We recently connected with Rucha Kumthekar and have shared our conversation below.
Rucha, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Any projects that are presented to us, as creatives, can become works that deeply reflect our experience through the style and approach. The focal point of a project can allow us to navigate an aesthetic direction that we have not tackled before. Being presented such projects is a blessing in disguise and I was challenged by one of my studio projects to create a structure based on a poem. While this may seem straightforward, I needed to explore the ideas of iteration and disregard any initial ideas I had for the project. This forced me to think further than just the initial ideas and develop more complicated and sophisticated designs. The reason this was a meaningful moment was because I discovered how to push past the early creative thoughts I had, and learn the importance of the artistic process.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Yes! So to start off, my name is Rucha Kumthekar. I am a junior at the Parsons School of Design, studying Architectural Design. I am originally from India, but grew up moving countries every few years, so I have lived in a total of eight so far. This has led to an ingrained love for change and curiosity. I have seen much of my work surround the larger themes of movement, culture, and global mindedness. My love for architecture stems from viewing new cities and towns and being exposed to a variety of living situations. Thus from a young age, I was always drawn to the idea of design and construction. Furthermore, I have also succeeded in leadership opportunities. For instance, I am currently leading the AIAS (American Institute of Architecture Students) chapter at Parsons. I have recently reinstated this chapter and I am looking to give an international perspective to the greater architecture community in New York.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Personally, I think of art as its own language. Art can be so profound and emotive beyond words that I have found it easier to view it through a linguistic lens. So it can be understood that I believe that my art represents my ideas, my styles, and my process through its own expression. When I present this art, that is where the conversation begins. It can be a dialogue between the audience and the artist, the audience and the art, the art and the space its presented in, etc. Thus, in my opinion, the most rewarding part about being an artist is provoking meaningful conversation that flow because of art. I believe that using different lenses and perspectives is a very beneficial way to tackle challenges, and I love that creativity can be the path toward it.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My purpose through my creative journey is constantly evolving. Many of my projects have been inspired by what is taking my place my life at that moment. Having said that, there are a few themes that can be identified across my work so far. I love exploring immersive architecture because I have always loved the idea of space being able to captivate all senses. I feel as though space, projections, and exhibitions have the ability to transform reality. Furthermore, I love to explore the concepts of movement, dimensionality, and surrealism. In my projects, I lay down the concepts firsts, which then progress based upon how I choose to approach the concept and what designs will best accomplish my message. Further project descriptions can be found in my portfolio.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://issuu.com/ruchakumthekar/docs/portfolio_.2
- Instagram: @architecture_roots
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rucha-kumthekar-30595b220/