Trace Gallery is set to launch a new art and culture space in Kolkata

On view 20 July – 16 September

Raj Chowdhury, If You Have Less Empathy, Oil Paint Marker, Oil Bar, Oil Pastel, Acrylic Paint Marker & Acrylic Paint on canvas; Raj Chowdhury, Do Not Ask, Oil Paint Marker, Oil Bar, Oil Pastel, Acrylic Paint Marker & Acrylic Paint on Canvas; Raj Chowdhury, I’d Be Famous, Oil Paint Marker, Oil Bar, Oil Pastel, Acrylic Paint Marker & Acrylic Paint on canvas, 2023. Image Courtesy: Trace Gallery

• Trace Gallery is a new art and culture space in Kolkata opening with a preview on 19 July 2026.
• The space will launch with a solo exhibition titled Where Do I Pause? by artist Raj Chowdhury.
• The gallery has been conceptualized as a multi purpose space for visual art, design and music by Anissa Sonthalia.

Kolkata, July 2026: Trace Gallery is set to launch their new art and culture space on Sunday, 19 July 2026. Situated in Kolkata, the gallery was conceptualised by Anissa Sonthalia to be a space for visual art, design and music. The gallery is pleased to announce that the space will launch with Raj Chowdhury’s debut solo Where Do I Pause? which will showcase a detailed exploration of his work. The exhibition will be on view from 20 July – 16 September 2026.

The two month long exhibition explores and navigates the complex inner workings of the artist Raj Chowdhury’s mind. The artworks touch upon the artist’s time spent in the ICU where he found himself having contradictory thoughts about fear and hope, memory and oblivion, and chaos and clarity. The title of the show, Where Do I Pause?, is a reference to making room for uncertainty. It focuses on the thought of sitting with the unfinished, and noticing what remains in the spaces in between.

Each work is a layered composition made of fragments of his life – moments, feelings, images and thoughts that surfaced and disappeared before they could fully settle. These fragments span subjects ranging from current events, philosophy, human behavior, to nature, animals and still life. Together they form a landscape where meaning is repeatedly formed and then falls apart into a neo pop language.

The name ‘Trace’ comes from the idea of leaving one’s mark behind. Anissa hopes that this multi-purpose space will enable her to add to the city’s creative future by offering a dynamic exhibition program and provide a platform for Bengal based artists as well as its creative community to make their mark. The 1500 sq. ft. space, designed by Anissa Sonthalia and architectural designer Aadya Bhartia, is situated in the bustling cultural hub of Kolkata’s Southern Avenue. They are located on the ground floor of an 80-year-old building called Somnath Hall, with a clandestine side entrance through a creeper-lined verandah. The area is known for its architecture, and this neighborhood houses several heritage brands, cafes, and galleries.

Anissa Sonthalia says, “Trace was born from a desire to grow Kolkata’s gallery landscape and bring art into the fabric of everyday life. Our mission is to make art approachable, to encourage young collectors and build a wider awareness that art doesn’t need to be complicated to understand or source.”

For more information on the gallery, please follow them on social media at @tracegallery

Gallery Address

16/7/2B, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay Sarani Road, opp. Najrul Manch, Keyatala, Kolkata, West Bengal 700029

Hours: Tuesdays – Sunday, 11:30 AM – 7:30 PM

For further information

Menaka Mahtab
E: [email protected]
M: +91 9830043238

Trace Gallery

Trace Gallery is a multidisciplinary platform for voices in South Asian art, design, and music, based in Kolkata, India. Conceptualized by Anissa Sonthalia, an alumna of New York University and Sotheby’s Institute of Art, it began as a digital platform for art access called AS Galleries in 2020, before evolving into a physical space for interdisciplinary creative practice in July 2026. They champion emerging artists from Bengal who experiment with medium, reimagine local craft, and engage questions of learning. With a dynamic exhibition program, they aim to position Indian art within global conversations. Grounded in accessibility and education, they hope to create meaningful engagement through residencies, grants, workshops, and public art projects. Trace sits amidst the bustling cultural hub of Kolkata’s Southern Avenue. Known for its architecture, this neighborhood houses heritage brands, cafes, and galleries alike. They are located on the ground floor of an 80-year-old building called Somnath Hall, with a clandestine side entrance through a creeper-lined verandah.

Trace works closely with the SKS Foundation to support art education and preservation of regional crafts through grants and residencies. Together, they aim to create a program that nurtures new generations of cultural practitioners while championing the continued relevance of South Asian heritage on a global stage.

Instagram: @tracegallery

Anissa Sonthalia

Anissa Sonthalia is an alumni of New York University and Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and has worked in finance in the United States and India for the last five years. She initially launched a digital platform for art accessibility called AS Galleries which has now evolved into a physical space for innovative practices in visual art, design, and music. Having grown up in a family that enjoys collecting, she was always surrounded by art. Living in New York gave her access to some of the best galleries and museums in the States. When she moved back to India, she was pleasantly surprised to learn about the contemporary ecosystem here, and dreamt to contribute to it ever since. Through a dynamic exhibition program, she wishes to champion emerging artists from Bengal who experiment with different mediums, reimagine local craft, and ponder questions of learning, in order to shape the future of Indian art in global conversations.

Raj Chowdhury

Born in 1983 in Khanyan, West Bengal, Raj Chowdhury has built a distinct voice in contemporary Indian art. Without formal training, his work carries an unfiltered directness reminiscent of self-taught contemporaries like Jean-Michel Basquiat, who resisted convention because he was never taught to conform to it. His practice began as an adolescent hobby, marked by early realism of daily life, nature and mood. Over time, Chowdhury’s realism gave way to surrealism and abstract realism, shaped by the emotion he drew from nature. His recent paintings turn toward Romanticism, rendered through striking pastel colors, text, and figurative characters drawn from the imagery of contemporary media.

Chowdhury lives and works in Kolkata, West Bengal. His work has been shown in a succession of solo and group exhibitions across India and abroad, including Simulacra & Simulation at Adriani Ibáñez Galería, Bogotá, Colombia (2026); Scribble on the Wall, Method Kala Ghoda, Mumbai (2026); Mattancherre Summer Art Salon with Muziris Contemporary (2026); Art & Charlie at Art Mumbai (2024); Lost Fragrance of Infinity, Space 118, Mumbai (2023); Kolkata Centre for Creativity, Kolkata (2022); Inside Herself, Si Bambai, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai (2020); and Recitation of Colours, Alliance Française du Bengale, Kolkata (2020).