PROFILE
プロフィールAman Khanna is a character artist and sculptor based in New Delhi. Through his ongoing project Claymen, he explores the emotional awkwardness of being human—using clay to create quietly expressive figures that feel like they’ve just had a very long day.
Khanna began working with clay in 2014, after a career in graphic design and has since built a self-sustaining practice around making, exhibiting, and sharing his work worldwide. His hand-molded figures, rendered in neutral tones, reflect a deep interest in psychology, impermanence, and the strange beauty of everyday life.
His work has been showcased at Pictoplasma (Berlin), Gallery LVS (Seoul), and London Design Fair and featured in Wallpaper, AD India, Colossal, and Monocle.
From a single clay head to an entire community of mute observers, Khanna’s practice continues to grow—always rooted in simplicity, quiet observation, and the shared weirdness of being alive.
Khanna began working with clay in 2014, after a career in graphic design and has since built a self-sustaining practice around making, exhibiting, and sharing his work worldwide. His hand-molded figures, rendered in neutral tones, reflect a deep interest in psychology, impermanence, and the strange beauty of everyday life.
His work has been showcased at Pictoplasma (Berlin), Gallery LVS (Seoul), and London Design Fair and featured in Wallpaper, AD India, Colossal, and Monocle.
From a single clay head to an entire community of mute observers, Khanna’s practice continues to grow—always rooted in simplicity, quiet observation, and the shared weirdness of being alive.
CAREER
経歴Aman Khanna is a character artist, visual storyteller, and sculptor based in New Delhi. His ongoing project Claymen explores the absurdities and anxieties of modern life through quietly expressive figurines—each one handmade in clay, each one looking like it’s just had a minor existential crisis.
Khanna was born near Delhi, India, and spent his early childhood moving across the country with his family, living in some of its most remote and introspective corners. Those formative years—filled with isolation, observation, and the slow rhythm of unfamiliar places—shaped his sensitivity to people, silence, and the peculiarities of human emotion.
Working primarily with clay since 2014, Khanna’s figures emerge in soft earth tones and neutral whites, often imperfect, always contemplative. They are shaped by a fascination with human psychology and by the quiet, everyday moments that reveal just how strange it is to be a person in the world. The work is grounded—literally and emotionally—in the idea that we are all made of the same stuff: dirt, fragility, and questionable decisions.
What began almost a decade ago with a single clay head has grown into a global chorus of silent, wide-eyed witnesses. These figures have travelled the world, speaking without words to people who recognize something of themselves in a slouched shoulder, a blank stare, or a pair of hands that don’t know what to do. Khanna has built the project entirely on his own terms—developing a self-sufficient ecosystem around making, presenting, and sharing the work, without compromising its spirit.
A graduate in Graphic and Information Design from the London College of Communication (2004), Khanna began his career running design studios in London and New Delhi. But it was clay—its ancient familiarity, its imperfection, its refusal to be rushed—that offered a medium suited to the emotional pace of his ideas.
His work has been exhibited internationally at Pictoplasma (Berlin), Gallery LVS (Seoul), Collectible Design (Hong Kong), and London Design Fair, and has been featured in Wallpaper, Colossal, Blouin Artinfo, Architectural Digest India, Monocle, and others. His sculptures have appeared in collections and stores such as the Design Museum London Shop, Hauser & Wirth Gallery Shop (London), and The Conran Shop, and have been auctioned by curator Simon de Pury. A permanent installation is on display at the Museum of Solutions, Mumbai.
More recently, Khanna has expanded his explorations in material and scale—introducing papier-mâché and biomaterials—while continuing to let simplicity, silence, and a wry sense of humanity guide his practice.
Khanna was born near Delhi, India, and spent his early childhood moving across the country with his family, living in some of its most remote and introspective corners. Those formative years—filled with isolation, observation, and the slow rhythm of unfamiliar places—shaped his sensitivity to people, silence, and the peculiarities of human emotion.
Working primarily with clay since 2014, Khanna’s figures emerge in soft earth tones and neutral whites, often imperfect, always contemplative. They are shaped by a fascination with human psychology and by the quiet, everyday moments that reveal just how strange it is to be a person in the world. The work is grounded—literally and emotionally—in the idea that we are all made of the same stuff: dirt, fragility, and questionable decisions.
