Contemporary French artist Thomas Henriot captures innovation in Indian architecture through his paintings

From the deep step wells of Rajasthan which seem like a diamond-shaped maze to the wonderful echoes of the ancient temples that are architectural marvels in innovations, at a time when neither were frequently used terms, India has them all. From the length and breadth of a diverse country comes contemporary French artist Thomas Henriot’s latest artistic work which is currently on display at Alliance Française de Delhi. Aptly named, Palais d’Or or Golden palaces, the exhibition comes at a time parallel to the French President, Emmanuel Macron’s much awaited India visit and declaring 2026 as the French Indian Year of Innovation.

What makes Thomas Henriot’s exhibition a merger of traditional craftsmanship and modern technology?

If you have visited some of the ancient Indian structures then their designs are nothing less than engineering marvels, made by architects probably even without any fancy degrees. These marvels are brought to the viewers by Thomas who created the drawings in India and later on made them livelier in France by weaving them onto gold-thread tapestries using the Jacquard weaving technique developed by Les Soieries Brochier.

Henriot mentions, “This exhibition represents two years of research into translating my ink and brush drawings on paper into works produced through advanced gold-weaving technology. Palaces and historic sites, from Calcutta to Rajasthan, including Jodhpur and Jaipur, were initially drawn on site and subsequently reinterpreted through this technological process.”

The exhibition brings the artists work full circle, back to where it all began. Not only that, each artwork is a combination of traditional ink and brush in collaboration with modern textile technology which, on deeper thought, reflects on the subject of the artworks themselves. The exhibition has been aptly curated by Tuba Ali who explores the concept of translation, from drawing to thread, from gesture to textile code, and from architectural monumentality to the movement of woven material. In the course of curating the exhibition such, it upholds the vision of the organisation in shared innovation.

What: Palais d’Or

Where: Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Française de Delhi, New Delhi

When: till February 28, 2026

Time: 11 am – 7 pm

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