The article locates Indian modern and contemporary art developments within global practice. It demonstrates how shifts in patronage in the West, from that of the Church and nobility to an open market structure, led to the rise of modern art movements and later to the contemporary art period. It views the evolution of modern art in India in terms of a juxtaposition of influences of Western modern art and the colonial regime, together with indigenous traditions, as part of an attempt to forge a distinctive postcolonial identity. The article proceeds to discuss the characteristics of contemporary art as distinguished from modern art, particularly the influence of the genre of conceptual art, innovation in materiality and its growing shift towards sociopolitical art. It demonstrates how contemporary art in the West embraces an expansive set of media that includes site-specific installation, performance art, video, digital art and AI. The article argues that the style and character of contemporary art in India continue to be largely influenced by practices in the West owing to its colonial legacy, global orientation, nature of patronage and the market structure. It goes on to describe the diverse and innovative practices of Indian art practitioners. Finally, it outlines reasons for the contemporary art scenario in India becoming increasingly exclusive and elitist despite some good art practices .
Ranjan Kaul (Sun,) studied this question.