Swapnaa Tamhane’s “Cabinet” exhibition runs until July 5 at Patel Brown gallery in Toronto. | Photo credit: Darren Rigo
“Concordia fosters artists who think critically and work across disciplines,” says Swapnaa Tamhane. | Photo credit: Brandon Brookbank
From 2022 to 2024, Tamhane returned to Concordia as an artist-in-residence, where she taught fourth-year undergraduate fibres students to complete their year-long final project for a public exhibition.
“I guided them through the process of their professional launch as they transformed from students to artists in the real world. It was really special,” she says.
One particular interest for Tamhane herself is art and design from the Indian sub-continent. In 2016, she co-authored SĀR: The Essence of Indian Design (Phaidon Press) with designer Rashmi Varma. She also holds a master’s degree from the University of Manchester, where she focused on contemporary art from India.
Tamhane’s first solo museum exhibition, Swapnaa Tamhane: Mobile Palace, at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum explored India’s rich textile traditions, while raising questions around power, commerce and cultural memory. “It was an incredible experience where all these ideas coalesced,” recalls Tamhane.
Featuring textile tent-like installations, Tamhane’s work was designed to invite visitors to explore the fabric from different angles. “I was thinking about the colonial history of cotton, and the complicated history of caste, patriarchy and commerce in the country,” she says. “Some of the ideas I explored involved dissolving hierarchy and considering access — specifically, who gets to see and enjoy art.”
Each unique panel incorporated deliberate disruptions in the fabric’s printed patterns. “It’s a moment of lapse,” she explains. “Your eye will stop because you’re expecting the print to be there.” Tamhane chose cotton as her material — a decision rooted in both symbolism and politics. “It was very intentional and very political to use cotton,” she adds. “In the South Asian context, it’s connected to British colonialism which decimated the textile trade in India.”
Tamhane has showcased her work in New Delhi, Dubai, Los Angeles and Dundee, Scotland. Her latest solo show, “Cabinet”, runs at Patel Brown Gallery in Toronto until July 5.
In good company
The winner of the 2025 Sobey Art Award will be announced on November 8 at the National Gallery of Canada. Tamhane is one of several Concordia alumni recognized by the Sobey Art Foundation this year. The longlist included fellow grads Charles Campbell, BFA 92, Hazel Meyer, BFA 02, Meredith Carruthers, MFA 04, Michelle Lacombe, BFA 06, Susannah Wesley, MA 08, Malena Szlam Salazar, MFA 10, and Joyce Joumaa, BFA 22.
The 2024 winner, Nico Williams, MFA 21, is also a Concordia graduate.
Tamhane says she’s not surprised that so many alumni are making waves. “Concordia fosters artists who think critically and work across disciplines,” she says. “It’s exciting to be part of that creative community.”