Tantra On the Edge: Inspirations and Experiments in Twentieth Century Indian Art
Winner of the 2024 Oxford Bookstore Art Book Prize
Published by DAG and written by art historian Madhu Khanna, Tantra on the Edge: Inspirations and Experiments in Twentieth Century Indian Art gathers the work of sixteen pioneering modernists—including S. H. Raza, Priya Mookerjee, and Ranjit Makkuni—who embraced tantra philosophy and its sacred, abstract symbolism. Long segregated from mainstream art history, these artists created a distinctly Indian visual lexicon that existed on the periphery of critical discourse. The design mandate was to build a rigorous publication that moves these fringe movements to the centre of contemporary scholarship, translating abstract spiritual philosophies and sacred geometry into an authoritative visual system.
To reflect this narrative shift, the book’s editorial layout is built around a custom iconographic grid of sixteen vector symbols derived from sacred yantras, bindus, and cosmic diagrams, which serve as chapter anchors and running motifs. Recognising its synthesis of art scholarship and book design, Tantra on the Edge was awarded the 2024 Oxford Bookstore Art Book Prize.
Client - DAG