Born in Mumbai in 1974, Indian designer Gunjan Gupta went to study interior design and decoration at Sophia Polytechnic in Mumbai (1995), before working as an interior designer in Mumbai and New Delhi. Seven years later, she again returned to school, earning a masters degree from London’s Central St. Martins College in 2006. In her studio based in New Delhi she produces luxury furnitures and design pieces made with sustainable materials and principles as well as high-end handicraft. Her support for India’s handmade and craft industries transpires from her practice, striving to reposition the idea of “Made in India” as a luxury standard on a global scale. Gunjan Gupta has inspired and often collaborates with indian traditional craft communities. Her efforts in these regards have earned her several awards, including the British Council’s Young Creative Entrepreneur award in 2007. In 2012, she was named Designer of the Year by Elle Décor as well as being included in Fortune Magazine’s five names to watch in luxury. She has also curated India’s first Design Exhibition for the Experimenta Design Biennale in Lisbon. She is involved in an exclusive collaboration with Erastudio Apartment-Gallery. The artworks conceived for the Italian gallery are all limited editions, unique pieces and artist’s proof. ‘Gunjan has a voice of India, not an echo from others. She has many minds for creative ideas but always one heart!’ Yoichi Nakamuta, Curator and Founder of ALAMAK! Made in Asia ‘I have seen the work of Gunjan Gupta since a long time before: I have seen it in the streets of the world, in the home of the brave, the people that resist the harshness of life by handling the simplest tools and things with the same care you take for a child: because tools and things have a soul exactly like we humans. Gunjan knows a lot about this soul and her art is able to reveal it to everybody, the distracted visitors of exhibitions or the fo- cussed observer in search of a – however small – revelation of signi cance in the creation of new tools: perhaps intellectual, sometimes ironic, always pitiful for humanity, her art works are the consolation for those ones, as me, still believe in the utopia of a new universe of things that can help us on the long and dif cult paths of life.’ Stefano Casciani, Design Critic and Editor/ Publisher of Disegno – La Nuova Cultura Industriale ‘Since colonial times chairs in India have been seen as symbols of power of authority, in some contexts re- stricted only to use by the British and high-born Indians. Gunjan Gupta’s seats have subverted these notions by incorporating elements from street and popular culture into multi-layered thrones that stand as 21st century icons.’ Dr. Amin Jaffer, Author, Furniture from British India and Ceylon ‘Nomadism is a trend that accommodates contemporary living, adapting to the way we move from one place to another. Objects are both innovative and traditional, industrial and handcrafted, produced locally yet with global inspirations, all the while paying attention to sustainability. These objects also become more hybridic, blending shapes, forms, functions, materials and processes to create original and more versatile uses. Gunjan Gupta’s work is very much the symbol of this movement that connects us to a sense of place, creating furniture and objects that become our new companions in domestic life’ Li Edelkoort, Trend Forecaster and Design Curator ’Gunjan has managed to mix contemporary design with crafts to create a new language for 21st Century India’ Lekha Poddar, Collector and Founder of Devi Art Foundation ’Gunjan is a talented designer who has pushed the boundaries of craft in india to recreate her unique voice rooted in India but globally relevant.’
 Priya Paul, Collector and Hotelier