Sarita Handa’s new collection fuses art and design in a luxurious celebration of Indian craftsmanship.
What happens when cutting edge design meets the best of India’s contemporary art? It results in an iconic limited edition collection that is sure to be appreciated across the board. This is certainly the case with designer Sarita Handa’s latest Spring – Summer 2025 collection made in collaboration with Gallery Art Positive and curated by art connoisseur Anu Bajaj, the founder of the gallery. The collection brings together luxurious home furnishings and collectible art.
“With three distinct lines called ‘Wild Spring’, ‘Come Away With Me’ and ‘In the Mood for Summer’, the collection narrates a visual story of Indian craft and seasonal beauty. One can admire the beauty of pastel Kantha quilting, Ari embroidery and botanical motifs in cotton and linen,” says Handa. The selection is a reflection of the label’s dedication to detail, comfort and emphasis on slow design.
Along with Handa’s textiles, contemporary art works are also being presented by Gallery Art Positive. These include sculptural, photographic and mixed media works. As Handa shares, “Our aim was to create an immersive design experience – one that blurs the lines between décor and storytelling. It was a celebration of heritage techniques made for today’s homes. We have crafted a collection rich in texture, embroidery and colour, designed to breathe with the rhythm of nature.”
“’Wild Spring’ consists of quilted textures that bring freshness and charm, infusing the home with the vibrant energy of spring. ‘Come Away With Me’ is a summer garden reimagined. It is an invitation to sink into the soft luxury of pure cotton and linen, adorned with embroidery that captures the romance of distant lands. Art Deco elegance, Persian floral medallions and vintage European botanicals come alive through intricate Ari embroidery, rice stitch, French knots and chain stitch. ‘In the Mood for Summer’ embraces the hues of the Indian summer – lush greens and sun-baked oranges, ocean blues and deep corals – set against the timeless beauty of ivory, neutral and natural linens,” explains the designer.
As the wife of an army officer, Handa travelled the length and breadth of the country discovering domestic textile techniques. She launched her eponymous label in 1992 and branched into the retail sector in 2012 by expanding her offerings to include furniture, décor and artefacts. The brand’s range of bed and bath linen, furniture, decor and fabrics are now available in experiential stores across Mumbai, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Ahmedabad.
Handa shares, “Our heritage designs, drawn from traditions around the world, are reimagined for the modern home. Our purpose is to create global luxury crafted from the finest Indian textiles and the hand of the artisan, and to preserve heirloom design languages, reimagined for contemporary homes. We want to craft furniture, soft furnishings and decorative pieces that embody simple, quiet luxury rooted in sustainability. We believe in building a sustainable, ethical, empowered and beautiful world. We believe in preserving the heritage of a bygone era, and pulling it into the future with modernity. Our world is built on kindness, self-belief and artistry.”
Bajaj of Gallery Art Positive, has always strived to showcase art and activities that bring with them “an air of the fresh, distinctive and inspirational.” The gallery has always embraced the progressive practices of installation, sculpture, photography and ceramic art. They also frequently organise workshops, talks and the GAP Art Award which supports young and emerging artists.
“My aim is to present to my viewers, collectors and even those new to the art world, modern and contemporary art that pushes the envelope. I have always highlighted the clear connect between the creative world, art investment and intellectual enrichment,” she explains.
This collaboration includes the works of a number of artists whose practice spans various mediums. Shahanshah Mittal uses monochromatic tones to create work inspired by his surroundings, including the peeling walls of his rented apartment in Delhi and the flowers on his balcony.
Birender Yadav’s practice is deeply rooted in his personal and cultural background – growing up in a family of ironworkers in Dhanbad. Yadav’s work captures the labour, life, pain, struggle and beauty that characterises this particular social stratum.
Santana Gohain’s work draws deeply from her childhood experiences of growing up in Dibrugarh, Assam and the misty hills of Meghalaya. Her exposure to the vibrant textile culture of Gujarat and the industrial environment surrounding her studio in Gujarat, further informs her practice, resulting in pieces that blend the rustic with the modern.
Bansi Dholakiya is inspired by the spectacular and peculiar landscapes of Gujarat, particularly the paddy fields, deserts, farms and salty pans. The modulations and variations of the different terrains of Gujarat are transformed as abstract landscapes marked by solitude and silence.
Neerja Divate’s mixed media works on Somerset paper capture the fleeting beauty of raindrops and the quiet flow of water, inspired by her childhood in drought-stricken Andhra Pradesh. She has a minimalistic approach and monochromatic palette.
Sri Harsha Kancharla creates white-on-white abstractions inspired by her home city of Hyderabad, which she has seen change rapidly over the years. There is an interplay of lines that weave, fold, unfold and intersect with other elements to create depths in space and perspectives.
Rutvi Vakharia’s practice explores the transformation of urban spaces into domestic ones, viewed through the lens of memory, gender and belonging. Her work draws on the contrast between growing up in congested Indian middle-class neighbourhoods and later inhabiting spacious modern homes. Hence, there is a visual dialogue between architecture, identity and domesticity.
Elanchezhiyan is a sculptor whose practice is deeply rooted in the cultural, spiritual and natural rhythms of South Indian village life. Drawing from ancestral traditions and the visual language of the Indus Valley Civilization, his works frequently feature sacred motifs like cows, bulls, yogis and mythic trees imbued with symbolism tied to fertility, nature, and divinity.
Harish Ojha’s practice is informed by the fact that he was raised in a rural agrarian family. He uses paper with a high cotton content as his medium of creation owing to its organic origin. This material is flexible and allows him to tear the thin upper layer of its surface to roll and plant in a predesigned arrangement. Since the paper rolls are of differing heights, the result is an uneven tactile surface which resonates with the agricultural processes.
Sangam Vankhade is a sculptor from Ahmedabad, whose work focuses on the impermanence of monuments. He creates stone carvings and drawings, creating spaces that weave histories, stories and memories into symbolic forms. His deep connection to stone stems from his childhood spent as a member of a stone-carving family, where he learned to appreciate the material’s solidity and fragility.
Kalpana Shah’s pieces have a touch of spirituality, going with the idea of Indian theory and philosophy of detachment in life, in spite of being blessed with abundance. Through her art, she likes to evoke the power or bliss that comes with attaining a higher position with awareness. She has worked with steel, copper and brass in the past, and for this collection has used ‘Rudraksh’ as a medium, as she believes it is a natural material which symbolises purity.
The new collection can be viewed at Sarita Handa’s flagship store at MG Road, New Delhi.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com.