India Art Fair

Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s debut at the India Art Fair is curated around the theme of Querencia – a Spanish word that describes a ‘homing instinct’ embodying a place of safety and inspiration. Featuring artists such as Wendell Castle, Nacho Carbonell, Ingrid Donat and Karl Lagerfeld, that reflect a commitment to craftsmanship and bring the gallery’s core ethos to regional audiences. 

Orchestrated in collaboration with architect and designer Ashiesh Shah, this collaboration marks the beginning of what aims to be a lasting relationship between the gallery and the region. Shah brings a unique perspective rooted in the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi, a worldview that’s centred on transience and imperfection. The gallery has found a shared vocabulary with Shah, notably amongst his commitment to craftsmanship and how he discusses artists, their work and creative process. This understanding of functional design as art and a commitment to craft has made the collaboration a natural one. 

The artworks on show exude a sense of material experimentation, such as Above Within Beyond (2014), a bronze piece meticulously crafted with sensuous, sculptural curves reminiscent of a seat, by Wendell Castle. Castle is the founding father of the American crafts movement and considered to be one of the first artists to merge sculpture and design. Frederik Molenschot’s CL Glacier (2021), which features an array of light fixtures frozen in bronze, takes the viewer on a journey through an unknown cityscape, where the composition of the work changes from different viewpoints and morphs into new and varied formations. Nacho Carbonell’s Coffee Table Tree (187/2021) (2021), depicts a honeycomb structure created from metal mesh woven into organic shapes, nodding to the forms of tree branches and the skeletal patterns of leaves.   

 India has an ancient cultural heritage linked closely to the quarrying of Marble, most notably with the construction of the Taj Mahal. Karl Lagerfeld’s 1933-2019 Untitled XIII Fountain Arabescato 115cm (2018) – a water fountain crafted from Arabescato Fantastico, a fine marble from the Apuan Alps – mirrors this rich history. Other highlights include Vincent Dubourg’s Commode Inner Vortex Alu (2013), where aluminium is brought to life through a deconstructed, gravity-defying cabinet.  

 Anchored in New Delhi, India Art Fair harmoniously combines cutting-edge contemporary visual art, modern masters and vernacular artistic traditions, placing art and the artist’s voice at its core.