Art Deco through a modern lens

A feminine signifier successful bluish and ivory, flanked by Art Deco iconography. Here, indigo and sholapith go the mean to reimagine Deco. Elsewhere, the water is evoked successful a kottan- (Chettinad handbasket weave) inspired backless seat, by designer David Joe Thomas, whose plan is portion of a trio presented by Bengaluru-based Kaash Space.

These striking pieces person been hand-picked by just manager Misha Bains for ‘Neo Deco’, a curation of implicit 40 pieces that radiance a spotlight connected Art Deco successful its centenary year, astatine India Design ID 2025. The objet d’art signals a reinvention of Deco done a modern plan lens. Bains elaborates, “As an ode to Deco, we wanted to showcase designers who offered a modern perspective, inspired by its geometry, bold lines and motifs. We privation to item Indian plan due to the fact that historically, Indians person been viewed done the lens of makers oregon craftspeople, not arsenic designers. Now, finally, our designers and artforms are getting recognition.”

Neo Deco is simply a matrimony of Indian and French (Paris being the birthplace of Art Deco) designers, showcasing accepted creation forms specified arsenic Channapatna, Tholu Bommalata, Bidri, Dhokra and glassblowing, to contiguous a uniquely artisan-led modern collection. “We are presently successful an epoch successful India, wherever designers are aware, educated, well-travelled and unfastened to experimenting,” explains Bains, adding, “There are experiments with glass, and a surge successful the usage of metallic and chrome finishes.”

Urban Patchwork

Jit Chowdhury — for 47-A Gallery

The enactment is an amalgam of modernist Deco connection with the lived textures of Bengali trade successful sholapith, reflecting however practice tin beryllium viewed successful a modern context. Artist and illustrator Jit Chowdhury is inspired by the geometry and ornamentation emblematic of Art Deco buildings successful Mumbai, Kolkata, and Delhi.

Soonawala Sofa

Bobby Aggarwal — for Portside Café Furniture Studio

The signifier of the spot takes its cues from Deco buildings on Mumbai’s Marine Drive. The print, designed in-house, is inspired by the bas-relief facades, model grills, and the chevrons that decorate these buildings. The bluish palette is an homage to the oversea and the hue recovered connected Wedgewood ceramics.

Adamastor Cabinet

André Teoman — for Scarlet Splendour

Made with handcrafted brass components, this melodramatic furniture blends nautical imagery with an enticing bluish palette to connection a amusive and functional ode to Deco. Portuguese decorator André Teoman, successful collaboration with the craftsmen astatine Kolkata-based Scarlet Splendour, reimagines the communicative of Adamastor, depicted successful Portuguese writer Luís de Camões’ epic, The Lusiads. The fearsome giant, Adamastor, erstwhile symbolised the perilous voyage of explorers connected their mode to India. But aft the Cape of Storms was renamed the Cape of Good Hope, helium metamorphosed into a awesome of optimism.

Sculptural Light

Kickie Chudikova x klove — for Shakti Design Residency

Taking its cue from architecture, the airy portion uses nested amber solid structures that crook luminous erstwhile lit astatine the centre. Drawing inspiration from Indian arches successful scalloped forms, klove workplace celebrates the country’s craftsmanship and storytelling done glass, which is feted for its malleability and however it offers translation erstwhile paired with light.

Lac Tapestry

Built Editions

Created with (and honouring) Channapatna’s lacware artisans, the tapestry — shaped arsenic a geometric creation of laced beads — becomes an artefact that combines contented and modern design. Straddling Mumbai and Amsterdam, Anne Geenen co-founded architecture and plan workplace Site Practice, and furnishings and plan marque Built Editions, with David Schmidt, cautiously considering designs that are socially and materially anchored successful community.

Bāle Asandi

The Vernacular Modern

The signifier evokes the gentle expanse of a banana leaf, with sensuous velvet seating echoing the tropical foliage. The Bāle Asandi seating ensemble is simply a convergence of vernacular symbolism and craftsmanship. Using joinery-based woodworking, the oeuvre, by founders Deeptashree Saha and Abhirup Dutta of the Bengaluru-based multidisciplinary plan studio, celebrates reclaimed coagulated teak and materials specified arsenic earthy rattan and coagulated brass.

Le Nid

Sona Reddy

Le Nid (the nest) symbolises cocoons of light, and the quality of an enveloping embrace. The sculptural lamps by Hyderabad-based Sona Reddy Studio, reinterpret Art Deco’s ornamentation done handcrafted dhokra, fusing blown solid with wax-cast brass dhokra elements. 

Maske Console

DeMuro Das

The metallic basal elements bespeak the tactility of the foundry process, portion the tapering volumes callback the pilaster forms and disguise motifs seen successful Deco iconography. DeMuro Das, founded by Brian DeMuro and Puru Das, blends accepted craftsmanship with modern materiality to make a decorative console, referencing the theatricality of Art Deco.

SLABS Treasure Box

Destroyers/Builders for æquō

Its inspiration is rooted successful the rugged landscapes of Karnataka, wherever granite boulders meld into each other. Reinventing the accepted methods of repoussé (a metalworking method that creates a raised plan by hammering malleable metallic from the reverse side), heavy metallic sheets envelop hand-carved teak wood blocks. In 2023, æquō invited Dutch decorator Linde Freya Tangelder to widen repoussé probe successful India. Working with the gallery’s spouse store successful Alibag, led by Jeevaram Suthar, blocks are joined by brass soldering, with the exposed welds serving arsenic an honorable look of the process.

Naga

RoWin’ Atelier

The sculptural champagne bucket is simply a confluence of French modernist practice and Indian sculptural traditions. The interior halfway holds the sparkling wine, portion the circular rim acts arsenic a vas for flowers. Mounted connected a chromatic file marked with Deco geometry, the steel-stone objet d’art by the French transdisciplinary steadfast RoWin’ Atelier celebrates the national of form, relation and ornamentation.

Skylight

YMER&MALTA

The Skylight sculpture, by YMER&MALTA, an creation furnishings location based successful Paris, is understated astatine archetypal glance. But erstwhile illuminated, it shifts from sunrise to nighttime invoking forests, glaciers, deserts and oceans. Its cautiously calibrated facets are reminiscent of the geometry and signifier of Art Deco.

Lodge Armchair

Pinto

Made astatine a French atelier, the armchair is adapted for exteriors, moving seamlessly from the surviving country to the terrace oregon garden. With a textured and patinated brass structure, this luxurious instauration by French plan workplace Pinto, revisits the Deco epoch with added sophistication.

Jellyfish

Mathieu Lustrerie

Medusa, from Greek mythology, with snakes for hair, could crook onlookers to stone. Medusa is besides the sanction of the free-swimming signifier of a jellyfish’s beingness cycle. This signifier is alluded to successful slender filaments successful this jellyfish luminary artefact by Mathieu Lustrerie Atelier successful Marseille. The suckers connection refuge to chopped stone crystal drops, wherever gilt bronze is combined with the brushed transparency of stones. 

Kasera 2

David Joe Thomas — for KAASH Space

Inspired by the Indian charpai, architect-designer David Joe Thomas’s seats construe accepted weaving skills crossed tape, handbasket (kottan) and cane furnishings from Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu. Kasera, a modular seating collection, uses planes arsenic armrests and structural supports, fashioned from the half-inch portion arsenic a repetitive unit. The operation of the backless seats is simply a bid of intersecting planes to heighten the level graphic prime of the checkerboard weave.

The freelance writer is based successful Chennai.