Entering Vikram Goyal’s new studio in Noida is like going through his repertoire of the last 20 years. One of India’s leading product and interior designers, is settling back into his studio after exhibiting his work at design retailer Nina Yashar’s famed Nilufar Gallery in Milan during Milan Design Week. in April. Goyal furniture, lighting and design objects are both functional and sculptural, with a sophisticated yet dramatic design aesthetic. He reimagines traditional motifs and objects, uses indigenous craft skills and creates objects that would be at home anywhere in the world.

“We (Indian) designers have it all… the traditional knowledge, the skills… but we need to be more open to adapt to global taste,” says Goyal, who is known for his generous use of brass. Around eight of his works were on display at the Nilufar Gallery, including Archimedes’ Twist, a console table that doubles as a sculpture, and Braque’s Geometry, a beaten-brass wall sconce featuring abstract sculptural forms. Goyal, who studied development economics at Princeton University, worked in the US and Hong Kong before returning to India in 2000 to co-found Kama Ayurveda, the luxury Ayurveda skincare brand. In 2003, he began designing home décor and lighting items. He talks to Lounge about his love for metal and the state of design in India. Edited excerpts:

Have you customized any of the pieces for Nilufar Gallery, taking into account that its clientele is global?
One piece only; the rest are as they are. She (Nina Yashar, the gallery’s founder) asked me to make Thar, a 12-foot console, more functional. Not everyone has spaces like Indian houses; she wanted something easier to use. It’s like a bar cabinet, all handmade with brass sheets.

Why do you only work with brass?
I started working with brass 20 years ago. When I returned from the US, like many others, I realized that India has these centers of excellence that the world doesn’t know about. I was part of the team that started Kama Ayurveda with the idea of ​​taking it internationally and I learned that not many people in India were aware of the importance of Ayurveda in skin care. Then I started exploring Indian crafts. I have always loved the idea of ​​visual arts and in India everyone is a designer. Everyone who sells clothes in Lajpat Nagar is a designer; they will tell you the many ways to design a piece of cloth. I have an engineering background and I am an economist, but all this made me believe that I could be a designer.

Coming back to your question, India has many artisans who have intergenerational hereditary skills. They have been working on metal, surface decoration for temples, ritual vessels. India has a long history of brassware and decorations. Even after 20 years, I feel like there’s a lot more to do with this. I work with family groups. These artisans are so talented that if you ask them to make a flower that is part of the architecture of the Taj Mahal, they will do it blindfolded. They have been doing this job for generations. Where else in the world will you find so much craftsmanship?

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Are the children of the artisans interested in carrying on their legacy?
It takes a lot of patience, which only Indians have, because it’s in our DNA. Whether it is making rugs or working with embroidered beads, it requires a lot of concentration and time, which the children of artisans are not interested in. So now we go to the universities and we select the students who are interested and we train them. They work with a master craftsman and learn.

Learning to work with brass is not as easy as one imagines. Let’s say, for example, that you’re making two leaves. As a designer, you’ll know what shape you want, but when you’re trying to create a second, identical sheet, it’s your artistic skill that will tell you how much heat and pressure to apply to get the exact result. That’s what I find so fascinating about brass… how you can mold sheet metal to create art. A coffee table can also be a box, a thali can also be a Pichwai piece of art that you can hang on the wall. It’s a happy marriage of art, design and craft.

More international galleries are investing in exhibiting collectible designs. Is this also happening in India?
The international market is huge in collectible design. It has been going on for 10 years. The latest thing that galleries are promoting is collectible design, I mean limited editions that fashion designers are getting into. In India this is slowly taking shape. For example, the Jindals (the family of industrialist Sajjan Jindal) have opened a gallery in Mumbai called æquō. They bring in international designers to work with Indian crafts and create collectible designs.

Even from consumers, we are seeing incredible interest in design inspired by Indian crafts. With the advent of e-commerce and Instagram, more local brands are getting attention, even globally. They are all handmade, no item is the same. This works great for today’s young customers who want to decorate their homes in a unique way.

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Despite this uniqueness, why hasn’t Indian design received the international attention it deserves?
Designers have everything… the traditional knowledge, the skills… but we need to be more open to adapt to global taste. Even I made that mistake by working only with gold initially, then corrected myself to include a more restrained bronze palette. The western public wants more cut, less ornamental things. If we need to create a global design brand, we need to think about the global customer, and not just what we like. For example, Japan also has a very strong traditional design culture, but they have adapted to a global market while maintaining their core identity.

What inspires your design sensibility?
It is constant learning and constant observation. I collect ideas when I travel, it can be (something I see) in a museum, in bookstores, in flea markets, in old magazines or in an antique store. I’m more interested in the past, because it has a lot to offer that is new. Imagine looking through 100 years of design and the way designers have interpreted materials for decades. There is much to discover there and much to be inspired by.

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