Une exploration de la manière dont des artistes contemporains indiens réinterprètent des savoir-faire traditionnels, notamment la broderie, pour interroger leur héritage culturel et leur identité. Les oeuvres de Madhvi et Manu Parekh, réalisées avec la Chanakya School of Craft, illustrent le dialogue entre art, artisanat, tradition et création contemporaine. ©Electre 2026

Quatrième de couverture

Cosmic Garden emerges from an ongoing, fertile exchange between Indian artists Madhvi Parekh. Manu Parekh. Karishma Swali, and the Chanakya School of Craft a non-profit institution committed to the emancipation of women through craft. A Collateral Event of the 60th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, the exhibition honours the pluralistic beauty of India's cultural heritage. Featured paintings and sculptures by Madhvi Parekh and Mann Parekh trace the evolution of their practice into a third, interdisciplinary medium hand-embroidery - presented through crafted works and sculptures created by the Chanakya School of Craft and its Creative Director, Karishma Swali. Madhvi Parekh's figurative compositions represent fascinating narratives inspired by the goddesses of the Vedic pantheon. while Manu Parekh creates complex mindscapes symbolising Indian esoteric traditions. Just as both artists celebrate Indian ancestral traditions and myths, where the spiritual dimension serves as a potent imaginative and creative device, the interdisciplinary works created by Karishma Swali and the Chanakya School of Craft transcend conventional boundaries to carve out an artistic language firmly rooted in collective cultural histories. Curated by Maria Alitata and Paola Ugolini, Cosmic Garden explores how a renewed visual language can emerge through women's transformative energy, and how new forms grow from existing foundations through interpretation and material exploration. This publication continues that inquiry, offering a record of the artworks, processes, and creative dialogues that shaped Cosmic Garden and its wider cultural context.