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Mumbai-based artist Rithika Merchant’s solo exhibition, “The Dreaming Realm,” is on view at Galerie LJ in Paris through Nov. 21, 2026. The paintings combine hybrid figures, mythological symbols and scenes of natural upheaval, with the gallery describing the work as engaging with ecological anxiety, shared care and transformation.
Mumbai-based artist Rithika Merchant is presenting her solo exhibition “The Dreaming Realm” at Galerie LJ in Paris, where paintings of hybrid beings, mythological imagery and natural upheaval explore relationships between people and the environment. The exhibition is scheduled to continue through Nov. 21, 2026, according to the gallery information reported by Colossal.
The exhibition brings together a new body of work built around hybrid creatures and a sense of the sacred. Colossal describes scenes in which mythological beings interact with plants and animals, alongside insects, stars, metaphysical tendrils and all-seeing eyes. Some human figures have the heads of raptors. The compositions use symmetry and dreamlike settings, leaving the activities depicted open to interpretation as possible rituals or encounters with the natural world.
Merchant’s imagery draws on elemental forces, including earth, plants, fire, water and stars. The paintings include floods and eruptions, set against scenes of people taking part in mysterious ceremonies or activities. The gallery says these scenes convey cooperation and determination; that description is the gallery’s interpretation of the work, rather than a separately verified account of the artist’s intent.
Galerie LJ says Merchant’s research draws on sensory experience, the Greek concept of Kairos and the medieval Beguines. Kairos is invoked in relation to questions about the subjectivity of time. The Beguines were lay communities of financially independent Christian women, some of whom practiced mysticism. The gallery also connects the paintings’ symbols to consciousness and change, citing the luna moth as an image of intuition and transformation, and ravens as symbols of wisdom, foresight and passage between realms.
Ecological Care in Mythic Images
The exhibition brings ecological concerns into a symbolic, rather than documentary, visual language. Floods, eruptions and other natural forces appear alongside people acting together, while hybrid figures blur boundaries between human, animal and plant life. Colossal characterizes the stories as addressing collective anxiety about the environment and hope for healing; the work’s imagery supports that reading, but the specific interpretation is attributed to the report and gallery framing.
Merchant’s emphasis on interdependence and shared knowledge also connects this exhibition to her ongoing series “Interspecies Care.” Galerie LJ describes that series as concerned with social organization, reciprocity between species and knowledge sharing. This gives visitors a way to read the Paris show within a broader strand of Merchant’s practice, without reducing its many symbolic details to a single message.
The exhibition’s relevance lies in how it places current concerns about ecological vulnerability beside older forms of myth, spirituality and communal life. Rather than making a factual forecast or a direct policy argument, the paintings use speculative narratives to consider how people might understand change and respond collectively.
mythological hybrid creature figurines
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Research Behind the Painted Symbols
“The Dreaming Realm” is presented as a solo exhibition at Galerie LJ in Paris, featuring a body of work centered on hybrid creatures and sacred imagery. The source report identifies Merchant as Mumbai-based and says the exhibition continues through Nov. 21, 2026. It does not provide a full list of works, exhibition dates beyond that closing date, or details about public programming.
The gallery’s account links the paintings to several strands of research: empirical experience based on sensory perception, Kairos as a way to question subjective time, and the history of the Beguines. Some Beguine communities in western Europe continue to exist, according to the source material. These references give context to the paintings’ attention to perception, mysticism and communal practice, but the available report does not map each reference to a specific work.
Merchant’s ongoing “Interspecies Care” series provides another point of connection. The gallery says it examines social organization, interdependence and reciprocity between species. In “The Dreaming Realm,” related concerns appear through images of human-animal hybrids and groups acting amid volatile natural conditions.
““Theoretical, historical, and iconographic references, drawing notably on the notion of empirical experience based on sensory perception, the Greek concept of Kairos to question the subjectivity of time, as well as research on the Beguines of the Middle Ages.””
— Galerie LJ, as quoted in Colossal
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Details Not Given in the Report
The available source does not state how many works are in the exhibition, provide individual titles or dimensions, or specify whether the show includes material beyond paintings. It also does not give ticketing information, opening hours or a detailed public-program schedule. Readers should consult Galerie LJ for current visitor information.
The gallery and Colossal offer interpretations of the works’ symbols and themes, but the report does not include a direct statement from Merchant explaining her intentions or how she understands each image. It is therefore unclear which meanings the artist would assign to particular creatures and scenes, or how she would describe the relationship between the exhibition’s ecological themes and its historical references.
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Exhibition Runs Through November 21
“The Dreaming Realm” is scheduled to remain on view at Galerie LJ in Paris through Nov. 21, 2026. The source material does not identify a later venue, a touring plan or additional dates. Galerie LJ is the source to check for any updates to the exhibition schedule and practical details for visitors.
Colossal points readers to Merchant’s Instagram for more of her work. Further information about individual pieces or the artist’s account of the exhibition may become available through the gallery or the artist, but no additional announcements are included in the report.
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Key Questions
Where is “The Dreaming Realm” on view?
The exhibition is at Galerie LJ in Paris, according to the source report.
How long will the exhibition run?
It is scheduled to continue through Nov. 21, 2026.
What does the exhibition show?
The paintings feature hybrid creatures, mythological imagery and natural forces, including floods and eruptions, alongside scenes of people acting together.
What research informs Merchant’s paintings?
Galerie LJ cites sensory perception, the Greek concept of Kairos and the medieval Beguines among the historical and conceptual references informing the work.
Has Merchant explained the meaning of the symbols?
The source report gives interpretations from the gallery, including associations between luna moths and transformation and between ravens and foresight. It does not include a direct statement from Merchant explaining the symbols.
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