Venturing beyond the surface

Chiransha Prasad, ELLE Decor, April 13, 2026
India Design ID, an annual design extravaganza in New Delhi that features more than 150 Indian and international brands in a single shared space, pegged its curation as an extension of The Age of Design Syncretism — a world marked by newer modes of expression born from forces across the globe. In tandem, each pavilion at the exhibit featured a vivid facade of lines and curves drawn in shades of purple, blue and lime, crafted by artist Ashna Malik in collaboration with Gallery XXL. Is it an oil spill? Are they the rings of a tree, manipulated into chromatic aberrations? The form invites intrigue, appearing to shift in accordance with where you stand. These unique linear aberrations were first sketched digitally, then translated by hand into large-scale painted forms. When scaled for public display, it breathes life into a static image and turns it into an immersive experience. This visual language is an extension of the Distort series, an ongoing body of work by Ashna that captures the messiness of everyday lives in tangled lines and chromatic curves. It seeks to implore viewers to challenge how they see and perceive the world.  

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