How does temple architecture and stepwell detailing inform modern interior décor? Do the spatial design and mathematical calculations of third spaces in ancient India influence the way artists and designers envision modern Indian museums, galleries, stores or even homes? The Siddhartha Das Studio was founded two decades ago by New Delhi-based designer, artist and curator Siddhartha Das. Siddhartha works at the intersection of modern design, industrial processes and Indian craftsmanship.

He is inspired by his lifelong tryst with art, artist training workshops across 15 Indian states, and designing. Siddhartha grew up surrounded by Odisha’s local textile and art forms, thanks to his father.

His father, Jatin Das — a painter, poet, sculptor, muralist, printmaker, teacher, and cultural expert — was the driving force behind his passion.

Among his many projects, inspired by Odisha’s rich Kalinga temple architecture, its Sambalpuri ikat weaves and agricultural diversity, Siddhartha Das Studio created a 28x10 metre rich sculptural facade in laterite, in conjunction with Studio Lotus, that wraps around the Biju Janata Dal headquarters in Bhubaneswar.

A tribute to Odisha’s history and landscape, seen through a contemporary lens, inspired Siddhartha to create three works. These include two patinated brass wall art pieces and one wooden sculptural mural draw on the laterite facade. The works are part of The Space Between: A Twenty-Year Retrospective of Design and Sculpture. The exhibition explores the spaces between material and memory, form and function, and craft and contemporary sensibilities. It began this month and ends on May 3 at Ojas Art Gallery, New Delhi.

Siddhartha presents 50 works based on architectural themes. They bring together contrasts of scale, intricacy, modernity, and history, all interwoven with craft traditions. Nine of these pieces are not for sale.

The exhibition also includes 18 works by multidisciplinary designer Chiara Nath, who has collaborated with Siddhartha at his studio over the past two years.

The Siddhartha Das Studio works across retail, public and private spaces.

A 2024 design of a puja room at a client’s residence was adorned with an exquisite marble sculptural expression of Yagya Narayan (avatar of Lord Vishnu), serving as the focal point of the space, with its walls punctuated by intricate stepwell patterns. Stepwells are a recurring design motif with Siddhartha, with water architecture interpretations being applied to interior spaces.

The Lingaraj Temple was recreated in wood by the studio for the Lingaraj Interpretation Centre in Odisha. Now art collectors can own a smaller version of the masterpiece, on sale at the exhibition, in iterations as a temple complex and just the shikara (top).

“There is a certain excitement to work with juxtaposition! We draw from diametric opposites like silence and music, light and shadow, forms and counterfoils, profuse carving or embroidery with spaces around — the duality is interesting. We are fascinated by both the fragility and strength of materials, whether wood, stone, cloth or bone inlay,” he says.

The Ashtamangala installation at the international arrivals terminal at Bengaluru airport is also part of the exhibition. It includes two Ashtamangala works, both done in pen on paper. The airport mural draws on the idea of eight (ashta) auspicious offerings. They are reimagined as sculptures inspired by the Chola tradition and are placed in front of a large Mysore-style painting.

The design project ‘Ripple’ at the exhibition was initially created as a private commission piece, and is available for sale at the exhibition as a large lime plaster punctuated by geometric camel bone inlay work. “We sourced the camel bones from Jodhpur (from animals that died naturally), using long leg bones that offer a mother-of-pearl-like texture but without the lustre,” he says.

As part of Siddhartha’s practice, the studio’s work also spans retail, museum and institutional design. This includes the Swadesh Masters’ Pavilion at the Art Deco Eros Cinema building in Mumbai. It has also designed the interiors and visitor experience for the Museum of Meenakari Heritage in Jaipur.

For now, the studio has a busy year in store, with projects across the country. Siddhartha explains, “We are working on the J.D. Centre of Art (across the historic 2nd century BCE Khandagiri caves in Bhubaneswar, Odisha), which will house my father’s (artist Jatin Das) art collection of around 9,000 pieces from 35 countries. Architect B.V. Doshi designed the building for this centre that will house galleries and spaces that we hope to open by 2027.”

As Indian artforms are the bedrock of artistic expression at Siddhartha Das Studio, its vast repertoire is proof that ancient motifs can be married with modern material and sensibilities to craft elegant interior spaces.

The freelance writer is based in Chennai.