The future of art is embroidered installations and plushie-like sculptures

At a time when social media is inundated with AI art that makes you feel nothing, scrolling through Liactuallee’s Instagram account has all the feels. The artist in residence at the ongoing India Art Fair (IAF) in Delhi, is seen crocheting and remaking leftover textiles from fashion design studio, Bodice. Cutesy, amorphous plushie-like craft sculptures dominate their feed, along with an almost utopian queer exuberance. Viraj Khanna’s art on the other hand, in an Inception-coded series also on view at IAF, which brings his past Instagram feed and posts to life through artisanal embroideries. These are often accompanied by fretting texts like: “Do I not look good in this? Why did I get only 231 likes?” Artist Shradha Kochhar, currently a fellow at MAD Museum, New York, uses indigenous kala cotton to make her signature khadi sculptures that delve into themes like material memory, women’s invisible labour, and grief. These Gen Z artists, born and bred in this digitally-dominated age, have instead taken to the slow, painstaking processes of textile or fibre art (as it is more commonly known in art circles today). The works instantly become a stark reminder of the effort and patience it takes to actually become an artist. So, before you hedge your bets on AI being the shiny new thing in art today, it seems slow, artisanal fibre art is making its mainstream comeback.

Kochar and her contemporaries are not the first to experiment with fibre art. On the contrary, India’s rich and diverse tradition of textiles means we have a long history of exploring the medium. Nelly Sethna, Mrinalini Mukherjee, and Monika Correa’s combining of Indian tradition with Western influences deemed them pioneers of the art form. However, due to its association with women’s domestic spaces and artisans who often hail from the Dalit-Bahujan community, fibre art has historically been overshadowed by mediums like painting, sculpture, and photography that are considered more ‘serious.’ “Art is named through context, process, presentation, who’s making it and who’s participating in it,” explains Mriga Kapadiya, co-founder of NorBlack NorWhite, an apparel brand with a focus on exploring and reinventing textile traditions, “The age-old debate on who is an artist versus an artisan surfaces as textile art starts taking up space in fine art environments. Who are the makers, what is their access and why are some forms considered crafts instead of artistry?”

The age-old debate on who is an artist versus an artisan surfaces as textile art starts taking up space in fine art environments. Who are the makers, what is their access and why are some forms considered crafts instead of artistry?

Surprisingly, in recent years, fibre art has seen a global surge in popularity, being reinterpreted and recontextualised not just in fine art galleries and fairs but also mainstream fashion shows. For Dior’s Paris Haute Couture Week Spring/Summer 2025 show, artist Ritika Merchant created a fantastical panel as a backdrop in collaboration with the artisans from Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai. ‘Towards Light’, Chanakya’s upcoming showcase at India Art Fair, uses vivid colours and indigenous techniques like couching, bullion knots and stem stitches to highlight our lost connection with the natural world. At JDH Jodhpur, ‘Surface’, curated by Mayank Mansingh Kaul, displays surreal textile art and embroideries that push the medium beyond fashion and decor. Imon Phukan, in residence at IAF, explores identity and loss through textiles rooted in Assamese tradition. While in Mumbai, ‘Terra’, Milaaya Art Gallery’s ongoing exhibition spotlights embroidered artworks by artists Nikhil Chopra, Manjunath Kamath, and Ranbir Kaleka amongst others, that weave together memories and landscapes.

Digital recreation may have given fibre art a new-found appreciation for the slow and handmade, but institutional support is what’s been nudging it into the mainstream. Khanna explains that more galleries and collectors are now paying attention to fibre art. “Because of this, artists are able to experiment more, and have more opportunities,” he elaborates, “We can work with so many different materials in different ways that the possibilities are limitless.”

But the connect with fibre art goes deeper than trends and institutional support alone, with material memory instantly making both viewers and collectors connect on a sensorial and emotional level. Clothing is known to be a tactile emotional trigger, which is why we often hold onto clothes by loved ones after they pass or find it difficult to part with a t-shirt we no longer fit into. Baby onesies crocheted by relatives, handkerchiefs embroidered on by grandmothers, and dresses sewn for dolls by mothers are fibre artworks woven into personal, familial, and women’s histories. “Textile and fibre art invites viewers into a multi-sensory experience that transcends the visual,” notes Gayatri Khanna, founder of Milaaya Art Gallery and Milaaya Embroideries, “The tactile nature of embroidered artwork evokes a sense of warmth, intimacy and connection to the human hand that crafted it. It allows viewers to feel the artisan’s touch, fostering a more intimate relationship.”

The rising popularity of fibre art can likely be attributed to this very human touch. As we lean further into technology as a society and are flooded with computer-generated art, there is a collective sentiment of craving the warmth of connection. Fibre art meets this requirement not just because it is handmade but also due to its rich textures and association with ancient techniques. Ruchika Sachdeva, founder of contemporary label Bodice, agrees, “So much importance lies in the human touch, imperfections, and the time-intensive processes that are needed for fibre art, especially after the disconnection caused by the rapid digitalisation of our lives.”

Khanna’s work, of course, grapples with this disconnection: in fibreglass sculptures as well as embroideries, his characters are seen numbly staring at their phones or posing ‘candidly’ for Instagram posts. Gen Zers like me feel called out by his work because they recognise themselves in it. It is precisely to combat these unhealthy patterns that so many young people have famously turned to age-old hobbies like crocheting, rock painting, origami, gardening, and so on. It is also why the slow, meticulous process and nearly painful attention to detail involved in the creation of fibre art appeals not only to Gen Z, but also to older generations disillusioned by technology. In contrast to AI art, the creation of which provides instant gratification, fibre art takes weeks, even months, and sometimes years to finish. The result, however, is much more meaningful, rooted in centuries of practice, and perfected by those who came before us and decidedly far away from the digital age’s brainrot.

Liactuallee, Imon Phukan and Viraj Khanna are on exhibit until the 9th of February at The India Art Fair, Delhi. Terra is on exhibit until the 30th of March at Milaaya Art Gallery, Mumbai