India’s design heritage might be most synonymous with colour, decoration and craft, but the country’s quieter, yet equally deep-rooted ties with modernist architecture are what the New Delhi-based design firm DeMuro Das hones in on with its latest furniture collection.
Named ‘Uncommon Threads’, DeMuro Das’ new collection comprises ten statuesque pieces, ranging from seating and side tables to center tables, a four-door cabinet and an embroidered folding screen that displays a bold curving pattern, inspired by Le Corbusier’s Capitol Complex buildings in Chandigarh. ‘The inspiration behind this collection and the techniques employed to realize it are hallmarks of our design and production process,’ says DeMuro Das co-founder Brian DeMuro, who leads the international design company together with Puru Das. ‘The Nila screen was created through a combination of contemporary precision laser cutting and traditional embroidery work, resulting in a uniquely timeless piece.’
The Nila Screen, featuring an embroidered surface created in collaboration with French accessory designer Olivia Dar
The screen, one of the showpieces of the collection, has been produced in collaboration with Olivia Dar, a French accessory designer who formerly worked with Indophile Christian Lacroix, and features a deep blue tone that echoes the interior of the Neelam Cinema, another modernist structure in Chandigarh that was designed by architect Aditya Prakash, under the direction of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret.
This recasting of Indian Modernism continues to shape the collection through the combination of restrained lines with a rich attention to detail. A minimalist sofa, with soft undulating lines is underscored by slender, textured bronze legs that have been cast to resemble petrified sand, while the stout Emil center table pairs its Brutalistic form with a highly textured surface, created from hand-laying silver and gold pyrite to form an overlapping pattern that emphasises each material’s natural patina.
The Forma Side Table (top left), Tana Side Table (centre) and Bind Console (right).
The collection’s modernist aspects are counterweighted by examples of how DeMuro Das has used Indian craft traditions to create a contemporary appeal. The luxurious Nami cabinet pays tribute to sand-cast Dhokra sculptures, made by the nomadic communities of central India, and features decorative motifs made by using coils of string that have been cast into its solid bronze doors.
Poetic, hand wrought and brimming over with narrative, the collectible pieces exude a contemporary, reconfigured beauty that is still steeped in Indian tradition.
The Aril Side Chair
A cabinet from the Uncommon Threads collection
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