You've probably views art in a variety of mediums from waterolour to oil on canvas and installations. This time, we suggest you pay attention to another interesting format: fiber art, especially at it's making a point to save the environment.
Milaaya Art Gallery, a division of the renowned Milaaya Embroideries, is redefining the art scene with a new vision. Founded by Gayatri Khanna 25 years ago, Milaaya Embroideries has long been at the forefront of high-fashion craftsmanship, and the gallery's new highlight is fiber art.
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As the only gallery dedicated to this intricate and innovative medium of fiber art, Milaaya is set to make waves with its latest exhibition, Terra: Unravelling the Earth’s Story in Embroidery. This showcase brings together a powerhouse lineup—Nikhil Chopra, Ranbir Kaleka, Manjunath Kamath, and Shaurya Kumar—each of whom has created original works designed specifically for the fiber art medium, stitching together history and craft with a fresh artistic narrative. We spoke to artists Gayatri Khanna, Ranbir Kaleka, Manjunath Kamath to learn more.
Gayatri Khanna
ELLE: Milaaya shares how hand embroidery is a dying craft, facing extinction. What is the step you have taken to preserve this?
Gayatri Khanna: At Milaaya, we are deeply committed to preserving the craft of hand embroidery, which is facing the risk of extinction. With over 25 years of experience in this field, we recognize that artisans, the backbone of this art form, are becoming increasingly scarce. To address this, we are creating new opportunities by diversifying industries where embroidery can be utilized, including fashion, interiors, and art. By stepping into the art world, we have opened a unique space for creativity, enabling a platform where artists explore fibre art as a new medium. To further support this craft, we are enticing artisans with better pay, comprehensive training, and incentives to sustain their interest and participation. Acknowledging that this is a father-to-son trade, we have established the Milaaya Art Foundation, the social arm of our gallery, dedicated to uplifting artisan communities. Through innovative initiatives and sustainable practices, the foundation ensures that traditional skills remain relevant while providing artisans with opportunities to thrive and showcase their craftsmanship on global platforms.
Manjunath Kamath
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ELLE: What is your artistic process?
Manjunath Kamath (MK): My art practice explores the intersection of cultural memory and transformation through painting, drawing, digital collage, and terracotta sculpture. Rooted in South Karnataka's rich heritage, my work draws inspiration from local temple and church frescoes, carvings, and global references, from Renaissance painting to Thangka art, Persian and Indian miniatures, and Middle Eastern architecture. Through a mosaic-like aesthetic, I reassemble fragmented cultural symbols, inviting viewers to reconstruct narratives. Fascinated by time's impact on material culture, I employ layered processes evoking decay and distortion.
ELLE: What made you choose this medium? And how would you say fibre art is different from other mediums?
(MK): I'm drawn to experimentation, believing each medium holds unique possibilities. Fibre art, in particular, captivates me with its ability to merge texture, color, and narrative. Fibre art speaks a distinct language, conveying intimacy through touch and emotional resonance through materiality.
Compared to other mediums, fibre art stands out for its dimensionality and sensuality. By manipulating fibers, I create complex, layered surfaces that invite viewers to engage tactilely. This multisensory experience forges a profound connection between the artwork, artist, weavers, and viewers.
ELLE: What do you hope to showcase through your work?
(MK): In 'Translated Blue Tales,' I explore cultural memory's fluidity, where past and present converge in dynamic, puzzle-like compositions that challenge viewers to reassemble history's fragmented stories."
Ranbir Kaleka
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ELLE: Do share with us your artistic process.
Ranbir Kaleka (RK): The question to ask is where does a work of art come from? It comes from lived life, from what impacts you. It takes from art history, cinema, literature, poetry, theatre, popular art and stories told by people -- art is an amalgam of all of these. We see a slow destruction of life around us; all over the globe, current political situations, as well as events of the recent past affect us deeply. All these leave an imprint on an artist, a writer, a filmmaker or a poet. Wonder, fear, elation or any spectrum of emotion or feeling has to be genuinely felt in the making of an artwork. So, the urge to make the work has to come from within the artist. For Milaaya. I first visualise an image that resonates with nature. When any visualised image holds my interest long enough, it passes through various transformations in my imagination. I wait till the varied image conveys some meaning or holds an enchantment. Then I begin to make drawings and photograph and source reference images. For fibre art pieces, the visualised image is created into a digital collage with a thousand or so layers. Finally, the layers are collapsed into a single layer that can be printed/transferred to a suitable material for realising the artwork in fibre by a team of embroiders.
ELLE: What made you choose this medium?
(RK): These artworks in fibre have a tactile quality. The way my images are realised by Milaaya gives them a 3D feel. Some forms are sculptural, floated and projected up from the surface. The subtle blending of tones behind them creates depth and lifts the foreground objects prominently.
ELLE: What journey do you want your viewers to go through with this collection?
(RK): For the viewer, it’s hoped, these various elements, skilfully crafted and combined together by the embroiders, should make for an immersive experience. The final image has a multitude of details, large, miniscule and subtle – of creatures, shapes and things. Multiple visits to the artwork can be rewarding as something new is discovered at each viewing.