Mona Rai New Delhi, India, b.1947
Mona Rai (b. 1947, New Delhi, India) received a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 1970 and a Master’s degree in Psychology at Delhi University in the early 1970s. She later studied art at Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi, in the late 1970s.
Her work has been presented in major institutional exhibitions in India and abroad, including at the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti di Torino, Italy; the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg; BK Kunstforum, Düsseldorf; Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, UK; the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; and the Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan. She has also participated in international biennials and triennials such as the 9th Norwegian International Print Triennial, Norway (1989); the Bharat Bhavan Biennial, India (1988); the 17th International Biennial of Graphic Art, Yugoslavia (1987); and the 15th Tokyo Biennale, Japan (1984).
Her works are represented in significant public collections, including the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi; and the Bharat Bhavan Museum, Bhopal.
Nature Morte has presented several solo exhibitions of her work, including Ashes and Diamonds (2025, Mumbai), Heed the Portent (2023, New Delhi and New York), Mona Rai & Ray Meeker: Works on Paper & Ceramic Sculptures (2021, New Delhi), My Play Zero (2017, New Delhi), Verk (2010, New Delhi), and The New Map of the World (2004, New Delhi).
The gallery also published the monograph, The Blinking Eye of the Universe in 2025, documenting Rai’s works on paper from over five decades.
She currently lives and works in New Delhi, India.
Selected Artworks
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2025
Ashes and Diamonds, Nature Morte, Mumbai, India
2023
Heed the Portent, Nature Morte, New York, United States
Heed the Portent, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2021
Mona Rai & Ray Meeker: Works on Paper & Ceramic Sculptures, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2017
My Play Zero, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2010
Verk, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2007
Path to Gold Mine, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
2006
The Enshrined Relic, Curated by Roobina Karode, Gallery Maya, London, UK
2004
The New Map of the World, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2002
The Fine Art Company, Mumbai, India
1998-99
Mona Rai - Works on Paper, Art Heritage, New Delhi, India
1997
Gallery F.I.A., Amsterdam, The Netherland
s
1996-97
Mona Rai - Paintings, Art Heritage, New Delhi
1993
Gallery F.I.A., Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1992
Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
Gallery Espace, New Delhi, India
1991
Gallery Augustine, Hofheim, Germany
Sakshi Gallery, Madras, India
1990
Shridharani Gallery, New Delhi, Sponsored by Gallery Chanakya, India
1988
Gallery Aurobindo, New Delhi, India
1984
Triveni Gallery, New Delhi, India
1979
Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, India
1974
Triveni Gallery, New Delhi, India
Group Exhibitions
2023
Demonstration of Ornamentation, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2021
Hub India: Maximum Minimum, Artissima Fair, Torino, Italy
Hub India: Classical Radical, Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti di Torino, Torino, Italy
On-Site, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2018
Art e’Fair, Ahmedabad, Represented by Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2017
Carrying Roots Around, Curated by Manish Pushkale, India International Centre, New Delhi, India, Supported by The Raza Foundation
2014
Parallel Postulates, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
Drawing 2014 - 7 Decades of Indian Drawing, Gallery Espace at Indira Gandhi National Centre for The Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi, India
2011
Seduction by Masquerade, Nature Morte, New Delhi, India
2010
Puducherry Blue: An Exhibition of Painting from South Asian Artists, Embassy of India, Yangon, Myanmar Burma, Organized by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (Jaisalmer, India) and NGO: SEHER
2009
Seven Art Ltd, New Delhi, India
2007
Ganges Art Gallery, Kolkata, India
Gallery Muller & Plate, Munich, Germany
On Their Own: An Exhibition of Abstract Paintings, Aakriti Art Gallery, Kolkata, India
2006
Centre of International Modern Art, Kolkata, India
Gallery Art Alive, New Delhi, India
Viart: Vision in Art, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India
Two' x Two', Alekhya Foundation, Vadodara, India
Two 2 Tango, Gallerie Nvya, New Delhi, India
2005
Art Motif/Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India
Negotiating Matter/s, Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
