With Shivangi Kalra – With My Eyes Closed, the Drents Museum presents the very first museum solo exhibition by Indian-Dutch artist Shivangi Kalra (1998). The exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to discover the work of a promising young female artist whose warm, colourful paintings transform personal memories into captivating new worlds.
Kalra brings memories of her childhood in Delhi to life. Living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and gardens merge into dreamlike, sometimes unsettling spaces where reality and imagination intertwine. Behind their inviting atmosphere, her paintings raise questions about family, tradition, class, gender and power.
With My Eyes Closed
Kalra paints familiar spaces, but not as they once existed. Instead, she paints them as they are remembered: distorted, layered and infused with melancholy.
Memories from different times and places flow together in her paintings. Scenes from her childhood in Delhi become intertwined with her life in the Netherlands. Proportions change, perspectives shift and everyday objects take on unexpected forms. The result is a new reality in which the familiar can suddenly feel strange, absurd or uncomfortable.
Step inside
The family home where Kalra spent the first fifteen years of her life plays an important role in her work. The house no longer exists, and the Delhi of her memories has also changed dramatically. As the rapidly growing metropolis expands, old bungalows and gardens are increasingly replaced by high-rise buildings and a faster-paced urban life. Kalra’s paintings are therefore more than personal memories: they also form an archive of a changing city.
With warm colours, soft curves and intriguing views into adjoining spaces, Kalra invites visitors to step inside her painted worlds. Open doors, balconies and pictures on the walls offer ever-changing perspectives—memories within memories.
From Delhi to the Netherlands
Born in Delhi in 1998, Kalra studied painting in India. In 2022, she moved to the Netherlands to pursue a master’s degree at the Frank Mohr Institute, part of Minerva Art Academy in Groningen. She graduated cum laude in 2024 and was awarded the Royal Prize for Painting that same year.
28 November 2026 until 4 April 2027
For information & tickets:
drentsmuseum.nl