.F.Husain, J.Swaminathan, Shanti Dave, F.N.Souza, H.A.Gade, Krishen Khanna among others. Mr Ravi Jain and J.Swaminathan were considered as one of the best artist-dealer team and played arguably the most influential role in making Indian contemporary art popular in the country on a wide basis. The gallery played a pivotal role in bringing forth the genius of F.N.Souza to the Indian public by having several important shows of his including one in 1976, which was visited by the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi, and 'Souza of the 40's' in 1984 which is considered as one of the most acclaimed exhibitions of Indian art till date. Today the Dhoomimals have the best private collection of artworks from the stalwarts such as F.N.Souza, J.Swaminathan, H.A.Gade, Bimal Das Gupta, Jamini Roy, Sailoz Mookherjea, Anjolie Ela Menon, Krishen Khanna among many others. The gallery today under the leadership of Mr. Uday Jain and his mother Mrs. Uma Jain is a forbearer of the fast growth of the Indian art market not only in India but globally as well. Under the banner of "Ravi Jain Memorial Trust" the gallery continues to promote art and artists including offering scholarships to the young and upcoming artists. Many of these young artists such as Hem Raj, G.R.Iranna, Somnath Singh, M.S.C.Satya Sai are today big names in the contemporary art world.
About Us
1935-1940
The journey of art begins in the narrow lanes of Chawri Bazaar, one of busiest areas in Old Delhi. Dhoomimal Dharamdas was then functioning as a reputed printing and stationery shop. In 1936, Ram Babu opened a branch of Dhoomimal Dharamdas and soon thereafter, an Art Gallery at 8 A, Connaught Place, New Delhi.
1940-1945
Dhoomimal Dharamdas during this time was the most popular retail outlet for paper and stationary in New Delhi. They stocked a wide variety of Indian and imported paper, ledgers, cash memos, exercise books and other stationery items. It is said that Abdur Rahman Chughtai would only draw on an imported paper which was sourced exclusively by Dhoomimals for his paintings. Many times, the artists would not have the means to pay for the paper and other art material, thus they would leave their artworks behind in lieu of the costs of these art materials. This made Shri. Ram Babu a close associate and a patron of the artists, giving rise to the formation of Delhi's art centric community which consisted of artists like Jamini Roy, Sailoz Mookherjea, Abdur R. Chughtai, Nicholas Roerich, V. S. Adurkar, George Keyt and art critics like A. S. Raman.
1945-1950
Dhoomimal Gallery played a leading role in the development of the Modern Art movement in India by providing an early platform for artists to showcase their artworks. The gallery began exhibiting the works of Master artists like Sailoz Mookherjea, Jamini Roy, Abdur R. Chughtai, Sushil Sarkar gradually moving towards becoming a hub for Modern Contemporary art. A club called 'Kalakar' was formed in the 40's where artists, critics, art connoisseurs and people with creative like-mindedness would gather and discuss art in particular among other prevalent issues during that time. Gradually the gallery became an art "Adda" (meeting place) for the artists.
1950-1955
The Navina Gallery in New York was launched by Shri. Mahender Jain & Shri. Ravi Jain, very soon this gallery too became a popular hub for Indian artists abroad. Several exhibitions of important Indian artists were held at this gallery and it proudly represented artists like M.F. Husain, B. Prabha, Shanti Dave during those times.
1955-1960
While Shri. Mahender Jain and Shri. Ravi Jain were away in New York, the gallery back home had continued to flourish, under the watchful eyes of Shri. Vijay Kumar Jain fondly addressed as 'Sethji'. A number of very important exhibitions were showcased, which included art shows of the most famous Indian artists - M. F. Husain, K. S. Kulkarni, Ram Kumar, Laxman Pai, Sunil Das, Shanti Dave, Biren De, Krishen Khanna, Ashvin Modi, A. Ramachandran, J. Sultan Ali and many others.
1960-1965
Shri. Mahender Jain and Shri. Ravi Jain returned to India and regular exhibitions would take place with diplomats & dignitaries from all fields visiting regularly and appreciating the artworks on exhibit.
1965-1970
Shri. Ravi Jain, like his father, had a very close association and a personal relationship with each of these artists like Jagdish Swaminathan, F.N. Souza, Krishen Khanna, Shanti Dave, H. A. Gade, M. F. Husain, Jogen Chowdhury. The gallery represented these artists and held several shows promoting their works through exhibitions and private sales.
1970-1975
The friendship between the artist Jagdish Swaminathan and Shri. Ravi Jain soon became the most excellent and productive artist dealer team, paving ways for the new generation of contemporary artists during those times like Manu Parekh, Paramjit Singh, Arpita Singh, Vivan Sundaram, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Manjit Bawa. Additionally backed by healthy and critical discussions, there was rich exchange of ideas between people from all genres - dignitaries & diplomats, artists from both creative and performing arts. These years saw the art scene at Delhi reach its zenith, with Dhoomimal Gallery hosting regular poetry sessions, seminars and evenings of art & cultural exchange.
1975-1980
The gallery continued to be in its most glorious and active phase. Some landmark shows were held during this period like F.N. Souza's exhibition in 1976, inaugurated by the former Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Other shows included Krishen Khanna's truck series exhibition, Jeram Patel's blow torch works, Swaminatthan's Bird and Tree series show.