What began almost a decade ago with a single clay head has grown into a global chorus of silent, wide-eyed witnesses. These figures have travelled the world, speaking without words to people who recognize something of themselves in a slouched shoulder, a blank stare, or a pair of hands that don’t know what to do. Khanna has built the project entirely on his own terms—developing a self-sufficient ecosystem around making, presenting, and sharing the work, without compromising its spirit.
A graduate in Graphic and Information Design from the London College of Communication (2004), Khanna began his career running design studios in London and New Delhi. But it was clay—its ancient familiarity, its imperfection, its refusal to be rushed—that offered a medium suited to the emotional pace of his ideas.
His work has been exhibited internationally at Pictoplasma (Berlin), Gallery LVS (Seoul), Collectible Design (Hong Kong), and London Design Fair, and has been featured in Wallpaper, Colossal, Blouin Artinfo, Architectural Digest India, Monocle, and others. His sculptures have appeared in collections and stores such as the Design Museum London Shop, Hauser & Wirth Gallery Shop (London), and The Conran Shop, and have been auctioned by curator Simon de Pury. A permanent installation is on display at the Museum of Solutions, Mumbai.
More recently, Khanna has expanded his explorations in material and scale—introducing papier-mâché and biomaterials—while continuing to let simplicity, silence, and a wry sense of humanity guide his practice.
実行委員会レビュー
アマン・カンナさん、はるばるインドからディファレントに参加してくださり、ありがとうございます。kiko+&gg*の丸いテーブルに並んだあなたのお人形たちはとても愛らしく、見た人をとても幸せな気分にしてくれました。手びねりならではの揺らぎやニュートラルな色調は、あなたが大切にしている心理学や無常観、そして日常に潜む少し奇妙で愛しい瞬間への眼差しをそのまま映し出しているようです。
キャラクターアートの軽やかさと、彫刻としての存在感、そのちょうど真ん中にある“人間らしさのぎこちなさ”。そこに強い共感が生まれるからこそ、世界中で支持されているのでしょうね。ヘッドホンをしたあなたの土人形のひとりは、チグニッタの本棚で笑ってますよ。
Aman Kanna, thank you for traveling all the way from India to participate in Different. Your dolls, arranged on the round table by kiko+&gg*, were utterly charming and brought such happiness to everyone who saw them. The unique irregularities of hand-building and the neutral color palette seem to perfectly reflect your cherished psychology, your view of impermanence, and your gaze toward those slightly strange yet endearing moments hidden in everyday life. The lightness of character art, the presence of sculpture, and right in the middle lies that “awkwardness of humanity.” It's precisely this strong resonance that earns you support worldwide, I imagine. One of your clay figures wearing headphones is smiling on Chignitta's bookshelf.
Aman Kanna, thank you for traveling all the way from India to participate in Different. Your dolls, arranged on the round table by kiko+&gg*, were utterly charming and brought such happiness to everyone who saw them. The unique irregularities of hand-building and the neutral color palette seem to perfectly reflect your cherished psychology, your view of impermanence, and your gaze toward those slightly strange yet endearing moments hidden in everyday life. The lightness of character art, the presence of sculpture, and right in the middle lies that “awkwardness of humanity.” It's precisely this strong resonance that earns you support worldwide, I imagine. One of your clay figures wearing headphones is smiling on Chignitta's bookshelf.
審査員レビュー
シンプルに可愛いなと思いました。キャラクターの確立、ユーモア、一貫性、小物から大物まで粘土作品としての完成度の高さはハイレベルだと感じ、現物を観てみたいと思いました。
飯沼剛
I thought it was simply adorable. The character development, humor, consistency, and the high level of craftsmanship in the clay work—from small details to large pieces—felt top-notch, making me want to see the actual items.
Go Iinuma
飯沼剛
I thought it was simply adorable. The character development, humor, consistency, and the high level of craftsmanship in the clay work—from small details to large pieces—felt top-notch, making me want to see the actual items.
Go Iinuma