Mumbai-based Ashiesh Shah is a tastemaker in the world of design and architecture whose practice integrates Indian culture with contemporary design, combining an aesthetic rooted in the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi with a commitment to the revival of Indian crafts.  

Shah’s tastes span centuries and continents. Combining a futuristic character with a revival of handcrafted creativity, his works gravitate towards geometry and materiality, while embracing the beauty of imperfection, impermanence and incompleteness. His keen interest in visual art informs, inspires and nourishes his design practice. Shah also curates exhibitions of art, crafts and design that bring together the best of Indian talent. 

The designer launched Atelier Ashiesh Shah in 2017, a design firm that handles various design projects in India and beyond. Born from a vision to blur the boundaries between art and design, the studio amalgamates experimentation, craftsmanship and technique into a creative ecosystem for collaboration and development. Empowering the karigar (artisan), Shah aims to work alongside craftspeople from across India to create work that honours their artisanship with a contemporary flair, whether longpi pottery from Manipur, channapatna toys from Karnataka or dhokra metalwork from Chattisgarh.  

In 2018, Shah collaborated with the Times of India group to curate D/code, an exhibition in Mumbai showcasing the best design from around the world. In 2019, he presented his interpretation of Mahatma Gandhi at the National Gallery of Modern Art. In 2022, he displayed Naga weaves and hand-embroidered Nakshatra rugs at the ‘Sutr Santati’ exhibition at the National Museum in New Delhi. In 2023, his exhibition ‘Sustain: The Craft Idiom’ was exhibited at the Kala Bhoomi Odisha Crafts Museum in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.  

Shah was named Elle Décor India’s Designer of the Year in 2016 and is one of Architectural Digest’s 50 most influential names in India. Shah was appointed Champion of Change in Transforming India through G2B Partnerships by the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog in 2019. He has also been a jury panellist for the JSW Prize for Contemporary Craftsmanship in association with Architectural Digest. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Shah launched The India Design Fund (TIDF), a body bringing together powerful voices from the industry to support the transformation of lives and livelihoods in design.  

ASHIESH SHAH_BIOGRAPHY