Gunjan Tyagi Selected For Every Woman Biennial 2026 In New York

Visual artist Gunjan Tyagi has been selected from more than 800 applicants to participate in the 2026 Every Woman Biennial, titled SPECTALIA, at Pen + Brush Gallery in New York City. Opening March 8, 2026, International Women’s Day, the juried exhibition runs through April 11 and explores themes of spectacle, carnival, and resistance. Hosted at the historic nonprofit gallery dedicated to women and non-binary artists, the biennial is widely recognized for its rigor and visibility, with past coverage from major international publications.

Recognized as the world’s largest biennial dedicated to women and non-binary artists, the Every Woman Biennial brings together hundreds of artists across disciplines through an international open call. The 2026 edition, SPECTALIA, explores a “punk-rock revival of the carnivalesque,” inviting artists to engage themes of spectacle, joy, absurdity, and resistance in response to contemporary social and political realities. Presented in a dynamic salon-style exhibition, the biennial features works across painting, sculpture, installation, video, performance, and new media, creating a vibrant cross-disciplinary platform for artistic dialogue.

The exhibition is hosted at Pen + Brush, a historic nonprofit gallery in New York City that has championed women and gender-expansive artists and writers for more than a century, further aligning with the biennial’s mission to amplify underrepresented voices in the arts.

Tyagi is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, site-specific installation, nature art, video, photography, and mixed media. Based in Schenectady, New York, she has exhibited across more than fourteen countries, including India, the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Lithuania, Mauritius, Iceland, Seychelles, and Hawaii. Her work has been presented at institutions such as the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai, the Consulate General of France, the Embassy of Greece, and the Labirinto della Masone di Franco Maria Ricci.

At the biennial, Tyagi will present Under the Table, a work that serves as a visceral visual metaphor for the silent secrets and lurking dangers often overlooked in everyday life. By positioning a wild crocodile beneath the rigid structure of a neatly arranged table, the work creates friction between public composure and private chaos. This tension is further heightened through the choice of medium: the piece is meticulously rendered on traditional handmade Wasli paper using a rich blend of mixed media, bridging ancient craftsmanship with contemporary anxieties.

Holding an MFA from Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, and a BFA from Kurukshetra University, where she graduated as University Topper, Tyagi’s work examines identity, migration, cultural memory, and ecological tension. Incorporating unconventional materials such as cow dung, found objects, and raw natural elements, her sculptures and installations blur the boundary between everyday object and art object, oscillating between playful and confrontational while remaining deeply personal.

Reflecting upon it Gunjan Tyagi said, “I am honored to be part of SPECTALIA. My work often navigates the space between spectacle and resistance, between what is seen and what is erased. To present this dialogue on International Women’s Day, within a platform dedicated to women and non-binary artists, feels both powerful and deeply personal.”

Tyagi’s participation in the 2026 Every Woman Biennial highlights her continued engagement with themes of visibility, resistance, and cultural memory, contributing a distinctive voice to the global dialogue presented in SPECTALIA.