Sunaina Rajan, founder of the 1,600 square-foot Gallery Maxima, has long dreamed of running her own space. At age 28, she has become a key contact for collectors, curators and writers seeking emerging artists. Her knowledge grew during time at Chemould Prescott Road, where she helped start a platform for new talent, followed by roles at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Lévy Gorvy Dayan and the Museum of Art & Photography in Bengaluru. She later spent two years at Nature Morte focusing on sales and client relations to learn the commercial side of the field.
Rajan continues to support young artists. She gave early solo shows in Mumbai to creators including Gurjeet Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Anirudh Shaktawat, Rithika Pandey, Shailee Mehta and Pallavi Sen. She now watches several rising figures whose work she revisits often. When assessing artists she considers not only the images but also studio habits such as archival quality, custom stretching and pigment mixing.
After consulting other Mumbai gallerists, she searched for suitable premises and settled on a site in Kitab Mahal in Fort. The 14.5-foot ceilings, arches and distinctive red doors stood out. The original stone floor was kept and paired with black granite inserts. A mustard-yellow table and green Chandigarh chair add color to the space, which Rajan calls maximalist because every element was chosen with care. She avoided a plain white-cube look.
The first show, Dream Girl, presents oil paintings on velvet by Mumbai artist Maithili Chaturvedi. The works depict well-known Hindi film actresses and explore how they were shaped by the male gaze while reclaiming the images through a female perspective. Velvet was selected to echo theater curtains. Rajan notes that many collectors are now placing newer works alongside modern masters in secondary rooms of their homes.
