In Conversation with Maya Varadaraj

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In Conversation with Maya Varadaraj

We’ve long admired Maya Varadaraj’s life-sized portraits that she paints on raw linen canvases. She is drawn to old photographs of her family and moments of growing up in Coimbatore, not just for composition, but for connection — revisiting the gestures, clothing, and textures of her past to reflect on memory and identity. Somehow, the figures feel strangely familiar. We talk to her over email about her latest work, the materials she’s drawn to, and the quiet rituals that shape her art practice.

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Review of 'Mūḷ Māthī'

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Review of 'Mūḷ Māthī'

Back in 2021, Dior’s Creative Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, collaborated with the Chanakya Atelier to reinterpret Madhvi and Manu Parekh’s paintings as hand-embroidered textile panels. Embroidered over the course of three months using both traditional Indian and couture techniques, these panels formed the backdrop for Dior’s spring-summer haute couture 2022 show at Musée Rodin in Paris. The tapestries travelled back to India last month, where they were on display at a special exhibition, Mūḷ Māthī, curated by the Asia Society India Centre at Snowball Studios in Mumbai.

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The Magnificent World of Surrealism

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The Magnificent World of Surrealism

Out of the grim shadow of the First World War came the unbridled flourish of Surrealism. Over a hundred years later, Surrealist art is more significant than ever before. Delhi-based writer Radhika Iyengar writes about three surrealist artists from the Indian subcontinent: Bharti Kher, Arpita Singh and Rithika Merchant.

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A Review of N.S. Harsha: Stomach Studio

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A Review of N.S. Harsha: Stomach Studio

In Stomach Studio, Harsha’s first solo exhibition in New Delhi — currently showing at Vadehra Art Gallery — the artist keenly observes our current pandemic-ridden world with both humour and despair. Comprising a cast of outlandish characters, from an octopus-headed lamp-lighter to mutant rats making love, his works —ranging from quotidian to supernatural — allude to a sense of eccentricity as well as perceptive socio-political awareness. We asked New Delhi-based writer Riddhi Dastidar to review the exhibition.

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