KNMA presents the works of five modern masters from Bengal: Ganesh Pyne (1937 -2013), Meera Mukherjee (1928 – 1998), Somnath Hore (1921 -2006), Ganesh Haloi (b.1936) and Jogen Chowdhury (b. 1939). Coming from various parts of Bengal, their visual vocabularies reach maturity during 1970s and 1980s, with the city of Calcutta emerging as an intersection point. The social and political changes, witnessing and observing major occurrences like the Bengal famine, the Tebhaga movement, the Bangladesh Language Movement, the Vietnam War, and avant-garde mobilization in the creative disciplines of literature, cinema and theatre, has shaped their individual artistic styles and preoccupations. The chronological radius of the exhibition spans more than five decades from 1960s to early 2000s, showcasing more than two hundred artworks from KNMA collection and loans from artists and private collections.

Weavers Studio Resource Centre (WSRC), Kolkata in collaboration with the National Museum, New Delhi will be mounting an exhibition on the historic Baluchar textiles of Bengal in February 2019 at the Museum. The exhibition will showcase prominent museum and private collections. This three-hundred-old weaving tradition known for its unique pictorial representation inspired by the prevailing socio-cultural and artistic conditions began in the Nawabi centre of Murshidabad. Over time, this art form disappeared only to be revived in Bishnupur and Varanasi. Despite the revived textiles differed in techniques, materials and aesthetics, it was a continuation of this unique heritage. The interactive exhibition will educate the viewer on various aspects and contexts of the Baluchar textile tradition.