Laila Khan Furniturewalla Returns with ‘Untamed Heart’
After nearly two decades away from the public eye, artist Laila Khan Furniturewalla makes a bold and deeply emotional return to the art world with her solo exhibition titled ‘Untamed Heart’. Presented across two prominent Mumbai venues — Snowball Studios and Gallery Art & Soul — this evocative collection of works marks a significant chapter in her artistic evolution, paying tribute to her parents, the late cinematic icon Feroz Khan and her mother Sundri.
Eighteen years may seem like a long pause, but for Furniturewalla, the interlude has been one of internal growth, personal reflection, and creative reawakening. With ‘Untamed Heart’, she channels this intense journey into abstract compositions that resonate with themes of spirituality, identity, emotion, and memory. Her works are not just paintings — they are deeply immersive experiences that invite viewers into the layered recesses of her inner world.
Working with an eclectic mix of materials such as sand, copper, gold leaf, pigment, and acrylic, Furniturewalla pushes the boundaries of medium and meaning. Her canvases, though abstract, speak with clarity about the tension between tradition and modernity, the sacred and the earthly, the seen and the unseen. Through bold textures and nuanced layering, she explores a metaphysical space where form dissolves into feeling, and surface gives way to substance.
“The exhibition is the culmination of my journey as an artist,” shares Furniturewalla. “These works are highly personal and emotive, and embody my search for the mystical and the divine without boundaries and definition.”
Indeed, there is a sense of boundlessness in her work — a refusal to be boxed in by style or convention. This is not just abstract expressionism; it is abstract soul-searching. Her pieces evoke the rawness of grief, the gentleness of memory, and the uncontainable force of love — especially for her parents, who remain spiritual anchors in her creative universe.
The choice of exhibition spaces further echoes the dual nature of the show: a fleeting yet powerful preview at Snowball Studios, Worli, on the 5th and 6th of April, followed by a more extended engagement at Gallery Art & Soul, Worli, from the 16th to 22nd of April 2025. These venues, each with their own unique character, provide fitting backdrops for a body of work that bridges time, place, and emotion.
‘Untamed Heart’ is more than just a return to the art world — it is a reclaiming of voice, vulnerability, and vision. Through her fearless exploration of the self and her homage to familial legacy, Laila Khan Furniturewalla offers audiences not just a glimpse into her heart, but an invitation to reflect on their own inner landscapes.
In this compelling exhibition, the untamed becomes the unforgettable.
