Anisha Sanghani’s first International solo show “Manthan” scheduled at Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery, Nariman Point, Mumbai, December 1–6, 2025., embodies a Mythic Storm of Gods, Plastic, and Conscience. An ocean of kaleidoscopic colors unfurls, punctuated by a glimmer of gold. Gods ascend from the waves, and divinity appears revitalized. Nonetheless, upon closer examination, disillusion prevails. The resplendent display is not divine, but rather a searing commentary, as the gods’ smiles dissipate.

At Manthan, U.S. based Indian artist Anisha Sanghani rejects painting in favor of protest. Her mythic mixed-media exhibition, presents a world that has corrupted worship into waste. Drawing from the cosmic legend of Samudra Manthan, the churning of the ocean, Sanghani reimagines the myth in a world where the nectar has vanished, the ocean is slick with oil, and all that glitters is plastic. This is not Manthan. This is lamentation.

Maa Kali ascends, not with benedictions, but with blood and ire. Shiva grasps not the halahal, but mountains of discarded reverence. Vishnu floats not on cosmic waters but on rainbows of waste. Each canvas, each frame, trembles with sacred betrayal—crafted from acrylics, gold and silver foil, candy wrappers, metal, fabric, plastic, and even fishing net. These materials are not just medium. They are message.

But for Sanghani, this isn’t just an exhibition. It is resurrection. After two decades of work as a senior graphic product and package designer in U.S. the pandemic closed one door, and she opened another. Returning to art school, earning her BFA, reinventing herself as a full-time artist, muralist, and educator—this show is her soul on canvas. Her journey is one of reclamation. And each piece reflects that rebirth.

Manthan’s presence is announced with a wail, not a whisper. A sculpture visibly trembles, as if the Earth itself is experiencing a seismic event. The shimmer is mesmerizing, then unexpectedly piercing. A stark reminder that our oceans are facing destruction, our rituals are losing their essence, and our faith is being entangled in plastic. The exhibition serves as a call to action. Because when the gods rage, it is not thunder that we should fear. It is ourselves.

Manthan is a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of the intersection of oceanic wonders, ancient mythological themes, and the devastating impacts of consumerism, prompting introspective moments of recognition and reckoning. Sanghani’s canvases vividly capture the raw, suffocating terror of a world overwhelmed by its own waste, from plastic-entangled fish to gods in recoil. With a multidisciplinary background in fine arts, textiles, and graphic design, Sanghani reimagines the ancient myth of Samudra Manthan as a contemporary ecological cautionary tale, highlighting the dire consequences of human neglect. Her mixed-media works evoke a sense of both reverence and desecration, as seen in The New Manthan, where a sea turtle navigates through swirling waters as serpents and sea creatures maneuver through surreal mounds of plastic refuse, evoking a world where mythology reels under man-made disaster.

Sanghani’s artistic technique—lush, overflowing, almost seductive—draws viewers closer before confronting them with the brutality beneath. That brutality is not merely imagined. In a haunting set of personal experiments, Sanghani submerged herself in water with her face encased in plastic, attempting to inhabit the suffocating reality of marine creatures trapped in debris. “I became their voice,” she says. The image is devastating: a human being tasting the terror we force upon the ocean’s inhabitants daily. “Art cannot clean the oceans,” Sanghani notes, “but it can remind us of what they mean to us.” Manthan thus becomes a moral mirror.

Each piece elicits questions long buried beneath convenience and complacency. What are we taking from the ocean? What are we giving back? And what will surface next if we do not intervene? “I want to draw viewers in with beauty, only to expose the underlying unease,” she says. Manthan urges every visitor to face that discomfort, beginning their own inner churning toward awareness, responsibility, and renewal. Behold the new Manthan. Allow the radiance to enthrall you. Let the truth awaken your senses. For in this instance, the rainbow has fallen—and redemption is not assured. Nevertheless, there is still time.

Sanghani’s work is celebrated across the United States, India, and Puerto Rico, has won the Conceptual Artist of the Year Award from Art Comes Alive in Cincinnati, the Best Use of Theme Award from Reading Community Arts Center 2024, the Prestige Award from the University of Cincinnati, and the Garden Rotating Trophy from Sophia College, Mumbai. She has judged the Visual Arts Overture Awards for the Cincinnati Arts Association in 2024 and 2025. Her creations have been featured in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Atlanta Gazette, and more. But accolades aside, this show speaks louder than any trophy ever could.

Manthan was inaugurated on 1 December 2025 by distinguished guests, including Ms. Nidhi Choudhary, IAS, Artist, and Director, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mr. Sameer Balvally, founder of the award-winning architecture and interior design practice Studio Osmosis, Mr. Ronak Sutaria, CEO, Respirer Living Sciences, Mr. Rishiraj Sethi, Director, Aura Art Development Pvt Ltd and co-founder of Aura Art, Dilip Ranade, distinguished Indian artist and former Senior Curator at Mumbai’s CSMVS, and Prakash Bal Joshi, renowned artist and author.

Also, special thanks to Bollywood film director, writer, and producer Harshavardhan Kulkarni, Sony Marketing Strategist Parinda Singh, and Bollywood Music Director Khamosh Shah for attending the inauguration and for their appreciation for my works.

Photographers: Ajay Natke and Sharon Dev Pimento.

 

“Manthan” A Solo Exhibition By U.S.–Based Artist Anisha Sanghani, Opened At Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery