Divya Agarwal
New Delhi [India], October 1: Sculptor Niyamat Mehta presented Sculpt Someone You Love, an intimate portrait-sculpting experience at Zetu, the newly opened modern Sri Lankan restaurant in Mehrauli. Curated and hosted by Cities Without Houses India, the afternoon brought members of Soho House’s wider creative community together for an experience centred on portraiture, observation and human connection.
Cities Without Houses is a unique membership helping to make the Soho House community truly global and diverse, enabling creatives from all over the world to make meaningful connections with each other – even in cities where there is no Soho House.
For Sculpt Someone You Love, CWH invited members to arrive with a partner, friend, sibling or family member and create a portrait of one another in clay. Built around the idea that some of the best conversations happen while our hands are busy, the experience moved away from the formality of a conventional art class. Instead, it unfolded more like an artist’s dinner party: slow-paced, playful and welcoming, with guided sculpting alongside drinks, seasonal small plates and conversation.
No previous artistic experience was required. The charm lay as much in the wonderfully imperfect portraits as in the act of looking at someone familiar with fresh attention. Mehta guided guests through a 90-minute portrait-sculpting session, with clay, tools and workstations provided on site. The wider three-hour programme included an introduction to Zetu, welcome drinks and bites, an artist introduction and opening, curated snacks by Zetu, a wine pairing and music selected by Mehta. Sandalwood was considered as a scent note for the setting, extending the experience beyond the worktable into a more atmospheric, sensory afternoon.
The event was designed for an intimate group, with approximately 10–12 participating members and 25–30 guests in total. A photographer documented each finished sculpture against a styled backdrop at Zetu, creating portrait-style images intended for branded frames. Event pamphlets and branded paper bags completed the personalised takeaway experience.
“Sculpt Someone You Love was about giving people a reason to look at someone they know well in a completely different way. Portrait sculpture asks you to slow down and notice the smallest things — the tilt of a head, the shape of a cheek, an expression. The sculpture did not need to be perfect. The point was the time spent making it together.” — Niyamat Mehta
Niyamat Mehta (b. 1999, New Delhi) is an Indian sculptor whose practice brings together the discipline of classical European sculpture with a contemporary exploration of mythology, movement and the human experience.
Trained on the banks of the River Arno at The Florence Academy of Art, Mehta developed a rigorous foundation in anatomy, observation and working from life. These principles continue to inform a practice spanning portraiture, the human figure and increasingly symbolic and surreal compositions in bronze.
Her work has been presented internationally, including at Palazzo Albrizzi during the 2022 Venice Biennale, as well as across exhibitions in London and New Delhi. Mehta has held two solo exhibitions at Bikaner House, New Delhi, and her work has gone under the hammer at Bonhams London, marking an important step in her growing international auction presence. She is set to make her US debut at Bonhams in New York in the first week of December 2026.
Alongside her studio practice, Mehta has developed a growing series of collaborations that bring sculpture into conversation with other creative disciplines. In 2026, she collaborated with Indian couturier Varun Bahl, bringing together the worlds of fashion and art, followed by Sculpt Someone You Love, an artist-led collaboration with Cities Without Houses India.
Mehta operates out of her New Delhi-based studio, Atelier Della Firenze, where she sculpts, teaches and works closely with her collectors.
Event Details:
Event: Sculpt Someone You Love
Artist: Niyamat Mehta
Curated and presented by: Cities Without Houses India
Audience: CWH India members
Venue: Zetu, Mehrauli, New Delhi
The event was promoted to CWH India members only and centred on a one-afternoon portrait masterclass led by Niyamat Mehta.
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