Shaji Appukuttan - Untitled I

"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: Shaji Appukuttan

Shaji Appukuttan is an Indian contemporary painter, born in Kerala and trained at the Government Fine Arts College, Thrissur. He lives and works in Ernakulam.

His work has been recognised with the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi State Award (1992), the Siddhartha Foundation Award (2018), and a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York (2020-21). He is represented by APRE Art House, Mumbai.

Artistic vision

Appukuttan paints hills, rivers and forests at large scale in acrylic on canvas, and treats them not as scenery but as a society. In his gallery's words, the social existence of hills, rivers and forests parallels the essence of human relationships; his practice approaches ecological and geopolitical concern as a fundamental existential question rather than a decorative subject.

The paintings are built in deep, low-keyed greens and blues, with the canopy, the water or the field worked close to the picture plane so that the eye enters the thicket rather than looking across it. A single living thing - an egret, a deer, a boat - is usually the only opening in the density, and it is where the picture resolves. The recurring title of two of these canvases, *From here to the other side*, names the movement the work is about: a crossing, from one condition to another, with the far bank not shown.

Exhibitions

Solo: *Ghost Trees*, Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery, Payyannur, Kannur (2023).

Curatorial: *Rustic Footmarks*, Durbar Hall Art Gallery, Ernakulam (January 2020), curated by the artist.

About the Artwork

Artist: Shaji Appukuttan
Name: Untitled I
Year: 2023
Size: 92 x 92 cm
Technique: Acrylic on canvas

A canopy of dense, low-keyed greens and blues closes in almost to the top edge of the canvas, worked close to the picture plane until the eye has to search for an opening. It finds one at the lower right, where a single white egret stands at the water's edge beside a small clutch of eggs — the one living presence in an otherwise unbroken thicket, and the point where the picture resolves.

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.