Sameer Kulavoor’s (b. 1983) practice emerges from a way of seeing and
decoding his surroundings, translating impressions into imaginative and
intuitive forms and compositions. His works are ruminations on the ever-
changing metropolis and what it means to exist in it, capturing its
ephemerality, idiosyncrasies and multiplicity, much of which often goes
unnoticed, unrecorded or undocumented.
With over two decades in art and design, Kulavoor has found himself drawn
to investigating patterns, peculiarities and anomalies in our complex
landscape. This play with colours, textures, compositions and forms
defamiliarize the viewer of the mundane, drifting through a sense of
abstraction and imagination. Veiled behind his playful compositions lies a
sincere reflection on urban life and the impact of time, culture, politics, and
socio-economic conditions on our built environment. Kulavoor rigorously
experiments with various ways of making and outlets, including paintings,
drawings, animation films, printmaking, zines, murals, and public art
projects.
His solo presentations include Edifice Complex (2023); YOU ARE ALL
CAUGHT UP (2020); and Man of the Crowd (2018) at TARQ, Mumbai; Please
Have a Seat at Artisans’ Centre, Mumbai (2016); and The Ghoda Cycle
Project at World Design Capital, Helsinki, Finland (2012). His group
exhibitions include World, But No Home curated by Kaiwan Mehta, TARQ,
Mumbai (2024); The People of Mumbai, The CSMVS Gallery, Mumbai (2024);
Blue curated by Nitesh Mohanty and Riyas Komu, The Guild, Alibag (2024);
Who are these outsiders?, Gallery XXL, Delhi (2023); Lokame Tharavadu,
Alappuzha, Kerala (2022); State of Mind: Between Dysphoria and Hope,
curated by Sayali Mundye, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai (2022); The Shifting City,
curated by Kaiwan Mehta, Mumbai Pavilion of Making Heimat- Arrival City,
Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai (2019); and Faith, India
exhibit, LOKAL, Helsinki, Finland (2015).
Kulavoor has engaged in multiple large scale public art projects to include
Metromorphosis, Mumbai Urban Art Festival, Mumbai (2022); The Show
Windows, Coventry, U.K. (2021); Max Mueller Bhavan Project, Mumbai
(2021); India Art Fair exhibition facade , Delhi (2020); Lodhi Art Festival,
St+Art India Foundation, Mumbai (2019); and Parfum Sassoon, St+Art India
Foundation, Mumbai (2017). Some notable curation and self-publishing
projects include Everyday India published by Bombay Duck Designs (2023)
which also took form of an exhibition presented by BARO Market at 47-A
Design Gallery, Mumbai; EverydayZine, curation and design collaboration
with Zeenat Kulavoor and Phalguni Desai (2019 onwards); and Hundred
Percent Zine (100%ZINE), concept and curation with Lokesh Karekar (2010).
In the early 2000s, Kulavoor was widely recognized for his work in design
and illustration and set up Bombay Duck Designs, one of the earliest
specialised studios of its kind in India.
Kulavoor’s most recent body of work was shown at TARQ’s booth at Art
Mumbai and Art Basel Hong Kong, both in 2024. He also contributed as a
visiting Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University, Ahmedabad, in 2024.
Kulavoor currently lives and practices out of Mumbai, India.
This interview with the sibling duo behind Bombay Duck Designs explores their omnivorous curiosity for the diversity of visual cultures in India and suggests that an embrace of what may, on the surface, seem chaotic reveals opportunities for understanding and connection. Paul Galloway: An aspect of your work that intrigues me is that it is steeped…
