12/09/2026
Shanu Lahiri’s works of the 2000s represent a culmination of her distinctively mature visual language, individualistic perception, and varied modes of expression.For her the female figure was a recurring character, continually reimagined through shifting forms, identities - embodying power, grace and vitality while simultaneously revealing the vulnerabilities, constraints, and inequalities embedded within social structures.
This work emerges as a compelling statement within that larger artistic vocabulary. It invites the viewer, raising questions about identity, perception, and position. Lahiri’s spontaneous, brisk brushwork creates a sense of immediacy, while subtle tonal palette is abruptly interrupted by emphatic patches of colours. The work confronts the viewer almost instinctively—through a sudden, arresting gaze—transforming the act of looking into an encounter.Shanu Lahiri’s works of the 2000s represent a culmination of her distinctively mature visual language, individualistic perception, and varied modes of expression.For her the female figure was a recurring character, continually reimagined through shifting forms, identities - embodying power, grace and vitality while simultaneously revealing the vulnerabilities, constraints, and inequalities embedded within social structures.
This work emerges as a compelling statement within that larger artistic vocabulary. It invites the viewer, raising questions about identity, perception, and position. Lahiri’s spontaneous, brisk brushwork creates a sense of immediacy, while subtle tonal palette is abruptly interrupted by emphatic patches of colours. The work confronts the viewer almost instinctively—through a sudden, arresting gaze—transforming the act of looking into an encounter.
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Shanu Lahiri
N**e figure
Acrylic on Canvas
52 × 30 inches
2010
