New Delhi, Feb. 6 -- New York's iconic Metropolitan Museum of Art is deepening its ties with India's booming contemporary art scene to add to its already vast collection of 4,000 pieces of Indian art.

Max Hollein, chief executive of the $6 billion institution, recently visited India with an eye on the country's contemporary art that's been gaining global attention recently.

"The Indian art market has developed rapidly and profoundly. You now have very important galleries and art fairs in Delhi and Mumbai that have a strong infrastructure to create and disseminate artworks," Hollein told Mint in an interview, adding that contemporary Indian artists are increasingly part of the global conversation.

"We are and want to be more engaged wit...