London, UK (September 2025) – Saatchi Gallery and Bagri Foundation present Myths, Dreams and New Realities, a group exhibition running from 24 October – 30 November 2025, curated by Chelsea Pettitt, Director of Bagri Foundation, together with the Saatchi Gallery Programming team.
Myths, Dreams and New Realities will spotlight 13 emerging artists from across the Asian diaspora, who each reimagine cultural identity through personal mythologies and visionary material practices. The exhibition presents bold new works across painting, sculpture, textiles and ceramics.
The show brings together a new generation of artists from the Asian diaspora who interrogate the way we relate to our bodies, heritage and natural environments through contemporary art. Audiences are invited to experience speculative worlds shaped by cultural memory, material innovation, and imaginative vision.
Across the gallery space, dreamlike visuals unfurl as the artists investigate the entangled relationship between identity, history, and mythology. Lulu Wang and Sato Sugamoto’s larger-than-life anthropomorphic shapes and tangled wires greet us at one end of the gallery, representing the messiness of human life. Colourful installations draw visitors to the other end of the space, with Wink King Moe’s cotton candy coloured landscapes and Marcos Kueh’s detailed tapestries which draw inventively from the folklore, symbolism and myth of Malaysian culture.
Throughout the exhibition, human and non-human landscapes are revealed through painting and sculpture. Artists reimagine their relationship with land and body, drawing inspiration from craft traditions and ancestral memory. Their works range from intricate textiles and surreal ceramics to ethereal paintings and symbolic assemblages. Whether working with natural pigments, found materials or industrial processes, each artist builds a unique reality, some built on myths or dreams whilst others on our own bodies, offering not just new ways of seeing, but exploring new ways of being.
Featured artists: Rabia S. Akhtar, Hoa Dung Clerget, Woo Jin Joo, Wink King Moe, Marcos Kueh, Hannah Lim, Kuniko Maeda, Hemaseh Manawi Rad, Varshga Premarasa, Sato Sugamoto, Lulu Wang, Caroline Wong, Lian Zhang
Myths, Dreams and New Realities is Bagri Foundation’s first institutionally curated exhibition in collaboration with Saatchi Gallery as part of its 40th anniversary. The partnership reflects the Foundation’s growing curatorial role in the UK cultural sector, platforming Asian excellence through its ongoing mission to cultivate a meaningful space for Asian culture to thrive. It also speaks to Saatchi Gallery’s continued ambition to present bold, relevant exhibitions that engage with global contemporary art and emerging artists.
Rooted in a commitment to support and realise unique, high-quality programmes which share traditional and contemporary Asian culture, the Foundation works to upend existing notions of Asia and create opportunities for new artistic presentations that sit equal amongst predominant Western narratives.
Chelsea Pettitt, Director of the Bagri Foundation and curator, said: “I was thrilled to delve into the minds of the artists in this exhibition. Each of whom uniquely build upon inherited knowledge and cultural memory to dream new futures into being. These are not only aesthetic explorations, but acts of contribution, to tradition, to imagination and to the evolving language of Asian diasporic art. It has been a privilege to curate this exhibition as part of the Foundation’s wider mission to cultivate a meaningful space for Asian culture to thrive, in this case highlighting exciting new voices on the scene.”
Drop-in Curatorial & Artist Walkthroughs
Two curatorial walkthroughs will take place during the run of the exhibition. Find out more by dropping in on the dates below. No need to book in advance.
• 12pm, Sunday 26 October with artist Hemaseh Manawi Rad
• 12pm, Saturday 29 November with artist Woo Jin Joo and Varshga Premarasa
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NOTES TO EDITORS
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Open to the public: 24 October – 30 November 2025
Spaces: The exhibition will occupy Gallery 4 on the Ground Floor.
Admission: Free of charge. No booking required.
About the Bagri Foundation
The Bagri Foundation, established in 1990, is a family foundation driven by a spirit of curiosity. Our vision is to cultivate a meaningful space for Asian culture to thrive, shift perspectives and deepen connections.
The Foundation works within a network of leading cultural organisations who share this mission, to give artists and experts from across Asia, wider visibility on the global stage. We champion diverse artistic initiatives that challenge and inspire us and our audiences. Through grants and strategic partnerships, we realise unique, high-quality programmes which share traditional and contemporary Asian culture.
Recent partnerships and projects include the exhibition Asian Bronze: 4000 years of Beauty at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; a touring co-production, Thikra: Night of Remembering , by Akram Khan Company; and three first-time UK solo institutional presentations by female artists from Asia, Arpita Singh at Serpentine Gallery, London, Citra Sasmita at the Curve Gallery, Barbican, London and Seulgi Lee at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham.
In addition to the public-facing arts programme, three generations of the family continue to support education, poverty relief and health initiatives.
About Saatchi Gallery
Since 1985, Saatchi Gallery has provided an innovative platform for contemporary art. Exhibitions have presented works by largely unseen young artists, or by international artists whose work has been rarely or never exhibited in the UK. This approach has made the Gallery one of the most recognised names in contemporary art. Since moving to its current 70,000 square feet space in the Duke of York’s Headquarters in Chelsea, London, the Gallery has welcomed over 10 million visitors. The Gallery hosts thousands of school visits annually and has over 6 million followers on social media. In 2019 Saatchi Gallery became a registered charity, beginning a new chapter in its history.
Registered Charity Number: 1182328 | Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Rd, London SW3 4RY