Kalyani Saha Chawla has lived several professional lives, each one distinct. Spending decades at the intersection of Indian contemporary art and global collecting, she began her career with Oberoi Hotels in sales and marketing, went on to set up the first Trident Hotel, and ran four magazines for the Indian Express. She also served as the vice president of marketing and communications at Christian Dior Couture in India.
She has built an e-commerce fashion brand, founded Rezon Luxury Silverware in 2017, which opened its first flagship boutique in 2020 and has since established itself as one of the leading silverware brands in the country, and most recently, appeared on Netflix's Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives.
Through all of it, art has been a constant. Along with her late mother, Saha-Chawla established Montage Arts, a gallery for contemporary Indian art, and is one of the founding members of FICA. She is, by any measure, one of India's long-standing collectors.
It is from that position that her Venice Biennale recommendations carry weight. The 2026 edition, titled In Minor Keys and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh and her team, opens this May. Below is her guide to navigating it the right way.
Presented in collaboration with Gagosian, Boafo's new works are installed on the second floor of the Palazzo Grimani, establishing what Saha-Chawla calls a dialogue between contemporary Black representation and the enduring legacy of Venetian artistic masterworks. The site and the work are in genuine conversation.
A major retrospective dedicated to the Italian post-war master, spanning approximately 100 works across eight galleries, curated by Elena Geuna and supported by Ben Brown Fine Arts. For anyone serious about post-war Italian art, this is non-negotiable.
The Anish Kapoor Foundation presents a survey spanning 50 years of work: large-scale installations, architectural models, sculptures, and the mirror and stainless-steel works that have made him one of the most recognisable sculptors alive. The Palazzo Manfrin, set on the Cannaregio canal, adds a further dimension to the work.
For the first time, the Gallerie dell'Accademia dedicates a major exhibition to a living contemporary artist. Curated by Shai Baitel, the show places Abramović's work in dialogue with Renaissance art, an argument about time, endurance, and the body that the Accademia's collection makes uniquely possible.
Presented and commissioned by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, this is one of the most anticipated Indian presentations at the Biennale this year. Malani, one of India's most significant contemporary artists, brings a body of work to Venice that is as politically urgent as it is visually precise.
Presented by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, in partnership with the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre and Serendipity Arts Foundation, the India Pavilion marks the country’s return to the Venice Biennale 2026 after a six-year gap. Curated by Amin Jaffer, the exhibition brings together contemporary voices exploring memory, migration, and material histories rooted in the subcontinent. One to watch closely.
“And a personal note: Sohrab Hura’s work, from my own collection, is showing at the Biennale this year,” says Saha-Chawla.
Venice Venice is one of the city's oldest restaurants, sitting directly on the water with the kind of worn-in elegance that takes decades to accumulate. Old, historical, and on the water, Saha-Chawla describes it simply as "sure and chic," with the artsy and fashion crowd as reliable company during Biennale week.
The building that houses Gio's was one of the first in the mid-19th century to be transformed into a luxury hotel, and in 1881 it became the Grand Hotel Britannia, where Claude Monet stayed and painted some of his most celebrated Venetian works. The restaurant is Italian at heart, with the panoramic terrace offering views of San Giorgio Maggiore and Santa Maria della Salute Basilica directly on the Grand Canal. Lunch overlooking the water, with what she flags as dependable celebrity spotting on the side.
Positioned near the Rialto Bridge, Restaurant Rialto is one of Venice's most storied addresses for straightforward, well-executed Italian food. "Fab Italian food," is Saha-Chawla's verdict. No further qualification needed.
This Michelin-recognised restaurant started out as a typical Venetian bacaro. The cuisine focuses on traditional Mediterranean and Venetian dishes, with vegetables grown in a kitchen garden on Sant'Erasmo island as part of a collective initiative where small restaurants come together to grow and share produce. The menu changes in line with market availability.
Operating since 1997 and tucked down a narrow street just north of St Mark's Square, it seats two dozen diners at most, with the menu built around whatever is available at the Rialto fish market that day. Chawla's advice is straightforward: book ahead. Walk-ins are not an option.
The best boutiques, she says, are the ones you pass in the gulleys. "You need to spot what you want, from Murano glass to fashion and trinkets." No list will do it justice. The discovery, as with most things in Venice, is entirely the point.