“Did you know that Gerrit Rietveld’s iconic Red and Blue Chair from 1918 is distinctively similar in form to the Pida chairs of Rajasthan? Rietveld was a Dutch furniture designer and architect, associated with the De Stijl movement founded in the Netherlands. On the other hand, the Pida chairs date back to centuries ago and are till date common to households across India, and especially in Rajasthan.

How is it that these chairs, separated by geography and time, share such a striking similarity in design? Were artisans designing the angular, low-seated chairs with some similar interplay of planes and volumes in mind? It is only in their juxtaposition, elaborated upon in an episode of the Museum of Art & Photography’s original series Museums Without Borders, that one can understand the cross-cultural connections that seemingly exist beyond time and space.”

Read the full story on Hindustan Times here.