Sandeep & Gitanjali Maini Foundation presents Bindu & Rekha, an exhibition by 15-year-old artist Sai Akhil Anand, bringing together a thoughtful and instinctive body of work that explores animals, patterns, repetition, mathematics and the natural world. The exhibition from June 14-June 30, 2026 reflects the Foundation’s continued commitment to nurturing artistic expression, encouraging young creative voices and creating meaningful platforms where art, learning and cultural engagement come together.
As patrons of the show, Sandeep and Gitanjali Maini play a central role in shaping the spirit of this exhibition. Their support goes beyond the presentation of artworks; it reflects a larger belief in encouraging curiosity, experimentation and visual literacy among younger generations. The Foundation has consistently created spaces where artists, audiences, students and cultural practitioners can engage with art in ways that are accessible, reflective and inspiring. Bindu & Rekha is an extension of this vision, offering a young artist the opportunity to present his inner world with seriousness, care and sensitivity.
The exhibition brings together the instinctive world of Sai Akhil, who sees animals not merely as subjects, but as arrangements of rhythm, emotion, repetition and design. For him, the animal body becomes a field of marks: the zebra’s stripe, the tiger’s line, the panda’s contrast, the cow’s patch and the shell’s spiral. These patterns are visual codes through which nature organises identity, movement and survival.
The title, Bindu & Rekha, offers a precise entry into this world. In its simplest form, bindu is the point and rekha is the line. Together, they form the beginning of image-making, geometry and pattern. A dot becomes a cluster; a line becomes contour; contour becomes body. In Akhil’s works, this movement from point to line mirrors both artistic process and mathematical thought. His marks, made through charcoal, acrylic, watercolour, clay embossing, photography and other techniques, become experiments in repetition.
This interest also connects with mathematical ideas Akhil has explored, including Fibonacci sequences, golden spirals, sacred geometry and Turing patterns. These concepts are especially relevant to a body of work centred on animals, where stripes, spots, patches and spirals become evidence of hidden order within the natural world. In Akhil’s hands, scientific ideas become visual poetry: the stripe is not only a stripe, but a structure; the patch is not random, but part of a larger system.
Akhil’s attraction to black-and-white animals is particularly significant. Their contrast allows him to explore difference, symmetry, interruption and balance. Yet the artist does not treat patterns as fixed or untouched. A recurring concern in his work is how animal patterns and habitats are altered by human interference. Here, admiration turns into quiet warning, reminding viewers that to see animals closely is also to recognise the urgency of protecting their environments.
The series also reflects a young artist testing the possibilities of medium. Charcoal and scribbling techniques bring movement and instinct. Acrylic and gouache create density and graphic strength. Watercolour introduces softness and unpredictability. Clay embossing makes pattern tactile, while photography sharpens the act of observation. Across mediums, repetition does not produce sameness; each attempt becomes a variation.
There is also a dialogue with Indian visual traditions. Akhil’s connection with Gond, Madhubani, Warli, Kalighat and Pichwai is not one of imitation, but of learning from long-standing traditions where repeated marks, lines and patterns have been used to describe life, ecology, storytelling and the sacred.
Date: 14–30 June 2026
Time: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Closed on Mondays)
Venue: Sandeep & Gitanjali Maini Foundation, 38 Maini Sadan (Mezzanine Level), 7th Cross, Lavelle Road, Bengaluru 560001.