StoneX, respected globally as the purveyor of the world’s finest stones, hosted the second edition of Stone Portraits on August 29, at the historic Cholamandalam Artists’ Village. Beneath the timeless canopy of the banyan, the evening unfolded as a rare confluence of stone, art, and culture, offering an unforgettable multisensory journey to select guests and press.
Following its acclaimed debut in Bangalore earlier this month, Stone Portraits in Chennai once again celebrated stone not merely as a material, but as a living narrative of provenance, mastery, and memory.
Guests were guided through immersive experiences that engaged every sense: the sight of curated worlds narrating the provenance of stone, the touch of raw textures resting in their palms, the sound of music evoking the spirit of each region, and the taste of ITC’s specially curated Fabelle chocolates — flavour memories crafted from herbs, spices, and culinary traditions — paired with fine wine and delicacies.
Adding to this multisensory canvas, the evening featured four traditional artisans from Mahabalipuram — S Velliyan, A Viswanathan, S Suresh, and P Saravanan — who engaged audiences in chiseling intricate drawings onto marble slabs sourced from diverse provenances. This interactive element bridged centuries of craftsmanship with contemporary storytelling, giving guests the rare opportunity to work with stone in its most authentic form.
The evening also presented artist R. Magesh’s work The Monarch, a sculpture in Grigio Bronze Amani marble that reflects his fascination with equestrian forms and his transition from painting into stone. Known for his evocative depictions of animals and birds across media, Magesh’s sculpture underscored the interplay of material mastery and artistic imagination that Stone Portraits seeks to highlight.
“With Stone Portraits, our intent is to reframe stone as a vessel of cultural memory, imagination, and permanence. Cholamandalam Artists’ Village, with its profound legacy in the story of Indian art, offered the perfect backdrop for this chapter. We are honoured to bring together traditional artisans, contemporary artists, and cultural voices in Chennai, as we continue this dialogue across India,” said Sushant Pathak, Chief Marketing Officer, StoneX.
