Tarini Jindal Handa grew up surrounded by the arts. “My grandmother started India’s first art residency and my mother founded the Art Magazine of India,” she says. “I knew very early on that I wanted to continue their legacy.” She’s poised to follow suit by opening æquō, India’s first-ever collectible design gallery, which seeks to introduce Western designers to the country’s deeply rooted handicraft traditions, invite them to work collaboratively with the gallery’s extensive network of skilled artisans, and open up a dialogue between cultures.
Founded with creative director Florence Louisy, the gallery opened earlier this year in a sun-drenched historic building in Mumbai’s bustling Colaba neighborhood reimagined by architect Ivan Oddos. Every material has been sourced locally, from teak wood cladding Parisian-style interior glass doors to Kota stone and red terra cotta. Louisy is kicking off the gallery’s programming with her own diverse assortment of sculptural pieces, which range from curved oak furnishings built in Mysore and silver-plated tables made in Jaipur to linen rugs hand-knit in Uttar Pradesh.
