How contemporary Indian artists are creating stunning works using textiles

At the Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, a set of absurdist, exaggerated fibreglass sculptures come into view. In a recent essay, Painting with the Needle, accompanying an exhibition of contemporary artist Alamu Kumaresan’s textile portraits, art historian and curator Lina Vincent writes: “Embroidery and textile arts are often associated with craft, and relegated to women’s domestic work. “It’s no coincidence that textiles are being actively and intentionally used by artists of color, who have also been excluded from the canon of art history, The textile arts have experienced a quiet but steady groundswell of interest in the last decades, and recently I’ve noticed that it feels as if it is kicked into a new, even higher level," she wrote. View Full Image Viraj Khanna, 'I’m Like This Only For Instagram', courtesy: Tao Art Gallery Galleries such as Vida Heydari Contemporary in Pune and Emami Art, Kolkata, have also stepped up to showcase either theme-based exhibitions around textile art or to include these practices on a regular basis in group shows. The artist displayed raw material, method of making natural dye along with video documentation to express the complex layers of cultural history and environmental concerns,"says Ushmita Sahu, director and head curator, Emami Art.