Asian Art Walk
South Asia Through the Veins of Light

Fukuoka Asian Art Museum is delighted to present Asian Art Walk, an exhibition series featuring selected works from its collection throughout fiscal year 2026. Aiming to provide a friendly introduction to visitors including those who are new to Asian art, the series features a variety of art and culture that are distinctively unique to East, South, or Southeast Asia, as if travelling on a journey across three regions.

The second chapter of the series focuses on South Asia, introducing works of artists from seven countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Along with our museum collections, recent or commissioned work created especially for the show will come together, making it special and larger than our usual collection show.

In South Asia, great rivers that originate in the Himalayan Mountains play a fundamental role in the lives of the north, while a large part of the south faces the Indian Ocean. Abundant water helped nurture its unique cultural sphere, where diverse ethnicities, religions, languages, and cultures intersect. After the mid-18th century, many parts of South Asia came under British colonial rule, followed by various divisions, including religious conflicts and social inequalities, which greatly affected politics, societies, and everyday life in the region to this day. Despite the situation, people unwaveringly sought to express themselves and their values, while inheriting their own culture and identity. Their practice despite such hardships shows their creative strength and the power of richly diverse cultures passed down for generations.

The first part features eight representative figures of South Asian contemporary art. Their early works in our collection, mostly from before and after the early 2000s, will be presented with some of their recent or new works, following the dynamic artistic trajectories of those who led the contemporary art scene across South Asia for more than twenty years.

In the second part, 100 works from the collection are displayed based on three themes: “Art that Breathes with the City,” “Beyond Conflict,” and “Living in Tradition and the Mythological World.” Delving into people’s lives where the sacred and secular coexist, as well as their stories interlaced with diverse values, it attempts to unravel the expansive world of South Asian art.

The show delves into invisible connections as if following streams of water flowing deep underground, despite numerous conflicts arising among nations, religions, and historical contexts. It invites all on a journey through the veins of light: the power of creation inherited throughout the years in South Asia.

Part I: Leading Artists of Contemporary South Asian Art

Dali Al Mamoon [Bangladesh] Elimination 2012, Collection of the Artist

Aisha Khalid [Pakistan]The garden of love is green without limit 2019, Collection of the Artist

Zihan Karim [Bangladesh] Eye 2018, Collection of the Artist　※Reference

Part II: Narratives of South Asian Art

Hema Upadhyay [India] Bleeding Hearts 2005

Pradeep Thalawatta [Sri Lanka] Roadscape 2012/2014

※All Works are collection of the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum