Spaces have special meaning for Ahmedabad-based stylist and spatial designer Aashka Shah, also the founder of ARISAA, a modern luxury décor brand. Her unique penchant for storytelling, especially through floors, has now taken centre stage. Transforming ordinary rooms into artistic masterpieces using rugs and furniture, her new collection, Proun, is inspired from the richness of India’s culture, echoes of history as well as future aspirations.
From the rolling contours of sand to the rhythmic cascading of ocean waves and the futuristic meta-universe, the rugs are emblematic of unparalleled originality. “For instance, the Dune rug replicates the gentle movement of desert sand, each line telling the story of the ever-shifting landscape. The Q1 piece, which is a flat-weave rug, embodies the profound thoughts of renowned artist László Moholy-Nagy and his visionary painting Future Present. Ashore, on the other hand, is a hand-tufted rug inspired by the soothing hues and textures of the seashore. With its soft, flowing lines in calming shades of blue and green, it is a rug for every season,” says Shah.
A distinctive aspect of her creations is the striking fusion of geometric shapes, which bring a sense of structure to space. The finely arranged patterns and sharp silhouettes on the rugs orchestrate a visual ballet of graceful design. “At first glance, they appear fluid, yet a closer inspection reveals precision, either as subtle details within the organic designs or multiple shapes harmoniously converging to form a master theme,” says the designer.
From floor to furniture, geometric artistry rules the roost. The new collection is rooted in the Suprematism movement, which was founded by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich in the early 20th century, and focused on the fundamentals of geometry. Divided into three parts, the range emulates the stages of progression of the movement: black, coloured, and white. “The black phase marked its beginnings, along with the birth of the ‘zero degree’ of painting, as exemplified by my Black Square piece.
The Old Man side-table, where the glass cuts through the all-black standing structure is another example which captures the philosophy,” says Shah. The coloured stage, sometimes referred to as Dynamic Suprematism, uses colour and shape to create the sensation of movement. This is translated through The New Man lamp, which makes its presence felt by creating an ambient play of light and shadow when placed alongside a wall. The white stage symbolised purity and transcendence, and is expressed through the simple elegance of the Oskar white marble table with a minimalist metal weave.
For somebody whose journey started as a wall-installation artist, Shah has come a long way. Today, she is known for her unique ability to humanise design. An important milestone in this direction was when she created a massive wall installation for a hospital. It highlighted the importance of mental wellbeing. “Positioned within the waiting area, the work offered solace to visiting relatives, amid their stress and apprehensions. The feedback pushed me to create pieces that not only enhanced spaces, but also evoked a sense of emotional resonance,” shares the designer, who over the past decade, has learnt one of the most important lessons in personal growth—patience.
“It brought depth to my designs, as I discovered the beauty in slow-infused creations. I learned that nurturing anything consistently and allowing them the necessary time, yielded unexpectedly sweet results,” says the go-getter, who presented her collection, Objects of Culture, at the prestigious SaloneSatellite in Milan earlier this year. The idea was to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary design, highlighting the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity in design practices.
Shah is currently working on textile art, which can be used on walls as décor pieces. “The most exciting part about it is the never-seen-before material combinations,” she says, brimming with excitement. The rest will reveal itself in time.