Stonex, India’s leading natural stone brand, hosted the Art Soiree 2025 from March 6 to 9 in Kishangarh, Rajasthan — the marble city of India. This four-day event brought together artists from across the globe, transforming marble into a medium of artistic storytelling and contemporary expression.
Natural stone is more than just a building material — it’s a storyteller. It holds history, sparks creativity, and showcases human craftsmanship. The Stonex Art Soiree, an Art exhibit that united global and India artists to exhibit their stone-centric artworks held from March 6 to 9 at Kishangarh, Rajasthan, brought these qualities to life, turning marble into a medium for contemporary artistic expression. Organised by the Stonex Group, this four-day event brought together artists, designers, and creators to explore the artistic potential of natural stone.
Where heritage meets creativity
The showcase featured ten artists who reimagined marble, blending tradition with innovation. The exhibit was presented like a maze in midst of massive blocks of marble from Italy, Turkey, Greece and the rest of the world, the sculptures were a study in contrast — their almost malleable forms a stark departure from the rigidity of the stone. Chandrasekar Koteshwar, inspired by South Indian temple architecture, created “Hidden Gem on Museum Steps,” an amorphous, cloth-covered form carved from Italian marble. The piece invites viewers to see the familiar through a new lens, evoking mystery or gentleness depending on interpretation.
Gigi Scaria’s “Impossible Stairway” uses Cappadocian marble to reflect on humanity’s ambition to conquer nature. The piece mirrors the ancient rock-carved homes of Turkey while critiquing our drive to build awe-inspiring but unreachable structures. Similarly, Harsha Durugadda’s “The Way of the Wind” captures nature’s power. Inspired by his family’s lineage of temple sculptors, Harsha carved textured marble to mimic the fluid movement of wind and water through canyons.
Harmeet Rattan explored themes of aspiration and material desire in his tower sculpture, which merges three architectural styles. Drawing from Greece’s marble heritage, his creation questions the middle-class dream of homeownership. Meanwhile, Magesh R celebrated the grace and strength of Lipizzaner horses in “The Monarch.” Carved from grey Turkish marble, the piece highlights the balance between power and restraint, symbolising the delicate dance between freedom and control.
Shaik Azgharali shifted from working with mild steel to Carrara marble to craft “Cotton Bolls.” The whiteness of the stone mirrors cotton’s softness while contrasting its fragility with marble’s solidity. Shanthamani Muddaiah also embraced heritage, drawing inspiration from Karnataka’s silk saree traditions for “Bloom.” This tree-like structure in Macedonian marble weaves the story of her homeland’s textiles into the timelessness of stone.
Sudarshan Shetty offered a meditation on life and loss with a Turkish marble umbrella. Known for large-scale works, he transformed an everyday object into a symbol of mortality and the passage of time. Teja Gavankar explored Plato’s idea of transformation with “Khora,” where two marble hemispheres balance on the edge of forming a complete sphere, blending abstract thought with physical form. Yogesh Ramkrishna took a playful yet sharp look at religious politics with his marble hammer, merging a mosque’s dome and a temple’s shikhara into one conceptual piece.
Carving a vision
“Each piece created during the Art Soiree leaves a lasting impression, not just for its artistic beauty but for its innovative approach to stonework,” said Sushant Pathak, CMO of Stonex Group.
“This exhibition is about more than just stone — it’s about the narratives and visions that artists bring to life. It shows how different creative expressions come together to form something truly unique. Stonex was in discussions with artists for two years to collaborate with just any artist but to find those who shared the brand’s philosophy of elevating the value of stone. Only a few resonated with this vision, seeing stone not merely as a material but as something that holds deeper artistic and emotional significance,” he said.
The event also had an international touch. Hong Kong-based artist Cynthia Sah showcased her love for marble from the Apuan Mountains, merging classical techniques with modern technology. Italian artist Nicolas Bertoux brought a fresh perspective, seeing the Soirée as a space where tradition and innovation collided, allowing artists to reshape stone through diverse cultural lenses.
For nearly 25 years, Stonex has supported the arts in India, collaborating with events like the India Art Fair, the Madras Art Weekend, and the Serendipity Arts Festival. The group also collaborated with masters of the seven fine arts — sculpture, music, dance, cinema, literature, painting, and architecture — to honour their contribution and to preserve their stories, sharing them with the world.
Looking ahead, Stonex is building an art museum set to open next year. It will house a permanent artist residency where creators from around the world can collaborate and continue pushing the boundaries of marble artistry. As the company expands its Stonex Art Residency and builds global partnerships, one thing is clear — natural stone will continue to be a timeless medium for artistic expression.
