This week in London's Mayfair, Vikram Goyal is transporting weary Frieze and PAD visitors to a land of myth and legend. Within the walls of a Georgian Townhouse, a troupe of animals plucked from the Indian epic poem the Ramayana have taken up residence: a vulture unfurls its wings across a textile screen, an embroidered monkey swings across the shimmering seat of an upholstered stool while a set of gold claws peep from below an ottoman. Flora and fauna, feasts and festivities are played out across hand embroidered silk, velvet and brocade, repoussé brass, silver and mother-of-pearl. The scent of spices, fruits and rose hips fills the air.
Wings and Tales by Vikram Goyal is on view in London
This immersive showcase of Goyal’s latest work, titled 'Wings and Tales', is a celebration of spirituality and storytelling through craft – and an argument for the value of ancient narratives in an increasingly homogenous and ephemeral culture. 'There’s stability in the past,' says Goyal. 'In this world of fleeting social media reels…where everything is gone in a nanosecond, you have something where there’s more permanence.'
Building on his previous Soul Garden exhibition presented at Design Miami Paris in 2025, which drew on the Panchatantra fables and their animal characters and moral lessons, 'Wings and Tales' explores the Ramayana – the 3000-year-old Indian epic that tells the story of heroic Prince Rama rescuing his consort Sita from the demon king Ravana. In one part of the poem, a battle brings together monkeys, crocodiles and vultures across land, sea and air, ending, happily, with the triumph of good over evil. The festival of Diwali celebrates the victorious homecoming of Prince Rama, Sita and his brother Lakshmana to the ancient city of Ayodhya.
The story shares lessons of friendship, empathy and compassion with each animal playing its own symbolic part. The forest-dwelling monkeys, known as Vanaras, represent collective labour and bridge-building; the crocodiles signal hidden obstacles and tests of strength, while the winged vultures embody loyalty and resistance. Goyal sees this narrative richness as increasingly unusual in contemporary collectible design, which he feels often concentrates instead on pushing material and form
Staged across two of the townhouse's rooms, the showcase is arranged like a baithak - a formal Indian drawing room. In the first room, a richly patterned Samarkand-style rug and a repoussé brass folding screen are joined by hand-embroidered silk brocade and velvet seating with mischievous clawed feet. Gathered around a fireplace, the assembly includes brass tables, vessels and mirrors. Here, surrounded by claws, fangs and many eyes, Goyal invites guests to pause and take in the mythical creatures, allowing their imagination to wander.
In the next room, the Madhuvana ('honey forest') from the Ramayana is depicted across brass screens decorated with vine-like forms. A series of velvet and brocade seats are arranged across a trio of rugs that reflect the realms of land, sea and air. Brass and silver-plated platters, bowls and champagne buckets adorned with repoussé details of delicate jasmine suggest the imagined occupants of this place are accustomed to lavish feasts, while a mother-of-pearl chess board decorated with monkeys adds to the feeling of a scene interrupted.
The furniture and textiles on show draw from a deep well of references. There are nods to Silk Road textiles, 18th-century European furniture, Indian miniature painting and French art deco. For Goyal, the eclecticism comes naturally from his own 'image bank of references globally' – and even from his New Delhi home, where velvet, brocade and metal sit alongside old Persian carpets populated by animals.'My work has always been along this entire spectrum,' says Goyal. 'I think one complements the other because one shows you where it’s all come from, and you can see where it’s gone to.'
Goyal's New Dehli atelier is widely known for its signature repoussé work – an ancient technique where sheet metal is hammered from the reverse to create intricate reliefs. Wings and Tales sees the studio venture into new mediums, including hand-knotted rugs, inlaid mother-of-pearl decorative arts and handmade brocade upholstery, working with one of India’s finest brocade ateliers.
The immersive format, Goyal believes, allows visitors to connect with the studio's work in a more intimate way than they could within a white exhibition booth. This, he says, is a space for 'engagement, introspection, reflection'. Conveniently located around there corner from PAD London in Berkeley Square, the Georgian townhouse at 7 Grafton Street is also home to the Sprüth Magers contemporary art gallery and next door to members’ club Maison Estelle. Throughout the week, the space will play host to a series of 'salon' events and conversations on Indian literature, history, cuisine and design, accompanied by food and drink from Gymkhana and floral arrangements from Blooming Haus.
'I wanted to create an experience which would allow the viewer to come in and take it all in, and think about the larger issues at play, not just the objects,' he explains. 'To give it meaning and relevance – resonance.'
Wings and Tales is on view until 16 October 2026
7 Grafton street, W1S 4EJ
