Through his practice, Martand Khosla has created a niche that lies at the intersection of the two fields: art and architecture. The installations embody philosophies from this undefinable space, as he extracts questions using art as a voice, and architecture as principles, to raise concerns about humanitarian aspects of societal and political systems.
The practice of Martand Khosla inhabits a transitional space between art and architecture, which enables him a platform to address concerns that transgress architecture as independent habitable spaces. He is a partner at the architectural practice RKDS (Romi Khosla Design Associates), which has obtained both national and international recognition through their award winning designs.
Khosla pursued art independently as a tool to address larger analytical interrogations of the relationship between society and its built environment. The connection between art and architecture becomes more prominent here – as an ‘intellectual link’ between two fields of varied levels of abstraction. Exploring this link requires astute perceptions of the human subconsciousness, and the ability to voyage into areas where the two fields are held more loosely without the perceivable limitations of their individually inhabited realms.
Fundamentally, the guidelines which architecture adheres to are different to those that drive art, and yet through careful calibration they can mutually co-exist, by feeding each other with an artisanal understanding. This relationship resonates throughout Khosla’s practice, as the architecture language of plans, sections, elevations and axonometric drawings becomes a spring board to other forms of art and sculpture abstractions, as ideologies that exist in installations such as ‘Vanishing Point, 2013’, and ‘Inventory of the Possible, 2012’. Art and Architecture are perceived as two mirrors placed against each other, directly casting reflections within themselves. Relationships are also forged between the observer and the installation. The driving force of interaction is the individual, and because of this no two people perceive a piece of art in the same manner. Every installation created by Khosla seeks to confront its observer with a variety of questions, with different degrees of appeal. Modulating scales, objects cultivate different senses of interaction- some sculptures are massive, some engage the observer with abstract, miniature landscapes which request a moment of habitation, while others connect with the viewer, modestly drawing gaze to minute details. Varying degrees of comfort are imagined in the many installations, each one causing unpredictable reactions based on individual psyches to the nature of a sculpture.
Power is given to the idea of materiality, where the material is a reflection of the observer and vice versa. It is through manifestation that a material imbibes meaning, and its character can be extracted.
In Khosla’s experiments with brick dust portraits, this hypothesis was conveyed with greater meaning. He creates objects that draw attention to the casual eye, but it is through materiality that he is able to connect more powerfully with an observer. The conversation with materials begins with the ubiquitous resources easily available on construction sites, such as bricks, steel and wood. As the engagement gets more complex, there is innovation in the manner in which the same materials garner different results. For instance, the installation ‘Twist and Shout’ portrays the use of steel with softness and organic subtlety, while ‘The Continuum’, incorporates the rusty, robust and heavy nature of steel to convey a different energy. A comprehensive understanding of these materials was forged in this process, and it has since become the central core to his artistic practice. This respect for materiality can also be seen progressively more and more in his architectural practice, as his experiences with them grew. More surfaces and materials were left exposed and bare, to enable a contact between the inhabitant and the soul of a built space.
The depth of understanding of physical materials and their relationship with the human consciousness serves to inform these sculptures just as much as the architecture. Art and architecture become tools to aid the explorations that transcend pure expressionism, as every installation intends to tackle a subject of a humanitarian agenda.
Just as buildings have construction and design constraints, similar narratives and restrictions are generated to challenge the creation of his sculptures. The pursuit of ideas are enhanced by the capacity to ask fundamental questions of societal concerns where all the fragments meet – the planned and unplanned, the inclusive and exclusive, and all-encompassing chaotic parts that make our societies ⊗
MARTAND KHOSLA is an architect and an artist based in New Delhi. He graduated from the Architectural Association in 2001 and set up Romi Khosla Design Studios the following year. The studio has designed a wide variety of projects ranging from street sculptures and playgrounds to low income housing and corporate offices. Martand’s art compliments his architectural practice and is informed by labour and migration in India. His first solo was held in 2012 in Delhi at JNU and Seven Art and his most recent one in 2019 at Nature Morte also in New Delhi.
