This new art gallery and home furnishing retail store in Bengaluru provides a platform for contemporary art, design and technology

Set within DTale’s new retail store in Whitefield, this gallery forms the contemporary art division of the established interior design studio, redefining how design may be viewed alongside art. The debut exhibition, DTale Archist (I)showcases works by prominent Indian artists such as Astha Butail, Harisha Chennangod, Pooja Iranna, Prajakta Potnis, Samira Rathod, Shailesh BR, Sudarshan Shetty, Sunil Padwal, Tania & Sandeep Khosla and Tony Joseph. This carefully curated ensemble brings diverse perspectives, media and aesthetics to the fore, offering the sensibilities of fine art and interior design in this one-of-a-kind setting. Bose Krishnamachari shares insights into the motivation behind his new venture, his vision for DTale Archist and more. DTale Archist marks your foray as a gallerist.

What motivated you to venture into curating a gallery space within an interior design studio?

I believe in the mandate by the artist-shaman Joseph Beuys who famously said, “Everyone is an artist,” referring to his belief in universal human creativity and the power of art to bring about radical change. I also believe in coexistence and the transformative power of art and design. The new DTale design space is adapting white cube artistic expressions to transformative exhibition spaces and will be known as Gallery DTale Archist. I previously created a gallery in Mumbai named BMB where I also served as an artistic director and I have curated many gallery shows in my career. In India, I feel it is important to take art to the people, whether that is in public spaces, museums or galleries.

How do you envision DTale Archist contributing to the contemporary art scene in Bengaluru?

The exhibition spaces encourage homemakers and expand expressions from the white cube into the home. Design and art encourage values of aesthetic practices and that encompasses access to all creation and artisanal vision. The concept of blending interior design with art seems central to DTale Archist. How do you see these two creative fields intersecting within the gallery space? Anything can be art and everything can be designed. Nothing can escape from the truth of form, colour, texture and concept. Most visitors are students of design and architecture, fashion or literature –– young generations with questions and ambitions. We will be organising programs to erase singular approaches to viewing art, creating inclusivity and dialogue.

Could you share the curatorial philosophy behind the gallery and how it will differ from traditional art galleries?

Gallery DTale Archist is an exhibition space for contemporary art, design and technology from India and across the world. Envisioned as an eclectic site for exploring, learning and nurturing the imagination. It will inevitably be different as the context and platform is different. We believe in the freedom to accept and engage with urgent new inventions. We celebrate artists, architects, scientists, designers and practitioners who like to converse with our times more earnestly. We trust in the ability of our creative industries and the artisans of the past and future.

The inaugural exhibition brings together an eclectic mix of established and emerging artists. How did you go about selecting the artists for this first show?

We are always researching and looking for inspiring visuals and aesthetics from artists and designers. I am interested in maximalism through consciously juxtaposed minimalism. The other word I would pick is ideological chaos and order in the projects we exhibit. We will be organising conversations with intellectuals, academics and practitioners of art, design and sciences. We have lined up a great list of artists along with a new generation of practitioners from diverse creative disciplines.