“I think of this gathering of practices as an exploration of well-informed materiality. Each practice is distinct, but presents deep and inventive understandings of the relation between material, medium, process, time and idea. I trust that the threads of aesthetics and craftsmanship explored in these material-laboratories will create a bouquet of perennial pleasure."
– Bose Krishnamachari, Curator
Manish Nai received a Diploma in Drawing and Painting from the L.S. Raheja School of Art in Mumbai. Using material that is both modest and quintessentially Indian, like jute and newspaper, Nai’s pieces are studies in tedious complexities that, once completed, are presented as a tightly organized unit. His studies echo a childhood spent gaining an intimate understanding of these materials with his father, who was a trader of thick jute and other packing material.
He has had solo exhibitions at Kavi Gupta (2019); Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris (2019); Galerie Karsten Greve, St. Moritz (2018); Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai (2018); Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne (2018); and Galerie Karsten Greve, St. Moritz (2014); among others. He has also exhibited his work at Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York (2019); Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi (2019); Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai (2019); Para Site, Hong Kong (2018); Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (2018); The Sculpture Park at Madhavendra Palace, Jaipur (2017); and at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai (2017) in recent years. In 2014, Nai was also selected for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India.
