Suraj Barthy: The NY-based Artist from Chennai
Suraj Barthy: The NY-based Artist from Chennai Who Has Created a New Artwork Every Day Since 2016
Chennai : For the past 3,000+ days, Suraj Barthy has created one original artwork daily – a quiet act of resistance in a fast, disposable world. This ongoing project, Everydays, threads together discipline, curiosity, tradition, and experimentation – all in one frame at a time.
What began in 2016 as a personal design challenge has grown into Everydays — a decade-long ritual that’s now central to his art, philosophy, and global recognition. “It’s not about the output,” he says. “It’s about staying present. In a world built for distraction, routine is resistance.”
Smile – Day 1550 Realities – Day 657
A Lineage in Silk, A Life in Code
Suraj was born into a family of master saree designers. His grandfather N. Veerappan, who was the former Director of the Weaver’s Service Centre, could draw intricate motifs in seconds and had the honour of making sarees and fabrics for Queen Elizabeth, Indira Gandhi, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Suraj brings deep material intuition into his digital practice. “My grandfather and uncle both received National Awards for weaving. I grew up with looms and jacquard cards – repetition and rhythm were everywhere. Now, I work with pixels and sensors, but that logic of weaving never left.”
Though he trained as a chemical engineer, his heart pulled him toward design – first at the National Institute of Design, and later at NYU Tisch’s ITP program in New York, where he recently completed a postdoctoral residency.
My grandfather N Veerappan receiving the National Award for Master Crafts from Former President of India R Venkataraman
Objects of Time: Weaving the Conceptual with the Sensory
From motion graphics to physical computing, Suraj’s work spans mediums – but at the heart of it is always a meditation on time. His kinetic sculpture Chase resets the clock to 11:29 every time it nears midnight, suspending the viewer in an endless “almost.” In Fabric of Time, old jacquard cards are woven into new textiles, carrying both historical memory and electronic touch sensors.
These works, along with interactive sculptures like Staring Faces, blend computation with cultural memory – weaving stories across time and space.
Chase (2024)
Fabric of Time (2023)
The Mookambika Mural: A Sacred Collaboration
One of his most celebrated works is the Mookambika Devi mural, commissioned for composer Ilaiyaraaja’s Chennai studio. Collaborating with fellow artist Vibha Kulkarni, Suraj fused different technologies to build a custom pipeline and divine geometry to reimagine the goddess as a symbol of both discipline and divinity.
Meeting the Isaignani (2025)
The final mural of Mookambika for Ilaiyaraaja Sir’s studio (2021 Ananda Vikatan)
Process shots of making the mural
From Chennai to New York: A Practice Rooted in Ritual
Suraj’s journey brought him from Chennai to New York, where he recently completed a Postdoctoral Residency at NYU Tisch’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. He now works as Lead Designer at Quit With Jones, designing behavior-driven health tools, while continuing to teach, mentor, and make art.
Whether he’s building speculative AI interfaces, guiding students through creative disciplines, experimenting with weaving data into fabric, or working with Global artists like Laurie Anderson, the thread of daily practice runs through it all.
Radiant Fibers – Clive Davis Gallery (2025) Electronic Textile Camp (2024)
What Now & What’s Next
Suraj continues Everydays into its 10th year – not as a trend, but a tether to presence. The project has grown into a platform for emerging technologies:
An AI-powered art critic that reflects on his daily works
Textile oracles that blend machine learning with woven traditions
A forthcoming book and archive, mapping his daily ritual’s evolution
“The loom was the first computer,” he says. “I’m just continuing that lineage – trying to make sense of now, one frame at a time.”
BOILERPLATE
About the Artist
Suraj Barthy Selvabarathy is a Brooklyn-based artist and creative technologist exploring time, memory, and sustainability through textile, code, and interaction design. He is a former Postdoctoral Resident at NYU Tisch and currently leads product design at Quit With Jones. His work has been shown internationally at Currents Festival, NYCxDesign, DEMO Festival, and in Laurie Anderson’s ARK.
Key Projects
Everydays (2016–present): 3,000+ daily explorations in 3D, code, and visual systems [Link]
Mookambika Mural (2021): For Isaignani Ilayaraaja’s studio [Link]
Chase (2024): A kinetic sculpture where midnight never arrives [Link]
Fabric of Time (2023): Interactive loom installation [Link]
Staring Faces, Us (2023): Networked sculptures and temporal interactions [Link]
Exhibitions & Recognition
Open Hardware Summit, Edinburgh, UK (2025)
CultureHub Re-Fest, New York, NY (2025)
NYCxDESIGN Festival, NY (2024)
Laurie Anderson’s ARK, Manchester, UK (2024)
DEMO Festival, Netherlands (2022)
CultureHub Re-Fest (2025) NYCxDESIGN Festival (2024)
Open Hardware Summit (2025) Laurie Anderson’s ARK (2024)
Downloadable Assets
Document Pictures [Link]
Everydays Assets [Link]
Headshots [Link]
Portfolio → www.surajbarthy.com
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/surajbarthy/
