MUMBAI.- Renowned architect and artist
Suchi Reddy unveiled her latest installation, Chromacosm, at the Architecture and Design Film Festival, which ran from January 9 to 12, 2025, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Mumbai, India. This groundbreaking immersive installation, created in collaboration with Asian Paints, celebrated the launch of the brands Chromacosm color library the world's largest architectural paint system, featuring over 5,300 unique shades.
Asian Paints journey to create the Chromacosm library drew from the rich and diverse traditions of India. Inspired by crafts like Ajrakh and Kalamkari, the collection bridged centuries of artisanal expertise with cutting-edge design and scientific innovation in color.
Suchi Reddys Chromacosm installation brought this color library to life. Visitors walked through a forest of vertical rods transitioning from black to vivid hues, symbolizing how color emerges from within the depths of the cosmos. Inspired by ancient Tantric paintings and the science of light and absorption, Reddys work reimagined paint as a three-dimensional, responsive medium that interacted dynamically with light, shadow, and space.
People think of paint as flat, but it is aliveit absorbs, reflects, and transforms depending on its environment, Reddy explains. Chromacosm is a meditation on the dimensionality of color and the infinite possibilities it holds.
The installation incorporated over 2,000 shades from the Chromacosm library; this remarkable showcase demonstrated Asian Paints pioneering approach to color, celebrating its ability to unite tradition and innovation.
Its only fitting that the worlds largest color library comes from India, Reddy remarks. This project celebrates our heritage while setting new benchmarks for creativity and innovation in design.
As the world's largest and most comprehensive color repository, the newly unveiled Chromacosm empowers architects, designers, industry professionals, and consumers with an unparalleled range of hues and shades to bring their creative visions to life. Asian Paints has spent over a decade documenting Indias vibrant color traditions, blending technological innovation with cultural heritage. By combining algorithmic precision with a deep understanding of color theory, the Chromacosm library organizes 5,300 shades by hue and depth, enabling effortless exploration of color families. This innovation offers designers an intuitive, holistic approach to color selection, transforming how they conceptualize and execute projects.
Its not just a color library; its a revolution in how we interact with color, said Amit Syngle, MD and CEO of Asian Paints. The repository represents our commitment to pushing boundaries and creating tools that allow for unprecedented precision, creativity, and diversity in design.
Founded in 1942, Asian Paints has evolved into a global leader in paint and color technology. Operating in over 15 countries and serving millions of customers in 60 countries worldwide, the company is renowned for its innovation, sustainability within emerging markets, and customer-centric solutions.
For decades, Asian Paints has been at the forefront of paint and coating technologies, offering products that range from decorative finishes to industrial coatings. Their ability to seamlessly merge science, art, and tradition has solidified their reputation as a visionary leader in the global market.
India has always been a country of colors, said Syngle. By launching Chromacosm, we are not just providing a tool for design; we are presenting the world with a living archive of color inspired by Indias artistry, craftsmanship, and everyday life.
Chromacosm was open to the public from January 9 to 12, 2025, at the NCPA during the Architecture and Design Film Festival in Mumbai. Visitors explored the transformative power of color and experienced firsthand how paint transcended its traditional boundaries.
Asian Paints
Asian Paints is a globally recognized paint company headquartered in Mumbai, India. Founded in 1942, the company has grown to become the largest paint manufacturer in India and one of the leading decorative wall-covering companies in the world. Known for its wide range of climate-specific and budget-friendly products. Asian Paints is a household name in South Asia and well known for an ethos of personalization and intentionality, embodied by its ethos that every home has a story, and paint provides an essential backdrop of color.
Now distinguished for having the worlds largest color library, the 5,300 shade Chromacosm library, the brand produces paints across the decorative and industrial sphere. Known for its innovative products, extensive distribution network, and strong presence, Asian Paints has a significant influence in both the consumer and industrial paint markets with operations in over 15 countries servicing consumers in more than 60 countries, especially across emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Over 70,000 dealers globally, ensuring accessibility across urban and rural markets.
Asian Paints has a strong focus on eco-friendly practices in emerging economies where environmental regulations are evolving, with the development of low-VOC and lead-free paints, contributing to healthier indoor air quality. The brand is known for continuous product development, including environment-friendly paints, antibacterial coatings, and weather-resistant finishes.
Suchi Reddy
Suchi Reddy is an Indian architect, designer, and artist based in NYC. In 2002, she founded Reddymade, which focuses on public art installations, large-scale commercial spaces, and residential projects ranging from single-family homes to interiors and prefab architecture. Guided by her mantra form follows feeling, Reddys architectural and artistic practice is informed by her research on neuroaesthetics, which examines the impact our environments have on the brain and body.
Reddymades most celebrated projects include the first flagship Google retail space in New York, rated LEED Platinum; me+you, an interactive AI and light sculpture currently on display at Michigan Central Station in Detroit, and first unveiled in 2021 at the Smithsonian in DC for the Futures exhibit; a minimalist home in Salt Point, New York, with artist Ai Weiwei; Look Here, a solo exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.; X, a temporary sculpture in the center Times Square; A Space For Being, a collaboration with Google, Johns Hopkins, and Muuto during Salone del Mobile measuring the impacts of neuroaesthetics; an award-winning hybrid prefab home in Los Angeles; and The Connective Project in Brooklyns Prospect Park, featuring 7,000 yellow pinwheels carrying messages and images from the surrounding communities.
Reddy has presented and lectured on the firms work at numerous venues including Bloombergs CityLab 2023, The Salk Institute for the Academy of Neuroscience for Architectures annual conference, the WSJ Future of Everything Festival, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the University of Illinois, and the University of Wisconsin.
Reddy teaches at Columbia Universitys Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation and serves on several boards, including the Design Trust for Public Space and Storefront for Art and Architecture.