A quick glance at Eeshaan Kashyap’s Instagram account and you will go down a rabbit hole of scrolling through visually-appealing images. Treating the table as his canvas, the multihyphenate chef, F&B curator, designer, artist and stylist seamlessly blends his love for food and decor, making it into an artwork that draws inspiration from his travels, various cultures and architecture. He hosts tables that not only take you on a culinary adventure but also transform the experience into a theatrical experience of sorts. While the popular notion in art and design is ‘less is more,’ Eeshaan’s aesthetic screams ‘more is interesting,’ and it just works.
After graduating from the Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development, Eeshaan began his culinary journey as a trained chef. Eeshaan’s surreal vision–which is a result of his passion for food and interest in travel, photography, culture, art and design–is brought to life in the way he uses ingredients, presents food and layers a table. A great amount of interest shown towards his Instagram page led him to launch his own brand of limited-edition tableware and objects Tablescape by Eeshaan in 2021.
Last year, the artist and chef presented his first exhibition ‘Vayu’ in New Delhi’s Bikaner House where he showcased his love for tableware in mixed media. The artist is now coming up with his second exhibition named Artist Proof, which is in collaboration with Maithili Ahluwalia and will run from September 6-12 at The STANDS in Mumbai. It focuses on tableware and objects called ‘Tablescape by Eeshaan’ and some more extravagant one-offs in textiles and paper. Ahead he tells us all about his upcoming show and his love affair with food and decor.
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ELLE: Tell us all about your upcoming show.
Eeshaan Kashyap (EK): This year’s exhibit revolves around experiments and techniques. I have been exploring and pushing the idea of working with mixed materials as a direction for tableware and objects. I work extensively with ceramics, metal and the colour blue. I am always on a constant high interacting with new materials and their exploration. This year the process of nourishing these ideas has led to the exhibition ‘Artist Proof.’ I am working with the idea of using “neel” which is the blue indigo pigment and “mitti” being clay to present the visual display around this show.
ELLE: What does it include and what can people expect?
EK: I will be introducing paper as a medium for the first time where waste paper is woven together on the handloom to create artworks that are not perfect and one of a kind. These collectable pieces are in various shapes and forms. Taking the idea from the woven narratives, I created a range of metal woven baskets in many finishes. These woven metal baskets are inspired by bamboo baskets used for Japanese Ikebana. The shift in material from bamboo to metal provides an unexpected and fresh take on these sculptural forms. Juxtaposing this is the traditional but equally powerful bamboo baskets from Nagaland. These antique pieces have a raw energy and an earthy grounding quality to them.
You will be seeing a lot of lights this year at the show. I have always wanted to create paper lights, floor lights and bedside lights that are made with metal, raku-fired ceramic bases and even structures made with woven metal.
Another area where I wanted to push myself was creating chairs that I love. I love the idea of daydreaming and have been seduced by the idea of a perfect rocking chair. I have been working on this chair for a few months where the geometry and the play of lines almost make it hard to believe that the chair swings when you sit on it. The wood is stained with real indigo that grew in Kutch. The idea of using “neel” was exciting and I designed it with pure instinct without worrying too much.
ELLE: What drew you towards integrating food and decor? How did this love affair actually begin?
EK: I love cooking and hosting even more. My love affair with food goes back to very early days when I prepared Sunday breakfast as a kid and made the table look pretty with whatever I could find around me. I always liked the idea of using familiar things on the table to make it more personal.
I have always been excited about breaking symmetry and using objects as a part of décor for my tablescapes. It does not matter if it’s really functional but I have always tried using food as the narrative to express design, architecture and a point of view. Food by design has always been the way I curate and think around my table.
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Just like Eeshaan, if you too love to host people and have a fancy for setting up beautiful tablescapes, it’s time to take some inspiration and get those creative juices flowing. Whether modern or festive, if you have an intimate get-together coming up at home and need some ideas, look no further. Eeshaan Kashyap’s surreal tablescapes are definitely one for your Pinterest board. Scroll below.
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