Windows are a balance between my inner and outer worlds: Artist Nandita Desai on her exhibition The Painted Window

Contemporary artist Nandita Desai presents her fifth solo exhibition, The Painted Window, where vintage and handcrafted windows become the canvas for nearly 50 artworks. Using reclaimed wood and glass, Desai transforms discarded architectural elements into paintings that reflect memory, history and the quiet dialogue between inner and outer worlds.

In conversation with Indulge Express, the artist opens up…

The central theme of the exhibition — the window — is fascinating. Could you tell our readers where this idea came from?

The idea began when I saw some old windows by the roadside from a house that was being rebuilt somewhere between Karjat and Lonavala. They were beautiful, and I took one as a collector’s piece. But the window has always been close to my heart. Since childhood I have loved sitting by the window and looking outside — tall glass windows, old windows.

My father was in government service, so we moved from district to district and often lived in heritage homes. For me, the window became a place where you could be inside the house and outside at the same time. If the weather didn’t permit going out, I would simply sit by the window and read. Over time, that personal connection combined with my love for vintage objects, history and old architecture.

It started with collecting vintage windows — first one, then two. Later I went around Khandala where many old homes were being demolished. An architect friend introduced me to people who no longer wanted their windows. There was no initial plan to turn it into an exhibition. Usually antiques are restored and sold as vintage pieces, but I wanted to give these windows a new life — to create something new out of the old while preserving both the integrity of the window and my integrity as an artist.

That balance wasn’t easy. Sometimes the art would overpower the window, sometimes the window would dominate the art. But it became an interesting and deeply personal journey, almost an introspection of my childhood and my love for old things.

You mentioned childhood memories of sitting by the window. What does the window symbolise in your life and paintings?

As a historian, I’m naturally drawn to architectural objects that carry history. But personally, the window represents a balance between my inner and outer worlds. I love watching the world go by — the streets, nature, everyday life — but I also have a deeply internal process involving reading, writing poetry and introspection. The window holds those two worlds together.

Historically too, the window has had an interesting symbolism. In many patriarchal societies it was the only way women could see the outside world…

Absolutely. When I visited Jaisalmer, I saw old forts with tiny windows where women would sit and look outside. Even if they couldn’t step out, the window allowed them to connect with the world. In that sense, the window becomes almost like the eyes of the soul — a way to feel part of the world even if your life is otherwise very enclosed.

You are both a historian and a painter. Which came first for you?

Painting was always my first love. Even in school I participated in painting and sketching competitions. But I was also academically strong and came from a family that valued education. My father, who was an IAS officer, encouraged me to treat art as a hobby and focus on studies.

So I eventually completed a PhD in Indian culture. But the desire to paint never left me. I returned to it gradually, took classes, even went to London to learn. It took many exhibitions before I found my voice.

That happened after the pandemic during an exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery titled The Stone and the Brick. Many homes in Lonavala, Khandala and Pune had been abandoned when people moved away. That was when I realised how beautiful old structures are — their architecture, their lines, their history. That’s when history and art truly merged for me, and that has now become my genre.

Do you ever regret not studying art formally earlier?

Not really. My academic journey gave me important skills — research, reading and thinking deeply about ideas. I read a lot of literature, and many of those references enter my art. For this exhibition, for instance, I was reading The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham and A Room with a View by E. M. Forster. Those ideas eventually inspired the concept of a painted window.

So my work often grows out of literature and thought. I also love teaching. But art is what truly drives me — it is what makes me wake up every morning with excitement.

Of course I want people to appreciate and buy my work, but that is not the main motivation. I create because something within me tells me I must.

Art has that unique power — even after a difficult day, standing before a painting can completely change your mood…isn’t it?

Absolutely. Art has that power to make you love life again. For me, the real integrity of living is to follow what truly moves you.

I love cooking as well, and that somehow finds its way into my art too. In this exhibition there are even kitchen spaces. I am a trained chef and also write poetry. For me, poetry, painting and history have merged into one beautiful journey. Cooking itself is creative — the colours, the textures, the plating. I trained at the Taj and also studied culinary arts in London.

All these are simply different aspects of who I am.

Finally, if you were standing by a window looking outside, what snack would you enjoy most?

A beautiful sweet mango in a ceramic bowl. In my house there are large windows opposite the cookery area, and I used to sit there with my father watching football and eating snacks. After mango, I would definitely choose onion pakoras — golden, crispy pakoras with spicy green chutney and a cup of masala chai. That would be my perfect moment by the window.

 Exhibition: The Painted Window by Nandita Desai
Venue: Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery, Bajaj Bhavan, Nariman Point, Mumbai
Dates: March 16 – 21, 2026
Time: 11 am – 7 pm

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