Italian artist Tarshito N. Stippoli’s solo exhibition ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ travels to Crafts Museum Delhi after exhibiting at Bihar Museum last December. For this exhibition, he has collaborated with over 25 traditional Indian art forms and their artists. The exhibition is from 5th March to 15th April 2024 and has been curated by Tunty Chauhan, Founder of Gallery Threshold.
Born Nicola Strippoli in 1952 in Apulia, Italy, he was given the name ‘Tarshito’, meaning seeker of inner knowledge, by his guru Osho, Bhagwan Rajneesh, whom he met on his first trip to India in 1979. For over forty-five years, in his prolific, sometimes simultaneous careers as an architect, artist, sculptor, gallerist, teacher and performer, Tarshito has revealed a dazzling creative universe to the world.
For this exhibition, he has created map artworks collaboratively with indigenous artists, exploring the physical and cultural geography he encounters while travelling globally. He began redrawing the world as he saw it, sans boundaries, to highlight the importance of connection beyond time and place. He draws from ancient traditions, revived by them at his core and revitalizing them through his artistic expressions.
For Tarshito, the world is indeed ‘One Family’, an idea reiterated in how he seeks brotherhood and sisterhood with his collaborators worldwide and his works, such as the borderless map series and the Warrior of Love assemblages. Be it in India, Nepal, Thailand, Brazil, Morocco, Bangladesh, Peru, China, Uruguay or Argentina, his collaborations are conscious, built as much on relationships as creativity.
For this exhibition, he created map artworks collaboratively with indigenous artists, exploring the physical and cultural geography he encounters while travelling across the globe. He began redrawing the world as he saw it, sans boundaries, to highlight the importance of connection beyond time and place. He draws from ancient traditions, revived by them at his core and revitalizing them through his artistic expressions.
Tarshito undertakes global collaborative projects with indigenous artists to create works that astound their scale and ingenuity. Like a magician, he mixes materials and motifs, metaphor and meaning, constantly seeking to achieve with his collaborators a true Jugalbandi (literally ‘entwined twins’ from musical duets), a coming together not just in terms of a physical artwork but also, a true melding of souls. His imagery of a connected and borderless world is perhaps fantastical but a poignant reminder of how borders divide, especially in our strife-torn world. His journey in life and artistic oeuvre resembles the spiral vortex, which radiates out and draws in simultaneously, infinitely, and eternally.
Curator Tunty Chauhan says, “In a world torn by strife and borders, Tarshito stands like a colossus whose vision matches his ambition to celebrate brotherhood through artistic collaborations. His practice is a testament to cross-cultural exchange, moving beyond the traditional vs. modern binary, a celebration of common humanity, and a deep respect for India’s cultural heritage, shaping his art and life profoundly.”
‘Sheher, Prakriti, Devi’; Gauri Gill’s first Extensive Curation in Dubai
