Sitikanta Samantsinghar - Hunger and survival

"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.

About the Artist: Sitikanta Samantsinghar

Sitikanta Samantsinghar (b. 1991, Odisha) is an Indian contemporary painter who lives and works in Odisha. He comes from a farming community in rural Chilika, and studied painting at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Khallikote (Bachelor in Visual Art, 2014) and at Amity School of Fine Arts, Amity University, Noida (Master in Fine Art, 2018). Instagram: @samantsinghar_sitikanta

His work has been recognised with the Shilpi Maharathi Kala Award, Odisha (2026), the 40th Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi Award for painting (2022), the Critics' Choice Award of the World University of Design, New Delhi (2020), a Junior Fellowship of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (2017-18), and the V.L. Mewada Award, Ujjain (2017). His residencies include APRE Art House, Mumbai (2023), KOOSHK - Space 118, Tehran (2019), Barbil Art Project IV, Odisha (2019) and the NEXT-STEP residency at 1Shanthiroad, Bangalore (2018).

Artistic vision

Chilika Lake, India's largest brackish-water lagoon, is the influence he names himself; his first inspiration was the Bhaga Chashi Andolan, the 1953 peasant movement in rural Odisha led by his grandfather, Dr. Nrusingha Samantasinghar. In his own words: "I want to create a visual dialogue that aims to work with the politics of sustainability, and my philosophy is based on the spirit of compassion and understanding." And: "Migration is a gamble. Birds and fishes have to deal with all kinds of dangers on the way - from bad weather and hungry predators to exhaustion and starvation." Outlook India (2025) wrote that his layered, surreal compositions "speak to rural resistance, displacement, and ecological dissent." Alongside painting, his practice has used tea leaf, smoke burns, neon light and text-based installation. His 2024 series Hidden Areas responds to ecological issues and to conflicts arising out of migration: a patachitra on palm leaf in the old tradition of his native Odisha, two watercolours, a ten-part series of documentary photographs, and an installation of freshly grown wheat with a sickle - a symbol of the peasant movements he draws on.

Exhibitions

Solo: Nilambu - The Body of Blue Water, curated by Gourmoni Das, Nine Fish Art Gallery, Mumbai (2024).

Selected group exhibitions: 65th National Art Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi (2026); The Imagined Pantheon (two-artist show), AppaRao Art Gallery, Chennai (2026); Isotropical Future, curated by Yash Vikram, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai (2025); Temporal Resonance, curated by Pranamita Borgohain, Gallery Art Positive, New Delhi (2025); Unfolding Curiosities, Apparao Galleries at Shridharani Gallery, New Delhi (2024); Yuva Sambhava, Raza Foundation, Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Française, New Delhi (2022); 60th National Lalit Kala Exhibition, NGMA Mumbai (2019).

About the Artwork

Artist: Sitikanta Samantsinghar
Name: Hunger and survival
Year: 2024
Size: 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
Technique: Watercolour on paper

Hand signed by the artist on the front, lower right. The work is sold unframed and shipped rolled in a tube.

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.

Packaging & insurance: The work on paper is packaged professionally and shipped rolled in a tube. It can be flattened and mounted behind glass on arrival - any framer will do this routinely.

Shipped from: This work is shipped from India by NIV Art Center and is fully insured on its way to the buyer. We accompany the buyer through every step, from collection to the door, and are on hand for anything the process needs.