Valay Gada

Valay Gada is an artist and designer whose works reflect his concerns linked to the impact of rapid urbanisation and man’s relationship with nature. Valay’s sculptures of botanical forms, scaled up to larger than life proportions, articulate a heightened artistic appreciation of nature’s beauty, and also the importance of plants in climate change and as a 

sources of therapy.Born into a Jain family, Jainism’s core tenets of non- 

violence, asceticism and mindful living have closely shaped Valay’s aesthetics. His works emphasise the inter-connectedness of living things, the understanding that every action has the potential to cause suffering to another and one of the keys to contain this is to consume ethically and sustainably. As his work matures it has become more political in its response to human and animal rights, freedom of speech and sexuality. 

“Reclamation” is a series of works that explores how the environment has the resilience to reclaim abandoned urban settlements and development. The series is inspired by unregulated construction being halted due to the Covid 19 lock down and the tender reclamation by nature of these abandoned spaces.Reminiscent of the roots of focus colonising the temple complexes of Angor Vat, the ora in these works has forced its way through the strongest of concrete and thrives. The series of sculptures is a message of beauty triumphing over ugliness, 

hope over despair in a time of trial due to the pandemic.  

Valay has competed his B.Des in Fashion lifestyle and Accessory Design  from National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi (2008).  Valay has shown internationally at galleries/fairs in the UK (Manchester Art gallery), Germany, Australia (National Art School, Sydney) and India. Besides private commissions for individuals as well as institutions his work is in the collection of the Manchester Art Gallery. He received the “Elle Décor International Design Award” for Young Talent of the Year 2014 and “Trends Excellence in Architecture and Design” award 2016. Valay has also featured in several national and international curatorial exhibitions, which includes, ‘refractions’, National Art School, Sydney(2019); ‘Drawing is Dead’, Studio Khirkee, New Delhi (2018); ‘One Soul Many Lives’, Art Speaks, Bikaner House, New Delhi (2018); ‘The I Within’, Art Centrix Space (2015); ‘where is Queer? when is Queer? What is Queer?’, Goethe Institute, New Delhi (2015), among others. 

Valay lives and works in New Delhi