1980-1985
Dhoomimal, by now had become the leading gallery of India and artists from all across the country were keen to have exhibitions with the gallery. Many artists had come forth under the leadership of Shri. Jagdish Swaminathan and Shri. Ravi Jain for guidance and support. Moreover, most of these artists had developed a personal rapport with the gallery. Dhoomimal Gallery was seen as an institution and a meeting place for artists where everyone was welcomed, rather than just a commercial gallery. During this time Shri. Ravi Jain married Ms. Uma Mehta, a lawyer who later became an integral part of this gallery. According to the artist Shri. J. Swaminathan, "we were apprehensive that the lawyer wife would take Ravi away from the art world but instead she ended up becoming a part of us." In 1984, the gallery organized an exhibition showcasing F.N. Souza's work from the 40's, which is till date remembered as one of the most popular and talked about shows of the country. This show had exhibited rare and early artworks of Souza's. The trend till then was to show new works by artists but this put forth Souza's academic works which was much appreciated by the critics and art community at large.
1985-1990
By now art had become more accessible to people and because of constant art related activities and exhibitions held in different galleries, Indian art had now begun to look up and become popular. During those times, Lalit Kala Akademi used to hold an event called 'Kala Mela' at Bahawalpur house, Sikandra Road, New Delhi, it was an interactive event where the senior artists and contemporary artists along with galleries participated to showcase artworks.
Shri. Ravi Jain being an ardent supporter and lover of art decided to participate in the 'Kala Mela' in 1986. A lot of senior artists were not in favour of such an open platform and didn't participate, as they thought it was meant for much younger artists. Witnessing such scenario, Shri. Ravi Jain asked F.N. Souza, if he would like to be a part of the Mela, Souza being a sporting person, readily agreed and the whole booth was dedicated to his works. Souza used to spend all day giving autographs to visitors including young artists and visitors. This became a major hit and in many ways was perhaps the inception of the what we call 'Art fairs' today. A big canvas was stretched where he was painting live and Uday Jain (present Director of Dhoomimal Gallery) would keep asking Souza to use the colour of his choice and Souza would happily oblige to the demands. Souza had told Shri. Ravi Jain that on completion of the artwork, he would like to gift it to Uday but Shri Ravi Jain did not take it as a gift but instead bought it as his first collectible.
One of the most important contributions by Shri. Ravi Jain was the opening of 'Open-Air Sculpture Garden' in 1987. Sculptors didn't have any avenues to showcase or display their works and this space was appropriate - right in the heart of the city. Sculptors like Balbir Katt, Latika Katt, Biman Das, N. H. Kulkarni used to display their sculptures here.
1990-1995
The end of 80's and 90's saw a sea of changes in the Indian art scene. Indian Art became more popular amongst international auction houses and newer galleries were opening. Artists that were exclusive to their respective galleries had several avenues to look forward to. In 1991 the untimely demise of Shri. Ravi Jain left a void in the art world. He always believed that the momentum in art created by those 4 to 5 artists who had established themselves should not stop with them only but instead new talent should continuously be encouraged, nurtured and supported. With this vision his wife Smt. Uma Jain put together the 'Ravi Jain Memorial Foundation'. This foundation annually provides a creative platform to budding young artists to showcase their artworks and support them by providing scholarships. Senior artists like Swaminathan, K.S.Kulkarni, Bimal Das Gupta, Krishen Khanna, Anjolie Ela Menon were on the jury panel and associated with the foundation at various stages. The awardees are selected through a democratically held competition with participants from across India.
1995-2000
The gallery continued to enjoy a reputation of an institution that has always been welcoming to the artists and continued to showcase some of the vital exhibitions. Some senior contemporaries became the face of the gallery in this period with newer artists being introduced through the Ravi Jain Foundation. An enormous show was held on the occasion of 50 years of Independence, under 3 sections, a Bengal master's section by Anjolie Ela Menon, one by Niren Sen Gupta, and one curated by Uday Jain. This also represented the 3rd Generation of Dhoomimal taking over by Uday Jain as the Director of the Gallery.
2000-2005
The millennium saw the gallery's revamped appearance along with a radical growth and an improvised vision of Uday Jain. The opening of a new complex in 2003, housed artworks both of Modern Masters as well as the Contemporaries. The trend was changing with exhibitions getting larger, accompanied with comprehensive well researched publications. Auctions were becoming dominant and the quality of exhibitions and publications were undergoing a massive change. Curated exhibitions with international standards were becoming the norm.
2005-2010
This period was marked with auction houses gaining dominance and new platforms like the India art fair coming. Having a large collection of moderns and having the credibility for housing the most authentic works Dhoomimal Gallery was a major resource to auction houses to consign works from. The Gallery has participated in all editions of the India Art Fair. Some Major exhibitions held at this time were 'Drawing the Essence' - an exhibition showcasing over 100 drawings by artists from different eras, 'Past Present and Future'- A show celebrating completion of 70 years of the gallery and 'Menongitis' - three generations of Anjolie Ela Menon.
2010-2015
The gallery was open to experimentations with different art forms, like photography and art installations - encouraging exhibits by artists like Nitin Rai, Ebenezer Sunder Singh making this part of the gallery's collection. Well curated and documented shows of the Modern Masters continued to reach milestones. In 2010 Dhoomimal organised a retrospective of F.N.Souza at the Lalit Kala Akademi curated by Yashodhara Dalmia. This exhibition showcased over 200 works of F.N.Souza from Dhoomimal Collection of over 5 decades. In the times of digital versions, the gallery did not want people to lose the importance of the fundamentals of visual art such as drawing, forms, colour, technique and hence held series of Drawing Shows to reemphasize the interactivity of the artworks with the audience.
2015-2020
Trumping forward the gallery in its decidedness to continue the legacy onward, combined with the rich history as well as a focus on identifying an exclusive contemporary lineup for the future. Dhoomimal has treasured a valuable tradition of research, documentation and publishing. Taking forward the legacy we have shot an hour-long documentary film of over 50 artists. The gallery premises have completely been revamped and are ready to host numerous art and cultural related activities. Showcasing works of new and upcoming artists as well as interactive programs like workshop, poetry reading, talks and seminars and film screenings etc.