Fostering Cultural Dialogues

Rajiv Kannan Menon's eponymous art gallery in Los Angeles shines a spotlight on South Asian art. Samreen Tungekar caught up with him while he was in India to explore the contemporary art scene

- Samreen Tungekar

You’re currently in India, as we speak. What are you here for?

I’m taking in the art world here, and meeting artists. There’s been so much tremendous growth in Indian art. It’s been so exciting to see new, young, fresh perspectives who are bringing new insight to what Indian art can look like. And there’s so much incredible talent in this country. It feels so important to be here and to see the work in person because one thing I constantly reiterate is that India is a very young country and contemporary art is meant to give us a visual record, an aesthetic record of our current history, and if you’re not looking at young voices and seeing the people on the ground who are creating at early stages of their career, you’re really losing a lot of the incredible work and insightful practices that are coming out of this country. There are incredible institutions popping up all over the country, along with major art fairs like the India Art Fair and Art Mumbai, and then the Kochi Biennale, which is one of my favourite art events to go to. I see India emerging as this powerful art tourism destination, and it’s exciting for me to experience that firsthand.

Your gallery in Los Angeles brings a certain limelight to South Asian art. Take us through your journey of bringing it to life, and what led you to creating this space?