Dates: 06 – 30 November 2025
Location: Black Cube Gallery | G12A Hauz Khas New Delhi
Timings: Tuesday to Saturday | 12-6 pm
Description
Sanya Malik’s Black Cube is proud to present Threads of Tradition, a solo exhibition of new works by Thota Vaikuntam, one of India’s most celebrated modern artists. Renowned for his distinctive figurative paintings of the people of Telangana, Vaikuntam now expands his visual language into an unexpected medium of embroidery.
Thota Vaikuntam’s art radiates the vibrancy of rural Telangana, celebrating its people with devotion, dignity, and sensual grace. His figures, often draped in luminous hues and adorned with sacred intimacy, embody the timeless rhythm of tradition and everyday divinity. In a singular moment of convergence between canvas and craft, the vibrant and poetic paintings of Thota Vaikuntam come alive in the threads of three-dimensional embroidery by the Shams family of Agra, the sixteenth generation of masters practicing the regal art of zardozi for over three centuries. The results are pieces that speak of fusion: Vaikuntam’s vivid, lyrical imagery now given tactile presence through the Shams family’s dexterity; threads and gemstones echoing brush-strokes and colour fields; the line between painting and textile art dissolving, as craft honours fine art.
For this collection, Vaikuntam has reimagined his iconic symbols, colours, and figures through intricate handwork on velvet, using silk zardozi embroidery embellished with precious and semi-precious gemstones. The works retain the vivid immediacy of his iconic paintings – the saturated reds, ochres, and blacks, the stylized faces and postures, the ornate jewellery and garments, while inviting the viewer into a new tactile and dimensional experience. These artworks are not merely objects of beauty, they are vessels of memory, knowledge, and artistry passed down through generations. Their intricate and traditional methods speak of a lineage of skill, patience, and devotion that shapes the visual language of India’s heritage. The preservation and revival of our cultural heritage through these fine craftsmen hold deep and enduring significance. What makes this journey truly remarkable is the coming together of artist and artisan; of vision and mastery. This creates a dialogue between the past and the present, a living model of cultural sustenance – one that honours our heritage whilst inviting reinterpretation through modern perspectives. This exhibition invites us not to just look, but to linger as we witness more than an artistic creation. We see the revival of a tradition, the reaffirmation of community, and the continuity of India’s timeless spirit.
This body of work is not a departure from Vaikuntam’s practice but an extension of it. The artist’s deep engagement with the lives, rituals, and appearances of Telangana’s people continues to be central. Through embroidery, his characters acquire a sculptural weight and shimmer, as though materialized from textile itself. With Threads of Tradition, Vaikuntam offers a radiant new chapter in his oeuvre; one where the language of modern Indian painting meets the time-honoured artistry of embroidery, uniting colour, form, and texture in cohesive harmony.
About Thota Vaikuntam, India, 1942
Thota Vaikuntam is known for his contemporary figurative paintings of residents of the Telangana region of India. His stylized portraits which focus on their subjects’ garments and accessories have earned him many awards, including the Bharat Bhavan Biennale Award in 1999 and the National Award for Painting from the Government of India in 1993. Vaikuntum trained at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda under Indian modern art pioneer K.G. Subramanyan In Vaikuntum’s works, bright primary colors invigorate fluid forms, which come together to form distorted perspectives of his subjects. Vaikuntam often sets his figures against monochrome backgrounds to highlight their ornate clothing and adornments. The artist lives and works in Hyderabad, India.
