Shalini Passi, along with her husband Sanjay and son Robin, resides in a distinctive, curved home in New Delhi’s upscale Golf Links neighborhood. Shaped like a gentle boomerang, the house overlooks the expansive 220-acre Delhi Golf Club, where the sound of golf swings from the 8th tee can sometimes be heard. Inside, however, the home is anything but rustic, showcasing an astonishing array of art that fills every corner.
The garden, designed by Trevor Hiller of One Degree North Landscape Architects, features a 2012 sculpture of Buddha made from brass, brass utensils, and steel by Subodh Gupta. Inside the lobby, a striking series of bindi-adorned aluminum composite panels by Bharti Kher is displayed, alongside a welded-nickel-and-stainless-steel “Murmuration Bench” by Johnny Swing from 2012.
In the dining room, a late-18th-century Italian walnut refectory table is adorned with Jeff Koons’ glazed porcelain “Puppy” vases, flanked by 18th-century Gothic gilt-brass candle stands. Behind them hangs Jitish Kallat’s 2008 mixed-media canvas, “Rikshawpolis.” The home is filled with an extraordinary collection of art, video installations, sculptures, and design pieces, including Fornasetti bureaus, Gio Ponti tchotchkes, gilt wood mirrors, and étagère bookshelves—a reflection of Shalini’s keen eye and passionate collecting instinct.
“I’m an artist, and I’ve always had an eye for meaningful art and objects,” Shalini explains. Seated in her dining room, dressed simply in a blue cotton dress, she describes her obsessive approach to collecting: researching, visiting museums, antique shops, and feeling the textures of different materials. For her, it’s all about discovering beauty and provenance. “One must have an eye for refinement,” she adds.
The house is constantly evolving, with art pieces in rotation. New works are interspersed with old ones, and video art in the sitting rooms by artists like Abhishek Hazra, Surekha, Rohini Devasher, and Sonia Khurana add to the dynamic environment. Just beyond Marc Newson’s gleaming “Lockheed Lounge,” inspired by an aircraft wing, are two impressive metal-shutter and canvas works by Atul Dodiya. This home is a vibrant, ever-changing showcase of art and design.
