Neeti Gokhalay Kheny on being part of the 1000 Vases show in Paris

Bengaluru-based Neeti Gokhalay Kheny on being part of the 1000 Vases show in Paris

Neeti Gokhalay Kheny is a Bengaluru-based artist who fell in love with pottery and started creating ceramic works of art. A graphic designer by profession, she was lured to the world of clay and currently runs a design agency — Second: Design + Media.

Two of her vases were chosen to be exhibited at the 1000 Vases show, which was held in Paris in September. The two works chosen for the show were from her collection, Celebrating Coral.

“The collection draws inspiration from the myriad forms and textures of coral,” says the 36-year-old. “The first was a black vase, crafted in black clay with grog, glaze inside, while the second piece was a white and blue vase in ceramic and stoneware.”

Ayan Gouled Orsini and Francesco Pirrello started an Instagram page called 1000 Vases, where they asked artists from across the world to share images of their vases. Francesco, a photographer from Italy, has been living in Paris for the past 20 years and has been involved in organising exhibitions in the design and art sector in Paris since 2007. He founded 1000 Vases in 2018 as a virtual platform to promote art. Ayan, who comes with a background in literature, communication and marketing, joined 1000 Vases in 2019 and has been curating shows ever since.

Neeti was following their page and shared images of her vases. Neeti’s vases were selected for the show this year, which featured vases from artistes from 46 countries. “The vases were in varied material such as glass and wood.”

Neeti started dabbling in pottery when she was around 18 years old. “It was just a shot to learn to work with my hands. When you apply to a design school, apart from theory, one of the things they ask you to do, is work with your hands. I felt it was good for me to be familiar with the material and I used it as an opportunity to introduce myself to clay.”

A talk by ceramicist Kate Malone in Bengaluru two years ago, inspired Neeti to take ceramics seriously. “She works with hand-building as a technique and my mind was blown with the way she created works of art. Watching her at work was a revelation to me. I realised you do not always need to work with the wheel; you can also build things with your hands.”