The exhibition, titled ‘Cosmic Garden,’ emerges from an ongoing fertile exchange between acclaimed Indian artists Madhvi Parekh and Manu Parekh, in collaboration with Karishma Swali, Artistic Director of Mumbai-based Chanakya School of Craft — a non-profit institute committed to the emancipation of women through craft. Marking its inaugural showcase in Venice, the presentation pays homage to the pluralistic beauty of India’s artisanal legacies and indigenous art traditions. Curated by Paola Ugolini and Maria Alicata, the exhibition is set to be unveiled at the Salone Verde – Art & Social Club in Venice, Italy, from April 20th to November 24th, 2024.
The Chanakya Foundation and Karishma Swali are pleased to present Cosmic Garden, a Collateral Event of the 60th International Art Exhibition—the Venice Biennale.
Supported by Dior and held at Salone Verde—Art & Social Club, in the historical Venetian area of Rialto, Italy, from April 20 to November 24, 2024, the exhibition honours the pluralistic beauty of India’s cultural heritage, featuring paintings and sculptures by Madhvi Parekh and Manu Parekh, and the evolution of their practice into a third interdisciplinary medium—hand-embroidery—presented through crafted works and sculptures created by Chanakya Foundation’s Creative Director Karishma Swali and the Chanakya School of Craft—a Mumbai-based non-profit institution committed to the emancipation of women through craft.
This carefully curated series of works embraces a multidisciplinary approach, dismantling hierarchies between the arts, roles, and genres. The project seeks to re-evaluate the mutual relationship between women and embroidery, transcending the confines of domesticity by bringing hand-embroidery into the public sphere.
