Forging a Future in Craft: Vikram Goyal’s 25-Year Journey in Indian Metalwork

Last year, the founder of The Future Perfect, David Alhadeff, met the designer Vikram Goyal through a mutual friend and decided to visit him in his New Delhi studio. The pair became fast friends, sparking a collaborative exhibition that would open just a few months later at Design Miami. Last December, marking Goyal’s United States debut, a collection of his new pieces was seen there, marrying form, function, and cultural storytelling. Rich, natural hues popped from the gallery’s stark white booth, drawing the eye to textured tables, mirrors, a credenza, and more that were mainly made of metal. Each piece embraced traditional Indian techniques and scenes, carved, fluted, and hand-shaped to embrace a luxurious, organic twist. 

“Our showstopper piece was Garden of Life, a stunning wall mural that pays respect to the splendor of the Silk Road through a representation of an exotic garden brought to life by lively fauna and vibrant flora,” Goyal told Whitewall recently. “Larger than life at nine feet tall and 19 feet wide, it showcased bountiful pomegranate and palm trees, animated parrots and peacocks, and playful monkeys swinging on blossoming Sakura trees.” For it, the designer used semi-precious stone inlays and subtle lighting to enhance each scene, highlighting a range of lesser-known and time-tested techniques, like casting, pietra dura, and brass repoussé. Curious about Goyal’s powerful presentation and how his 25-year journey in metalwork embraces intricacy and elegance in contemporary Indian design, we spoke with the designer.

Global Reach of Viya Home

WHITEWALL: Twenty-five years ago, you returned to India after working in finance in the U.S. and Hong Kong and set up a design studio. Why? 

VIKRAM GOYAL: I grew up in culture-rich New Delhi and traveled extensively in Rajasthan. An engineer by training, I went on to study development economics at Princeton University. Before moving back to India in 2000 I worked at Morgan Stanley for several years. I have always wanted to work with indigenous areas of excellence. I co-founded the beauty and wellness brand Kama Ayurveda which brought an ancient system of medicine to the forefront with sophistication. I set up my design Studio in New Delhi, always wanting to create objects with material intelligence, which appeal to a higher level of consciousness. A combination of handmade and artisanal fulfilled this desire.

WW: How did your recent presentation with The Future Perfect exemplify what your practice is known for? 

VG: For 25 years, I’ve worked to revive and innovate traditional Indian metalworking, particularly sheet metal, blending time-honored techniques with contemporary design. This approach to craftsmanship and innovation, deeply connected with our heritage, has become a guiding philosophy for our studio, as we create a modern design language while preserving and evolving intergenerational knowledge. The studio emerged through the creation of a modern Indian design language, where we would work with local artisans using indigenous materials and draw on traditional cultural inspirations. Our work is highly skill intensive: skills that have not been formally learnt in schools but passed on from one generation to another and adapted to incorporate material science, design, and architecture that are inherent to centuries of Indian sculpture. We are indeed fortunate to be part of this remarkable and fascinating millennia story as it unfolds even today. 

When we started two decades ago, we were inspired by elements from Indian art and architecture—such as finials, kalash, and ritual hardware—and elements from pichwai such as lotuses and cows. At that time, our audience was primarily in India and this was part of our India modern design languages. As we started engaging with international clients, there was a movement from literal imagery to amorphous, abstract forms. They favored a luxurious aesthetic, which was organic yet minimalist.

“Our work is highly skill intensive.”

—Vikram Goyal

Indian Culture and Craft

WW: Your practice is a study of the extraordinary craft history and ancient philosophies at the core of Indian culture. What does it explore?

VG: Arts and crafts have always been an integral part of India’s rich tradition and heritage. They are in fact the cultural symbols of the nation. These art forms are unique and demand a high adroitness. The artisans are trained in the art forms by their ancestors over generations. For over 25 years, we have been championing craft excellence, both with material and technique. These efforts have contributed to the revival and resurgence of many metal practices. We have stretched beyond the boundaries of the material and brought in our vision and design vocabulary towards a contemporary reference. This contemporary design has now been recognized internationally by some of the cutting-edge galleries like Nilufar and The Future Perfect. It is heartening to see collectible art burgeoning and to be the anchor for it as it becomes a focus of conversation.

“For over 25 years, we have been championing craft excellence…”

—Vikram Goyal

WW: How does your studio aim to visualize this exploration through metal work? 

VG: Today, India has a wide spectrum of metalcraft that have been practiced by hereditary communities of metalsmiths. Repousse, lost-wax casting, dye casting, and spinning are some of the older techniques that we use. Silver, brass, gold, copper, bell-metal, and iron are some metals that are used together and in combination to make objects. Objects have been and continue to be made in single, batch, and bulk production. We focus on single-piece production which allows us to bring great attention to craftsmanship. 

There is a misconception that today metal craft is practiced only by small, family-run businesses. In fact, metal smithery happens at many different scales, including factory production, at the major center of Moradabad, near Delhi. The main challenges faced by the metalsmiths are designing new forms and growing the pool of skilled craftspeople at a time when young people are moving away from traditional occupations. Through our practice, we have learned that metalsmiths thrive when there are design interventions and new techniques are brought into their repertoire. When engaging with traditional Indian arts, we have navigated the relationship between the designer and the craftspeople.

Crafting with Legacy: Goyal’s Brass Language

WW: You’ve been advancing the art of collectible design in New Delhi, reintroducing intricacy and elegance into modern Indian design. Why is this important to you? To New Delhi?

VG: New Delhi has long been the center of artistic and cultural exchange, with a rich history that intersects with modernity in compelling ways. For me, advancing the art of collectible design here is about honoring India’s incredible legacy of craftsmanship while redefining its place in a contemporary global context. Intricacy and elegance have always been intrinsic to Indian design, yet in the current culture, these qualities are often overlooked. My work is about bringing them back into focus—celebrating handcrafted excellence, material innovation, and storytelling through design. New Delhi, with its deep-rooted artisanal traditions and evolving creative energy, provides the perfect backdrop for this pursuit.

“New Delhi has long been the center of artistic and cultural exchange…”

—Vikram Goyal

WW: How do you see your work contributing to a larger dialogue about Indian identity, culture, and craftsmanship in a global design landscape?

VG: I wanted to work with areas of indigenous excellence in India using international design, branding and packaging, and take that to a wider audience outside of the country. So, in some ways, be a bridge between the best of India and the rest of the world. I saw potential in contemporary design interventions into craft traditions across a spectrum of product categories. Currently, I work with a team of 200 craftsmen—many of whom are inter-generational artisans, but also those who are being trained, and entering into this anew.

WW: Your use of materials, like brass and other metals, often stands out. What draws you to these materials, and how do they connect with your vision for storytelling through design?

VG: Brass is not a pure metal and that’s what makes it such an interesting material. Brass, which is made all over South India, carries the shine of gold but it’s much more flexible and much more available in its usage. So, that gives it a very interesting character. It can go high and it can go a little bit low. Historically, craftspeople associated with brass have been the most impressive and most respected. Brass is an alloy of tin and copper—copper is highly malleable and tin provides structure. Together, they form a dynamic relationship in brass. As the metal is heated, annealed, and cooled, its properties continuously shift. The metalsmith works with it in both its liquid and solid states, harnessing its inherent flexibility. What you have is a material that invites an engagement with whatever kind of light that is projected onto it, to shimmer. And the shimmering is where the object comes to life.