In a quiet corner of South Delhi, far from the madding crowd, amidst the company of lavish farm houses in Mehrauli lies Gunjan Guptas WRAP art & design studio. The design space comprises of her soon-to-be-launched gallery displaying her work (one can see variations of her much lauded bicycle throne as soon as you enter the gallery), a prototype manufacturing unit, and her contemporary looking office. I truly discovered India after I moved to Delhi, says the Bombay born designer who has made a mark in the furniture design industry in the past two years. I used to say this earlier that no Bombay girl would voluntarily move to Delhi. I too fell in love, got married and then moved here. While still trying to find her feet in the city, way back in 1999, designer Tarun Tahiliani came to Guptas rescue. He was the only person I knew here and he was a friend. He had designed my wedding clothes as well. So initially I was working with him on a collection of home furnishings. We joke about it saying he rescued me from running back to Bombay. There has been no looking back since.
After doing a few more sporadic projects Gupta realized that she need some more formal training. I was asking questions deeply about culture design, the absence of luxury furniture out of India, why was India missing on the global map? What was the reason? Why it was not there or why was there no interest? The young mum of a two-year-old relocated to London to complete her Masters in Furniture design from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. Her flair for design was eminent: The Gold Chair, a piece which Gupta designed for her graduation collection was launched at 100% Design, one of the UKs leading design fair just a couple of months after her graduation from St. Martins and got rave reviews. It got a lot of institutional recognition from various museums; it was on the cover of a few European magazines, the Mint covered it recently, says Gupta.
The throne has been a recurring theme in Guptas work. In her work spanning six years its evolution is evident: from the initial Gold Chair, to the second set of very creative bicycle thrones, to the most recent basic deconstructed dining throne. She says the inspiration came from the fact that before the British came there was no elevated furniture used by the common man India, only the king and the queen were privileged to sit on thrones. She had to make something to pay homage to the thrones.
The highlight of her career probably has been her display at the prestigious Salone de Mobile fair in Milan in April this year. We were not displaying at the fierra, where all the regular companies display their collections. We were displaying alongside some of the biggest names in the world, she says with pride. It helped of course, that world-renowned design connoisseur Rossana Orlandi, sometimes also referred to as the Grand Dame of Design, booked Guptas entire collection of 18 pieces (called the Milano 2012) to be displayed and sold exclusively through her gallery. They further collaborated to get some of Orlandis work to India and display it at WRAP gallery. We are expecting some pieces to arrive by the end of this year, says Gupta.
WRAP studio was started by Gupta in 2006 after returning to India and has been growing. Its not just me now. I have an entire team and a CEO. I am expanding from a small studio to it being a bigger business. Gupta also creates bespoke pieces, which she, her team and the client conceptualise and create.
Guptas exhibition at Sothebys in May this year was a runaway success and her pieces sold out. It was another great experience, says Gupta. From Paris to London her work has received international recognition (Elle décor has awarded her many awards).
Visit WRAP art & design studios to have a dekko at Guptas work. Furniture pieces are priced between Rs 50,000 Rs 5 lakh.
Wrap Art & Design Pvt. Ltd.
Khasra No 522/4, Village Jaunapur
Gadaipur Mandi Road, Mehrauli
New Delhi 110047, India
T: 011-26658199 / 26658144
Text by Treesha Datta