By Rohit Malhotra
With the support of the Rosneft Oil Company, an exhibition of People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Nikas Safronov opens in Mumbai (India). Titled Dream Vision, the exhibition will be open to the public at the National Gallery of Modern Art (National Gallery of Modern Art) Mumbai from December 30 to January 15.
The exhibition is a continuation of the project presented in December at the Lalit Kala Akademi National Academy of Arts in New Delhi. That showcase was recognized as the most visited and resonant art exhibition in India over the past 60 years, attracting over 314,000 visitors in just two weeks. Organized with the support of the Rosneft Oil Company, the project became the season’s premier socio-cultural event in India, attended by government officials, representatives of international organizations, and leading art critics and curators.
The exhibition in Mumbai includes 45 works covering the main stages of Nikas Safronov’s creative work. The exhibition demonstrates the evolution of the artist’s visual language — from classical painting and symbolism to the author’s direction of Dream Vision. At the entrance, visitors are greeted by large-format LED screens that create the effect of a transition from real space to the world of images. Canvases with traditional Russian ornaments — gzheli, khokhloma and palekh – occupy a special place.
The main point of the route was the space under the dome of the National Gallery of Modern Art. The key idea of the project is revealed here — combining the cultural codes of East and West through the synthesis of classical painting and modern technologies: installations, light, sound and digital solutions create an immersive environment. A multimedia installation in the form of a five-hundred-meter animated Hindu mandala has been developed especially for the exhibition.
The exhibition also features a new series of works created specifically for the Indian audience as a tribute to the country’s history, philosophy, religious traditions, mythology, and architecture. Art critics have already described this series as a “subtle and intellectual dialogue of cultures, in which Russia speaks to India through a universal language of images and emotions.”
The exhibition takes its name from Nikas Safronov’s patented Dream Vision style. This unique technique allows the artist to create multi-layered paintings that blur the boundaries between reality and imagination.
The Rosneft Oil Company supports significant cultural projects in Russia and abroad, actively participates in the development of cultural ties between Russia and India. This summer, with the support of the Rosneft Oil Company, the India Festival was held on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow. Indian handicrafts and national treats were presented at the festival, famous Indian creative groups performed dance and musical numbers for the guests of the event. In October 2024, in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, with the support of the Rosneft Oil Company, a large-scale premiere of the Olympic champion Tatiana Navka’s ice show “Scheherazade’s Love Story” with the participation of world figure skating stars was held with great success.
