An invite pops into my inbox—it’s for a press interaction with Maximiliano Modesti who has designed a new range of wallpapers for Asian Paints. It’s already blazing hot in Mumbai and the meeting is in the middle of the afternoon and a long way away from home, office, social media updates and daily deadlines. But here’s a chance to meet with someone who has dedicated himself to championing Indian crafts. Why would I miss this?
When we meet, Modesti is walking around the Asian Paints ColourNext 2022 exhibition, checking on the wall displays of the luxury handcrafted wallpaper he’s designed, dubbed ‘Ink’. At the centre of the Ink story is the establishment of the AP Atelier in Jaipur, by Modesti. These wall coverings, handmade by artisans and chosen by Modesti, have been executed with a high level of skill and precision.
"For me, it's all about passion. If you do things without passion, especially in the craft, design and art sectors, you're just wasting time," says Maximiliano Modesti
Modesti, better known as Max, first came to India three decades ago as a young graduate. Once he had discovered the richness of the country’s heritage through its textiles and crafts, he never really went back. A craft and fashion entrepreneur, he’s based between Mumbai and Paris and his groundbreaking work with Indian crafts has been recognised both in India and globally. His love for Indian embroidery and textiles has led him to working with fashion houses like Hermès, Isabel Marant and Bibhu Mohapatra, and now a multinational paint brand. Edited excerpts from an interview with Modesti:
Modesti suggested to Asian Paints that they should merge techniques to create a unique collection
I've always said that I see myself as a craftsperson. I'm an artisan who has the chance of being a kind of conductor. So I conduct the other artisans, since I have the capacity to link design with craft, and understand what needs to be done in order to either sustain the craft or get design to enrich the craft.
Four years ago, when I met Amit Syngle I told him that it was his duty [to do so] as CEO of Asian Paints. The surprise was when he agreed with me. [laughs]
Asian Paints was creating wallpapers, but only digital wallpapers. In this country, there’s been such a love for printing, screen-printing and hand-painting, so I suggested that he should merge these techniques to create a unique collection. That's how it all started.
For Modesti, t’s important that an entity large and as powerful as Asian Paints is promoting the arts
"We needed to be sure that the artisans were given enough time to get to the level of quality we expected," he says.
Let's be honest, you might be anywhere in India but you cannot avoid Asian Paints. The other day I was in a village about 250 kilometres away from Calcutta and suddenly I realised that the Asian Paint logo is everywhere. So here is a company that has a deep global reach throughout the country, but with global reach comes a huge responsibility. I'm very happy because I met someone [Amit Syngle, CEO Asian Paints] who understands that vision, and allows us to research and experiment. Now I'm pushing him to enter into the space of sustenance of design in India. If Indian art and design is not sustained and fails to expand its global reach, then Indian culture cannot expand.
No, it wasn’t a professional encounter at all. When you meet someone in a friendly way, there's no risk involved; you can say things more openly. And then Syngle said, ‘Well, you know what? Why don't we do it?’
I've been doing this for 30 years in India. People keep asking me,‘Oh, but how did you do it?’ Well I did it out of observation and perseverance and vision. India's crafts are the best in the world. So how do you get them recognised? How do you show this to the rest of the world? And most importantly, how do you make Indians proud of their own crafts?
I told [Syngle] that if he really wanted to go deep into the roots of craft, then he would have to set up a factory that would manufacture the work. You will need to employ artisans, you need to make sure that you're going to train craftspeople and give them work, that you're going to educate them.
It’s a process that, of course, started with design, but even before the design aspect, it was really about setting up a factory and an atelier where you hire the right people. You start from the beginning if you want to reach that level of perfection that you want for a product that will be sold in India as well as abroad.
“I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 30 YEARS IN INDIA. PEOPLE KEEP ASKING ME,‘OH, BUT HOW DID YOU DO IT?’ WELL I DID IT OUT OF OBSERVATION AND PERSEVERANCE AND VISION.”Maximiliano Modesti
For me, it's all about passion. If you do things without passion, especially in the craft, design and art sectors, you're just wasting time. And so this is what [Ink] is. It's the beginning of the journey. I told Syngle that we shouldn’t expect results from the first collection. We have entered a space which is different from all the spaces he has covered so far. But for me, it’s important that an entity large and as powerful as Asian Paints is promoting the arts.
I come from Italy and France and have spent 30 years in India because I was raised within this culture and understand that culture is essential. It's not only economic power, but culture that goes hand in hand with economic power, and Syngle understands that. We’ve started with a small collection, and a factory close to Jaipur in Bagru. It's where the best artisans of Jaipur are located. My role is to continue to guide the collection, getting more designers from the country to experiment, research and bring them to the factory. Since I really believe in a cross-cultural dialogue, I’d also invite artists and designers as well as the people who will experiment; I'm sure there's no reason it shouldn't work.
I had two options: I either take an extremely radical path or I illustrate the craft capacity of the workshop. I opted for the latter, and let's be honest, I took the less risky route, since it was for the first time that such a manufacturing facility would exist in India. So we needed to be sure that the artisans were given enough time to get to the level of quality we expected.
"Secretly I want to convince Asian Paints to help sustain Indian design," says Modesti
At the beginning, [Syngle] told me ‘So in six months, we are taking out the collection.’ I said, ‘No, no, no, once we're ready we will come out with the collection.’ He, however, understood the challenge because usually in India, people expect quick results. Indian artisans are slow and meticulous and there's an entire breed of people who don't understand the concept of slowness but I was lucky to find someone who did.
Secretly I want to convince Asian Paints to help sustain Indian design because let's be honest, if you do not have the finances these young designers need, they cannot spend their own money on experimental research. We need sponsors, and maybe this is what can happen.
It was set up in 2016 as a result of my concern that there was no school for craftspersons. How is it possible that in 30 years in this country, there are neither diplomas nor any official recognition for these artists? I went to New Delhi to meet with the government officials and while everybody thought it's a fantastic project, there was no funding.
I then created this institute with my own money. We have an annual fellowship with 25 artisans, both women and men. We’ve built a curriculum that is the identity of the institute in Lucknow today. And by the way, Lucknow is one of the country’s hidden gems, an absolute must-visit.