Palette 2005 Part One, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
2004
Abstract, Art Motif/Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India
2003
Annual Show, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
Performative Textures, Apparao Galleries, Chennai, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India
2002
The Sheen of Metal, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
2001-02
Contemporary Indian Art - Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg, Germany
Aorta Kultur E.V., Duisburg, Germany
BK Kunstforum, Dusseldorf , Germany
Frauen Museum, Bonn, Germany
2001
Festival of Perth, Gallery East, Perth, Australia
Group Show, Singapore
2000
The Millennium Mask, Dhoomimal Art Centre, New Delhi, India
Paper Pulp, Gallery Espace, New Delhi, India and The Fine Art Company, Mumbai, India
Workshop of Women Artists, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India
1999
Journey into The Unknown, Gallery 7, Mumbai, India
Icons of the Millennium, Lakeeren, Mumbai, India
Women for Wise, Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai, India
Art for Spastics, Taj Coromandel, Chennai, India
1998
Gallery 7 and Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India
Contemporary Indian Art, Al Funoon Gallery, Kuwait, Organised by National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters Kuwait City, Kuwait
1997
A Tribute to Antonin Artaud, Eicher Gallery, New Delhi, India
Kali, Tropical Museum, Amsterdam, Netherland
Contemporary Indian Art, Curated by Arpita Singh, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, India and Dhahiat Abdullah Al-Salem Art Gallery, Kuwait
1996
Gallery Espace, New Delhi, India
1995-96
Inside Out: Contemporary Women Artists of India-
Curated by Alison Lloyd, Middlesbrough Art Gallery, Middlesbrough, UK
Huddersfield Art Gallery, Huddersfield, UK
Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, Cheltenham, UK
Bonington Gallery, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
1995
Watercolours: A Broader Spectrum-II, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, India
Festival of Perth, Gallery East, Perth, Australia
1994
Drawing 94, Curated by Prayag Shukla, AIFACS, Gallery Espace, New Delhi, India
1993
Contemporary Indian Paintings, Royal Abjar, Dubai
1992
Indian Contemporary Art, Gandhara Art Gallery, Calcutta, India
Contemporary Indian Art: Exhibition of Drawings, Paintings, Graphics and Sculptures by Twenty-One Indian Artists, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Organised by Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi, India
1991
Indische Gegenwartskunst, KKV Gallery, Germany
Gandhara Art Gallery, Calcutta, India
Art Foundation, Calcutta, India
1990
Homage To Van Gogh, Vadehra Art Gallery and Display Gallery, New Delhi, India
9th International Grafik Triennale, Frechen, Germany
3rd International Exhibition of Picture Book Illustration for Children, Japan
Frechen Biennale, West Germany
Display Gallery, New Delhi, India
1989
Festival of Colours, Gallery Espace, New Delhi, India
Contemporary Indian Painting, Darmstadt, Germany
9th Norwegian International Print Triennial, Fredrikstad, Norway
Miniature Format, Habiart Gallery, New Delhi, India
1988
Bharat Bhavan Biennale, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, India
1987
Dhoomimal Gallery, New Delhi, India
17th International Biennial of Graphic Art, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia
1986
Indian Women Artists, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India
8th Norwegian International Print Biennale, Fredrikstad, Norway
1985
Sahitya Kala Parishad, New Delhi, India
Dhoomimal Gallery, New Delhi, India
1984
15th Tokyo Biennale, Japan
The Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Paintings, Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan
1982
Three Artists, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
1980
National Exhibition of Art, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, India
Sahitya Kala Parishad, New Delhi, India
1978
Three Artists, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, India
Pictorial Space- A point of view on Contemporary Indian Art, Conceived and curated by Geeta Kapur, New Delhi, India
1977
India Art, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, India
New Group, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
Twenty Artists, Shridharni Gallery, New Delhi, India
1976
National Exhibition of Art, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, India
1975
New Group, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, India
Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
1974
New Group, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, India
National Exhibition of Art, Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi, India
Sahitya Kala Parishad, New Delhi, India
1973
Cymroza Gallery, Mumbai, India