StoneX just launched a coffee table book, and is now taking the work of its artists across India with Stone Portraits

StoneX recently launched a coffee table book to celebrate the poetry of stone and the work of 10 masters — Shanthamani Muddaiah, Sudarshan Shetty, Gigi Scaria, Shaik Azghar Ali, Harsha Durugadda, R Magesh, Yogesh Ramkrishna, Teja Gavankar, Chandrashekar Koteshwar, and Harmeet Rattan.

Gigi Scaria’s sculpture 
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“We spoke to 200 artists from around the country and the world and chose people who could relate to the material, were passionate about it, and did not look at it just like a block of stone,” says Sushant Pathak, Group CMO, StoneX Global.

“We spent the first 15 years enhancing the quality of natural stones. When we felt we had mastered the quality, we realised that stone is still not as valued as it should be; it’s still seen as a commodity. We want to let people know what they are bringing into their homes,” explains Sushant. The idea here to tell the story behind a stone and really understand and appreciate it. And as part of this, art seemed like a natural progression. The StoneX Art Soiree was born in March this year, where in the 10 artists, whose works are now captured in the coffee table book, were onboarded to create sculptures with stone. Their works represent a gamut of emotions and expressions right from nostalgia and humour to fantasy and protest.

Work in progress at the refinery
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Walk through the labyrinthine refinery — peppered with sculptures and installations — and you will find yourself in a gallery-like space showcasing their work. “The brief was very simple. We believe in celebrating the origin of the stone. The artists were given the creative freedom to express their stories. For example, Shanthamani’s Bloom, carved out of Macedonian marble, is inspired by Alexander The Great’s journey from Macedonia to India and the discovery of sari,” he explains.

The artists were given six months to complete their sculpture. While stone is hard, it requires patience and skill to work with. Just chiselling and polishing does not create a masterpiece. With most other materials you can go back and make a correction but with stone, one wrong chisel and the whole art piece is gone, says Sushant, highlighting that while there is a sort of permanence to stone, it can still be vulnerable. The sculptures, some weighing 800 kilograms, are now being taken around the country, to each artist’s hometown for an immersive experience.

Harmeet Rattan’s work
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Up next, StoneX will soon have a bottega in the refinery. And it is coming up with a design district in Delhi that will be spread across two lakh square feet. In addition to art, it will also incorporate experiential dining, for which chefs have been sent on a journey to learn more about the provenance of stones and create flavours,while scents, that smell like stone, are being created by a master perfumer. Clearly at StoneX art encompasses all the senses.

Sushant Pathak – Group CMO, StoneX Global

Published – September 04, 2025 01:40 pm IST