The Samdani Art Foundation is delighted to support Mrinalini Mukherjee: Unbound Forms – Women Sculptors of India and Bangladesh at The Hepworth Wakefield, an exhibition that brings together key women sculptors whose practices shaped the history of modern sculpture in South Asia. Among the artists featured is pioneering Bangladeshi sculptor Novera Ahmed, whose work continues to be reassessed for its foundational contribution to the region's artistic history.

Widely regarded as the pioneer of modern sculpture in Bangladesh, Novera Ahmed helped define a new sculptural language in South Asia. Yet despite her foundational contribution to the country's artistic development, her work remained underappreciated for decades, making the continued reassessment of her legacy especially significant.

The Samdani Art Foundation has lent Standing Figure from its collection to the exhibition. Created during Novera's time in Lahore in the early 1960s, the work belongs to a rare body of sculptures produced during a pivotal chapter of her practice outside Bangladesh. Unlike many of the works for which she is best known, Standing Figure emerged from a distinct period of experimentation and artistic exchange across what was then East and West Pakistan.

Co-curated by Tarini Malik in partnership with the Royal Academy of Arts, Mrinalini Mukherjee: Unbound Forms – Women Sculptors of India and Bangladesh opened on 3 May 2026 and remains on view at The Hepworth Wakefield until 1 November 2026.

The Samdani Art Foundation is a major supporter of the exhibition, along with other institutions.