Gopal Samantray - Urbanland

"India Contemporary curated by Veer Hooda" presents a rare opportunity for collectors and art lovers in Europe to acquire original works by highly established Indian contemporary artists, and to connect with one of the most vibrant and fast-growing art markets in the world.

India Contemporary is a curated initiative that brings leading Indian contemporary artists directly to European collectors. Each artist is selected personally by Veer Hooda for artistic depth, originality and long-term relevance, and each work is an original, sourced from the artist's own studio and shipped with full documentation. The programme exists because the distance between the Indian studio and the European wall has, until now, been the main thing standing between these artists and the collectors who would want them. India Contemporary closes that distance: no intermediary market, no re-sale mark-up, direct access at an early stage.

India's contemporary art scene is in an exceptional moment - dynamic, intellectual, many-voiced, and growing quickly in both global visibility and investment value. With rising interest from international collectors and institutions, this is a compelling time for European collectors to engage with Indian contemporary art at a pivotal stage of its ascent.

The works are offered exclusively by auction on Catawiki.

The works are curated in Vienna by Vijit Veer Hooda and shipped to you directly from the artist's studio in India. Buyers in the EU enjoy 0% customs duty on original works of art imported from India.

About the Artist: Gopal Samantray

Gopal Samantray was born in 1976 in the village of Adhanga, Odisha, and lives and works in New Delhi. He took his BFA in 2002 and his MFA in 2004 at the B.K. College of Art and Craft in Odisha, and has painted continuously in the contemporary field for over two decades. His subject has been the same one throughout: what happens to animals when the city arrives.

Artistic vision

Samantray's style was formed in the forests of the KBK districts of Odisha - Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi - where he grew up beside the jungle and saw the conflict between human development and animal habitat at first hand. The animals in his paintings are never where they belong. A blackbuck stands before a domed skyline; zebras run beneath an aircraft trail; a big cat roars over a lit city. The displacement is the argument. In his own words, the work comments on global warming and deforestation, and the animal figures depict detachment from their habitat - the unnatural placement of endangered animals.

He paints in acrylic on canvas in a high-keyed, saturated palette - night blues, sudden pinks and golds - with fine linework drawn over flat fields of colour to catch the posture and expression of the animal. Bengal tigers and zebras recur throughout. He names Picasso and Dali among his influences, and the work sits between figuration and surrealism: the scene is legible, the placement is a dream.

Exhibitions

Solo: *Dis Mis Placed*, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi (2010) - *Junglenama*, Lucknow (2022), curated by Vandana Sehgal - *Open Spaces*, Asthana Art Forum.

Group and fairs: *Fragmented Earth - The Last Call*, curated by ArtKonsult, New Delhi (2012) - *The Enigma of a New Landscape*, ArtDistrict 13, New Delhi (2016) - The Spectrum Art Fair, Florescence Palassio, Lucknow (2025) - India Art Fair - group exhibitions in Singapore, Dubai and Pakistan.

Awards: awarded by the Government of Odisha (2001).

About the Artwork

Artist: Gopal Samantray
Name: Urbanland
Year: 2023
Size: 92 x 92 cm
Technique: Acrylic on canvas

Hand signed by the artist.

About Veer Hooda - ig: @vi_hov

Veer Hooda is an Indo-European (Austrian) contemporary artist based in Vienna, whose practice is shaped by a deep connection to his Indian roots and a great love for his now home, Europe.

Veer Hooda has exhibited across some of the top galleries and exhibitions in the world and recently finished his sold-out show at Art Basel Miami 2025. This year he will be exhibiting at, among others, the Venice Biennale 2026 and ArtExpo New York 2026, in multiple exhibitions across Europe and Austria, and returning to Art Basel Miami at the end of the year.

While his own work reflects a strong conceptual and material sensibility developed over years of creative and professional experience, Hooda is equally driven by a clear mission: to make outstanding Indian artistic talent more visible and accessible within the European art market. Positioned between India and Europe, he acts as a cultural bridge, offering early access to artists and narratives that are already gaining significant international recognition - a distinct insider perspective at a pivotal moment for Indian contemporary art.

Signed and authenticity: The work is hand signed by the artist, and a signed Certificate of Authenticity is provided with every work by India Contemporary by Vijit Veer Hooda.

Shipped from: This work is shipped from India by NIV Art Center and is fully insured on its way to the buyer. Buyers enjoy a 0% custom duty on works coming from India. All our artworks have been delivered without issue and in a timely way to all buyers, no additional fee has ever been applied to any of our shipments. We accompany the buyer through every step, from collection to the door, and are on hand for anything the process needs.

Packaging & insurance: The painting is packaged professionally and shipped rolled in a tube. It arrives unstretched and will need to be restretched onto a frame on arrival - any framer will do this routinely.