A collector since he was a child, Karun Thakar is an author and curator who believes that every object in his collection has a story to tell about the people who made it and the way that they lived. He lends and donates pieces to international museums to deepen the understanding of what they mean and the cultures they belong to. Through exhibitions, publications and now the V&A Karun Thakar Fund, he hopes to contribute to a wider understanding of postcolonial narratives.
'My fascination with textiles stems from the fact that no other material is so close to our bodies, touching our skin and absorbing our imprints. Textiles are full of history and act as a mirror to global events. Researching the field made me look at collections with new eyes, questioning the conventional history in the light of post-colonial contexts and narratives. I hope ‘Journeys’ will inspire others and bring fresh perspectives to these remarkable collections.' – Karun Thakar
The Collections
The Karun Collection is internationally recognised for its focus on antique textiles and dress, with several thousand Indian examples, Japanese folk textiles, Afghanistan costume, West and North African textiles and weavings. The collection also contains African and Indian bronzes and jewellery, studio ceramics, Islamic and Venetian glass trade beads, early Indian terracottas and even hand painted African movie posters.
Exhibitions and donations
Karun Thakar has donated and loaned textiles and objects to various international institutions and exhibitions over the last 15 years. 100 examples of key textiles have been donated to the V&A Museum and now the Textile Museum at George Washington University. He has put on free public exhibitions of his collections at the Brunei Gallery SOAS, and at the Textile Museum on ‘Indian Textiles: 1,000 years of Art and Design’ in 2022.
Journeys runs from 22 May until 1 November. House open 11am – 4pm,
About the author
Paul Barratt
Paul Barratt started working in contemporary art galleries in 1989, having graduated in Fine Art from Goldmsith’s, London University. He initially worked at Anthony d’Offay Gallery, one of the contemporary art dealers, who dominated the London art market in the 80s and 90s. He was approached by the Lisson Gallery to be gallery manager for the influential art dealer Nicholas Logsdail. This was followed by a short period in New York at Gladstone Gallery, to work for visionary art dealer Barbara Gladstone, working with the artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney.
On his return to London, Paul secured a place on the postgraduate curatorial course at the Royal College of Art, to complete an MA. After graduation in 2001, he worked as an independent curator on several projects in Oslo, London, Brighton and Basel, before joining Paul Vater at his design agency Sugarfree in 2004. He has worked with Paul ever since.