Homo Faber Biennale 2026: 29 Indian artisans showcase craft in Venice

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An international showcase of contemporary craftsmanship, the fourth edition of the Homo Faber Biennale will be held in Venice from September 1 to 30. Curated by Michelangelo Foundation, this year’s edition is themed ‘An Island of Light’ and led by Artistic Director Es Devlin. JSW Foundation has collaborated with the Biennale to support the participation of 29 Indian artists who will display works across a range of crafts, including ceramics, glass, metal, textiles, leather, wood, stone and basketry.

Says Sangita Jindal, chairperson, JSW Foundation, “We are proud that JSW Foundation will participate... creating an international stage where Indian master artisans engage with global audiences, [and] not as representatives of folklore, but as peers in a shared creative language.” Here are the participants.

Kinkar Ghosh turns shells into jewellery, cutlery, lamps and vessels, practising the art of mother-of-pearl work. His pieces are constructed by layering and assembling hundreds of shells into vase-like forms. His journey in craft began in 1989, and he founded his workshop, Santoshi Handicrafts, which employs more than 20 artisans. In 2025, he collaborated with artist Inderjeet Sandhu and Aequo on a series of sculptural vessels, winning the ADxJSW Prize for Contemporary Craftsmanship. Inderjeet Sandhu is a multidisciplinary artist whose work weaves together histories of migration, identity and cultural exchange via sculpture, design and craft. He trained at the Royal College of Art, London, where he specialised in jewellery and metalwork.

Their vessel Tidal Fragments – made of mother-of-pearl – will be presented at the ‘A Feast of Light’ exhibition.

Kavin Mehta set up his studio in Ahmedabad in 2015. He taught himself to carve using discarded blocks of stone and now works with limestone and calcium-rich marble. He carves the stone by hand and immerses it in natural indigo dye; it takes 10–15 days for the colour to show. Alongside this, he is the museum director of the Indigo Art Museum, the world’s first museum dedicated solely to indigo.

The sculpture Prelude – made of hand-carved natural limestone, dyed in natural indigo – will be presented at the ‘A Rooted Ascent’ exhibition.

Suraj Kumar Sahu explores transformation and temple architecture, ensuring that the makers are not erased by time. He builds terracotta sculptures as homage to the forgotten makers of ancient India’s heritage sites. He works only by hand, pinching red clay from the Ganges — a material he treats as a living force, incorporating limbs and faces into its surface so that maker and monument become inseparable.

His two sculptures will be displayed at the exhibition ‘An Alphabet of Objects’. The first, Ritual in Ruin , is made from red clay. The second, Shelter of Lost Offerings , shows a ruined shrine where a human body merges with the architecture.

Zeliang grew up working with cane, bamboo and wood to make furniture, lighting and other objects. She founded Cane Concept, a family atelier.