There were crows and there were priests. (2024) Detail
Talwar Gallery is pleased to present Till the mountain becomes the mountain again, an exhibition of new works by Kartik Sood. This latest body of work marks a profound ontological shift in Sood’s practice, navigating a transition from the somber, isolated stasis of earlier years toward a complex and vibrant choreography of the human experience. Having lived between the stillness of Shimla and the restless density of Delhi, Sood’s work continues to probe the liminal spaces between instinct and reason, seeking to unveil the intangible forces—empathy, intuition, and a certain secular magic—that pulse beneath the veneer of the everyday.
The exhibition’s title serves as a philosophical departure point, representing what the artist describes as a subversion of the "smog" of accumulated belief and habit in favor of a return to unmediated perception. For Sood, the act of creativity enacts a dissolution of these calcified structures; he views this process as a softening of the rigid architecture of thought until the "mountain" of essential truth is reclaimed. In new works such as eclipse and arriving at a place to rest, this conceptual dismantling is physically manifested through a dense, tactile materiality. Utilizing a proprietary layering of paper pulp, pigmented ink, and oil on canvas, these works capture what Sood identifies as a breathless moment before the mind names what the eye sees, allowing domestic interiors to dissolve into organic, cosmic nightscapes.
I seek to dismantle the calcified networks of the mind, allowing the systems we have inherited to fall away until only the essential remains.
Kartik Sood
When one is free, one floats (2025) Detail
Sood’s recent series introduces a striking dualism between exuberant color and desaturated tones, centered on a personal contemplation of “Fog and Smog.” He finds a haunting irony in their visual similarity: both manifest as primal life forces that veil the landscape in mystery. Yet, for Sood, the mountain fog of Shimla is a magical presence—a lyrical, resonant quietude that settles the mind—while the urban smog of Delhi is a toxic, murderous phantom. While works like Tricolor drama and All is play utilize vibrant watercolor and collage to evoke a liberating sense of play, other pieces employ muted palettes to convey what the artist terms the "toxic phantom" of social and spiritual performance. This tension is further explored in the artist’s concept of the "Theater of Life," where figures appear both stilled and performative, caught in roles that render them rigid.
The exhibition also features Sood’s continued interrogation of the individual’s relationship with their environment through multi-media assemblages and video installations. In Replacing truth. and Becoming, the artist foregrounds the vital threads that connect but also ensnare the subject, now rendered with a visceral intensity. By incorporating custom-designed boards for video projections and three-dimensional elements—including a dry tree in his assemblages—Sood pushes his oeuvre beyond the limitations of genre or medium. Ultimately, Till the mountain becomes the mountain again, according to the artist, is an invitation to unlearn and to wait—a journey through the haze until the veil is lifted, and the mountain, at last, becomes the mountain again.
When I enter the studio, I enter a sanctum of detachment. There, removed from the clamor of the external world, I descend into the interior.
Kartik Sood
Born in Shimla, India in 1986, Kartik Sood obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in Painting from the College of Art, New Delhi. He went on to pursue post-graduate work in Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S.U, Baroda, where he was awarded the Nasreen Mohamedi Scholarship. Kartik continued to expand his practice through participation in artist residencies, including the Gasworks Residency in London (2014), Pro Helvetica Residency (2014), and IAAB Studios (2014) in Basel, Switzerland and at the NTU Center for Contemporary Art in Singapore (2017). Kartik’s work has been showcased at various exhibitions and events, such as the 1st Yinchuan Biennale, as well as through collaborations with organizations such as the Kadist Art Foundation and Khoj. His works are in the collection of The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi.
Kartik lives and works between Goa and New Delhi, India.
Till the mountain becomes the mountain again, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic and oil on canvas, Polyurethane coated tree, metal mesh and metal wire on wooden board
114" x 96" x 15" (Variable)
TG 5153
When one is free, one floats, 2025
Watercolor, gouache, graphite, dry pastel, collage and pigmented ink on archival paper
Overall: 92.75" x 19.25" | 19.5" x 13.75" (Each of 6)
TG 5376
Realm of alternatives, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic, oil on canvas, painted fibre board, wooden painted cutouts
67" x 52.75 x 2.25"
TG 5147
What's gone and what's left, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic, white thread, and oil on canvas
65" x 35" x 2"
TG 5161
Grasp of time, 2024
Video projection on artist created wooden structure, sound
11m 20s
Wooden structure: 71" x 36" x 4"
TG 5152
Half self, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic, oil, charcoal dust, metal mesh and metal wire on canvas
74.75" x 48" x 2.25"
TG 5144
There were crows and there were priests, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic, and oil on canvas
78" x 45" x 2.25"
TG 5146
Opening, 2025
Watercolor, gouache, graphite, dry pastel, collage, pigmented ink, on archival paper
60.5" x 36"
TG 5381
Searching home, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic and oil on canvas
52.75" x 42"
TG 5160
Eclipse, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic and oil on canvas
36" x 27.5"
TG 5136
Arriving at a place to rest, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic and oil on canvas
36" x 27.5"
TG 5137
Fabrication of a vision, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic and oil on canvas
36" x 27.5"
TG 5139
Replacing truth, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic and oil on canvas
17.5" x 13.25"
TG 5156
In, one's own company, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic and oil on canvas
13.5" x 13.25"
TG 5159
When one is free, one floats II, 2025
Watercolor, gouache, graphite, dry pastel, collage, pigmented ink on archival paper
15" x 16.5"
TG 5377
Many Worlds, 2023
Watercolor, gouache, graphite, dry pastel, collage, and pigmented ink on archival paper
Overall: 77" x 36" | 36" x 36.75" (Each of 2)
TG 4887
All is play, 2023
Watercolor, gouache, graphite, dry pastel, collage, and pigmented ink on archival paper
Overall: 114.5" x 47.5" x 3" | 44" x 47.5" (Each of 3)
TG 4882
Tricolour drama, 2023
Watercolor, gouache, graphite, dry pastel, collage, and pigmented ink on archival paper
Overall 63.5" x49" | 15" x 19.75" (Each of 9)
TG 4852
Diary, April 2025, 2025
Watercolor, gouache, graphite, dry pastel, collage, pigmented ink, on archival paper
15.5" x 13.5" (Each of 8)
TG 5379
Becoming, 2024
Paper pulp, pigmented ink, acrylic, and oil on canvas
Overall: 34.5” x 10.5” | 10.5” x 16.5” (Each of 2)
TG 5157
Sleeping under the oak trees, 2015
Paper pulp, pigment ink, and watercolor on German archival paper
16.25" x 12.5"
TG 4171
Ever present memory III, 2025
Lightbox
24.75" x 24.75"
TG 5389
Ever present memory IV, 2025
Lightbox
24.75" x 24.75"
TG 5390
Grasp of time II, 2024
Video
2m 59s
TG 5400
