Traces is the first Bagri Foundation art trail organised on the occasion of Asian Art in London 2021. Three London-based intergenerational contemporary artists are invited to respond to the beauty and history of selected artefacts and antiques shown by three participating galleries.

For Traces – Bagri Art Trail, Yarli Allison, Zarah Hussain, and Keith Khan create original micro-commissions that are shown alongside the fantastic collections of Marchant, Shahnaz and Peter Finer galleries respectively. These encounters have sparked conversations between traditional and contemporary art with the creation of three original works that will be on show for the duration of Asian Art in London, from 21 October to 6 November 2021. 

Emerging art historians are invited to write an original piece to further explore the relation between the galleries’ collections and the micro-commissions. The writers are  selected in collaboration with the MA Modern and Contemporary Asian Art course at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. 

Weaving a path that links materials such as porcelain, jade, steel, leather, wood, and lacquer to digital and contemporary creations, the Bagri Art Trail explores how the traces of the past embodied by the antiques on show, speak to contemporary artists, and how contemporary artists can reinterpret and learn from them.

Aimed at facilitating new and unexpected encounters of traditional and contemporary Asian art, the Bagri Art Trail invites audiences to engage with and enjoy the dialogue among disciplines, art forms, materials, and histories.