House of Santal dedicates New York gallery to contemporary South Asian design
Local curator Raksha Sanikam has inaugurated South Asian furniture gallery House of Santal in a former office space in Midtown Manhattan with an exhibition organised around plinths resembling the central courtyards of historical Indian houses.
The House of Santal Edition 1 exhibition is the first installation for the gallery, which platforms both emerging and established practitioners of contemporary design from South Asia.
The gallery is located on the tenth floor of a Midtown skyscraper and spreads out over 8,000 square feet (740 square metres) of a former office space.
Edition 1 showcases work from 13 Indian designers and studios, including those working in rugs, seating, tables, wall installations and swings.
The show was arranged around deep red plinths at the centre of the space, which showcased chairs and stools, such as a woven stainless steel lounge chair by Upasana Jain and a sculptural teak chair by Akshay and Avani Khurana.
The display called to the central courtyards of grand, historic homes of northern and southern India "where domestic architecture often functioned as a living gallery" according to House of Santal.
The surrounding rooms, which were sectioned off by stark partitions, contained restrained vignettes with pieces that focused on specific materials, craft techniques, and contemporary design ideas.
"At House of Santal, the courtyard guides the flow of movement throughout the gallery where a sequence of thresholds leads visitors through distinct vignettes," said the gallery.
"Together, the thresholds and vignettes create a rhythmic journey through the gallery, allowing objects to be encountered gradually, with intention, context, and pause."
These smaller rooms contained peices such as the Beevi Pai Swing by Veeram Shah in collaboration with Majja Design, a standalone swing informed by "Corbusier's sculptural curves" made of a teak frame with a seat of hand-woven Pattamadai mats.
Two swings by Nishita Kamdar swung side by side in another corner, while a huge silver fibreboard wall sculpture by Aashka Desai was affixed to a far wall, with a similar piece reflected onto the floor below.
Another space, presumably a former boardroom, contained a large spread of refreshments.
Curator Raksha Sanikam told Dezeen the gallery's Manhattan location was an intentional gesture to assert South Asian work into the broader conversation of contemporary design.
"Manhattan is one of the world's great cultural melting pots, where global design conversations naturally happen," Sanikam told Dezeen. "We wanted to present the best of South Asian design in a city that already brings together the most important creative voices from around the world."
"It felt important to create a space where these designers and makers are seen not as regional craft, but as part of the global contemporary design dialogue, while also encouraging collaboration between South Asia and New York."
For now, House of Santal will operate from the Midtown gallery before re-assessing in the summer, according to the team.
Although India has a long history of highly detailed design and architecture, recently the country has been gaining more attention from the global design community.
Design principal Amit Khanna wrote about the unprecedented scale of building in the country, while British consumer technology brand Nothing's second store in India may herald how the nation will become "a design hub gradually".
The photography is by Joe Kramm
House of Santal Edition 1 is on show at 10th floor of 135 W 50th Street by appointment from 18 February until May. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
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