On the Threshold of Time: Future Tense

The first exhibitions in which artists participate as they near graduation or in the years immediately following it often mark a significant inflection point. Unencumbered by many of the expectations and limitations that may confront them later in their careers, artists at this stage are freer to test ideas, refine conceptual concerns, and explore the possibilities and nuances of different mediums as they begin to develop increasingly distinct artistic positions.
These early exhibitions also coincide with an artist’s entry into the professional art
world. Emerging practitioners must navigate questions of presentation, pricing, framing, conservation, and the complexities of working with galleries, while simultaneously introducing their work to a broader public. For galleries, sustained engagement with emerging artists can be equally vital. It offers an opportunity to encounter new ideas and evolving artistic languages, while fostering a dynamic engagement between established histories and contemporary practices.
For more than a decade, Art Heritage’s On the Threshold of Time exhibition series has been dedicated to identifying and supporting emerging artistic practices. Conceived as an annual platform for young artists, the series embraces this formative moment of emergence, recognising that compelling artistic trajectories rarely begin with certainty alone, but rather through experimentation, intuition, and sustained inquiry.
The current iteration, Future Tense, brings together four artists whose practices span a wide range of mediums, from oil on canvas and watercolour on paper to textile-based and mixed-media sculptural forms. This diversity of material approaches reflects both the continued relevance of traditional mediums and the expanding material vocabularies that characterise contemporary artistic practice. Equally varied are the concerns that animate these works, encompassing questions of memory, psychology, ecology, and labour.
In her textile-based practice, Nandini Patel works through processes of unraveling
and reconstruction, carefully deconstructing woven surfaces to reveal forms and meanings embedded within their structure. Through these acts, textiles become sites
of memory, concealment, and revelation. Abhiram B turns inward, examining the emotional and psychological terrains that underlie everyday experience and bringing
to the surface moments of vulnerability, resilience, and introspection. Shivansh Shah explores relationships between natural, spiritual, and built environments, tracing connections among plants, water, architecture, and sacred spaces to reveal networks of interdependence linking human and non-human worlds. Sovan Gorai foregrounds the body as a site of labour, making visible lives and histories that frequently remain obscured within contemporary urban existence.
Together, these practices invite viewers to look beyond immediate appearances and consider the complexities that shape contemporary experience. In doing so, Future Tense offers not definitive statements, but glimpses into artistic futures that remain still in formation.