Arjun Butani makes collecting look cool. His love for art began at a young age, in hours spent exploring museums like the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum for Art in New York. Now, he’s a full-time lawyer who runs Pristine Contemporary in Delhi with his partner. From time-to-time, he sets off around the globe to check out contemporary art offerings–– canonical art institutions, hole-in-the-corner galleries, sprawling sculpture parks.

He’s interested in sincerity and story; in artists’ journeys, making art more accessible to the public, and experiencing the world holistically through art and design.

We sat down with the jet-setter himself, as he dished on his top art destinations, shared fascinating tidbits about art scenes around the world, and explained why he thinks young people interested in collecting should acquire art from their generation.

Arjun’s Private Collection

A firm advocate for buying in your generation, having faith in the artist, and talking about the art proudly, Arjun owns works from Seher Shah’s Notes from a City Unknown, a work by Arpita Singh, paper works by Radhika Khimji, as well as works by Nicola Duravasala acquired from Renu Modi’s prestigious private collection and Gallery Mirchandani + Steinruecke in Delhi respectively. He is exceedingly proud of the emerging artists in his collection.

Now, as a gallerist, he finds that his passion for collecting has transformed into the pursuit of new artistic talent. What he enjoys most about running Pristine Contemporary is visiting the studios of the artists they represent and having personal interactions with them. At the beginning of their journey with the gallery, Arjun and his partner had challenged themselves to not just work with already-known talent, but to find their own talent. Pristine represents artists like Muscat-based Haneen Almoosawi, and Singapore’s Kumari Nahapan, whose work will be shown at the gallery later in September. 

Top Destinations for Art Lovers 

“I noticed something in Singapore. I was entering a friend’s apartment building, and can you imagine, there was a Kusama pumpkin in the building lobby! In another hotel lobby, there was a Botero sculpture!” 

Arjun commends Singapore’s public art scene, particularly the government’s push for private players to exhibit international works. A champion of accessibility and public art, Arjun has some very interesting ideas for India: “India is the perfect country for a sculpture park; especially north India. The hills in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh experience five seasons across the year.  Imagine photographing massive sculptures in the rolling hills of Manali and Shimla across the seasons––watching the sculpture age with time through rain, fog, and mist.” He sees long-term engagement with art as key to educating children and audiences beyond India’s art circles: “Where is the public art throughout the year?” 

Another destination at the top of Arjun’s list is Japan. “For people in art and design, Japan is the beginning and the end.” The country’s private and public spaces infuse art and design into every minute detail; a visit to a simple concept store reveals how even doorknobs and shelves can be exquisite works of design in themselves. Arjun highly recommends a trip to Naoshima Island––an island dotted almost entirely with private museums dedicated to artists like Lee Ufan and Hiroshi Sugomoto, and designed by architectural giant Tadao Ando. 

Touting Copenhagen as another destination that should be on an art-lover’s itinerary, Arjun describes Copenhagen’s Louisiana Museum as “One of the most beautiful sculpture parks you’ll ever see.” 

He expresses a desire to visit Cape Town and cities and countries in the African continent–– “We are so disconnected from that part of the earth, but I believe Lagos in Nigeria has one of the best contemporary art scenes.” 

South-Asian and International Artists on Arjun’s Radar

Arjun doesn’t want to be biased, but he is fond of everyone they show at Pristine Contemporary. “Sometimes, I tell my partner that if this doesn’t sell, let’s just buy it for ourselves. And when it sells, I’m still happy, because it’s gone to a good home!” He mentions artists like Varad Bang, whose work is on view at the gallery at present. Other South-Asian artist favourites include Dayanita Singh and Shilpa Gupta. An acquaintance of Dayanita Singh, Arjun laughingly says: “I’m a geek with the [Dayanita’s] boxes. I shamelessly message her on Instagram, asking where the boxes are, and if I can go pick them up, because they’re so rare now!”

Internationally, Arjun is captivated by the strong work and practice of German sculptor and painter Anselm Kiefer. He also brings up the names of the artists he viewed at Naoshima Island – Lee Ufan and Hiroshi Sugomoto.

Offbeat Recommendations

Arjun had some fascinating insights on museums less-travelled-to: for example, the Hotel de la Marine in Paris is the permanent home of the Al Thani collection. “People think the Al Thani collection is just about jewels, but it also houses contemporary paintings. They have a Salman Toor on view right now in Paris.” He also mentions The Wallace Collection in London––”People don’t venture there, thinking it’s mostly centered around wartime material, but I think it’s beautiful.”

For those with a penchant for the outdoors, he highly recommends the Khao Yai Art Forest in Thailand––a jaw-dropping, immersive sculpture park in the middle of the lush forests of the Khao Yai National Park. Arjun also strongly believes that “Everyone in the world of art should go see the caves in Aurangabad.”

Gallery-hopping Essentials

Arjun is a light gallery-hopper: a slim cardholder and his phone, and he’s good to browse a museum for hours. But he loves to pick up a tote, books, or memorabilia after an exhibition or an art fair. “I love picking up books, because it’s not just about collecting the book, but about the story of picking that book up at a museum or a fair.” After buying a book for himself and his partner at the recent David Hockney show in Paris, he inscribed ‘Paris, June, 2025’ in the book–– “It’s a memory etched in the book.”

Off the Clock from Collecting

When he’s not busy being one of India’s most prolific young collectors, Arjun can be found buried in a book––“Books have the simple ability to transport you to another world.” He’s currently obsessed with the visually beautiful books of Tan Twan Eng––a Malaysian-Chinese novelist. 

Besides reading, Arjun’s a fan of getting his steps in (which we think works perfectly with being an avid gallery-hopper!) He’s also a foodie: “Love to cook, love to eat, love to learn about food.”

Advice for Aspiring Collectors

“Pop into a gallery in your sweatpants and chappals, even if you’re not buying. Go alone, with a friend, or someone you love.” Arjun’s insightful advice for aspiring buyers and collectors of art is to show up for gallery openings and previews, over and above all the fairs and the biennales.
It doesn’t have to be fancy: just stepping out with your friends to see what’s happening in your city’s art space counts. “Buy who you like, buy who you feel is with a good gallery, and who you think has a long road ahead.”

In an era of nonchalance, Arjun’s ethos is refreshing: it’s cool to collect, because it’s cool to care. His genuine passion for art, his heartfelt interest in the journeys of the artists he represents and collects, and his desire to bring people closer to art are required in an art world that increasingly feels oversaturated and out-of-touch, especially to the people that hesitate at its fringes, wondering if they can ever build up the courage to knock on its doors.

Well, you heard Arjun. With art-fair season closing in, you don’t need status, glamour, or an art-history degree—just a curiosity for the unfamiliar, a hunger to keep learning, and an openness to your own aesthetic and sensory instincts to experience the world in endlessly rewarding ways.

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