Marble refinery transforms into an exhibition of sculptural art in Kishangarh

Stonex Art Soirée
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The quiet hum of chisels and the rhythmic scraping of marble polishers filled the air as artists, collectors, and guests moved through the exhibition space, a marble refinery by day.

Held from March 6 to 9 at the Stonex refinery in Kishangarh, Rajasthan, a town synonymous with marble, the Stonex Art Soirée brought together 10 artists from different walks of life, each offering a unique perspective on working with stone. The sculptures were placed within a maze of raw marble blocks sourced from across the globe — Italian Carrara, Turkish Cappadocian stone, Macedonian marble and more — creating a striking contrast between untouched material and the art.  

“We started with sculptures depicting botanical motifs, then moved on to depictions of objects, and finally closed with sculptures inspired by architectural influences. The flow worked out well, and I was pleased to see how different artists treated the material,” said art critic and curator Girish Sahane.

Shanthamani Muddaiah’s Bloom
| Photo Credit:
Sangita Rajan. Shot On OnePlus #FramesofIndia

The first sculpture on display upon entering the maze was sculptor Shanthamani Muddaiah’s Bloom. A sculpture resembling a cloth twisted in the shape of a small shrub or blooming into a flower. Inspired by the silk-weaving traditions of her home state Karnataka, combined with influences from the garden city of Bengaluru, the sculpture mimicked the softness of fabric despite being carved from Macedonian marble in Pantheon pink. “For me, works that go into public spaces have to be evocative and relevant to the people and communities around you. It is important to address how the community relates to your art because no art is isolated. It needs to have a viewership, to finish the artistic journey,” said Shanthamani. 

Some sculptures emerged seamlessly from their surroundings, as if coaxed from the very marble that framed them, while others stood in stark contrast — polished, chiselled, and shaped into forms that defied the stone’s natural rigidity. 

Other artists in the showcase included Chandrasekar Koteshwar, Gigi Scaria, Harsha Durugadda, Harmeet Rattan, Magesh R, Shaik Azgharali, Sudarshan Shetty, Teja Gavankar and Yogesh Ramkrishna. 

Umbrella by Sudarshan Shetty
| Photo Credit:
Sangita Rajan. Shot On OnePlus #FramesofIndia

Working with stone inherently speaks to the idea of permanence. Unlike other art mediums that may fade, erode, or decay, stone endures. “When you make a sculpture in stone, it acquires an aura of permanence, as opposed to the mode of text which is fleeting,” said artist Sudarshan Shetty, whose sculpture, carved from Turkish marble, depicts an umbrella lying in a puddle of water, in its resting place, marked by a gravestone inscribed with a poignant and humorous text. “He walks in the rain with the excuse of a lost umbrella that he once borrowed from his mother…” it goes.  

Another noteworthy sculpture is that of Gigi Scaria, depicting a series of disconnected stairs leading to nowhere, carved out of marble from Cappadocia. The sculpture was inspired from the region’s rock-cut dwellings, and the absurdity of the construction, according to Gigi, is a critique of humanity’s impulse to dominate and reshape Nature. “Maybe 200 or 300 years ago, conquering a forest and making it liveable for humans could have been an achievement, but now, it is ruining the habitat of the wildlife,” he added.

Gigi Scaria’s sculpture
| Photo Credit:
Sangita Rajan. Shot On OnePlus #FramesofIndia

This commitment to longevity and artistic expression was at the heart of the Stonex Art Soirée. Beyond showcasing technical mastery, the event aimed to highlight how stone continues to inspire contemporary creativity while honouring its rich heritage. “This is a commercial setting, but we still find something artistic here, because we want to surprise people. You may only see it as a marble gallery and refinery, but then your perspective changes, and that’s what we want to do — change people’s perspective about the potential of stone,”  said Sushant Pathak, group CMO Stonex India. 

This writer was at the StoneX refinery in Kishangarh at the invitation of StoneX