Gallery Kolkata, New Delhi in collaboration with Meghna Agarwala presents “Pancha-Tattva: Material Matters,” an ambitious exhibition curated and designed by Ankon Mitra. The exhibition marks the inaugural show at the gallery’s New Delhi space, bringing together artists, architects, and designers whose practices engage deeply with material exploration and craftsmanship.
In recent years, exhibitions and fairs have increasingly blurred the lines between art, architecture, design, and craft, reflecting a growing interest in interdisciplinary dialogue. Pancha-Tattva: Material Matters moves beyond this trend to explore a deeper and more fundamental connection — the intimate relationship between the maker and the material.
The concept of the exhibition draws inspiration from the ancient philosophy of the Pancha-Tattva — the five cosmic elements: Space, Air, Water, Earth, and Fire, considered the fundamental forces shaping the universe. The idea begins with the cosmic void, the quiet space from which creation emerges. From this void arises the seed of an idea that evolves through the three gunas — Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. In the context of creative practice, Sattva represents the inherent qualities of a material, Rajas embodies the dynamic intention of the maker shaping it, and Tamas reflects the inner impulses and desires that manifest through the act of making.
As the maker engages deeply with the material, the hands, mind, and heart merge with it in the act of creation, dissolving boundaries between disciplines. In this dialogue, the material speaks to the maker and the maker responds, shaping it into form while being transformed in the process. The physical thus becomes emotional, intellectual, and eventually spiritual — a sacred exchange that connects creative practice to Mother Earth, the timeless “source code” of creativity even in the age of AI.
At the heart of the exhibition are five materials, each representing one of the elemental forces:
- Concrete — Fire
- Wood — Earth
- Glass — Water
- Textile — Air
- Copper / Brass / Bronze — Space (Ether)
Through these materials, the exhibition reflects on the profound journey between maker and material, dissolving boundaries between art, architecture, and design and celebrating the shared language of creation and craftsmanship.
The exhibition features 29 makers, presenting an almost equal representation of artists, architects, and designers across generations.
Among the senior artists are Kavita Nayar, Arunkumar HG, Sheela Chamariya, and Srila Mookherjee. The exhibition also includes prolific designers such as Siddhartha Das, Joya Nandurdikar, and Amrita Guha, alongside contemporary design voices with successful brands including Arjun Rathi, Malavika Singh, Babar Afzal, Amrita Nambiar, and Bandana Jain.
A dynamic group of cross-disciplinary architects — Sushant Verma, Nitin Barchha, Jwalant Mahadevwala, Kanishka Jain, and Piyusha Patwardhan — bring innovative material practices to the exhibition, challenging conventional silos of practice.
Celebrated for their distinct artistic and material vocabularies are Aakriti Kumar, Pintu Sikder, Parth Parikh, and Jenjum Gadi. The exhibition also highlights emerging voices generating significant attention in contemporary creative circles, including Revati Jayakrishnan, Mayadhar Sahu, Abhishek Chakraborty, Chandrapal Panjre, Srinia Chowdhury, and Keshav Gupta.
Curated by Ankon Mitra, the exhibition brings together a compelling mix of senior, mid-career, and emerging practitioners united by their deep engagement with materials.
The exhibition is presented by Meghna Agarwala, whose vision brings this ambitious interdisciplinary showcase to the capital, marking an exciting new chapter in Delhi’s cultural calendar.
