Dhokra Artist, Devrai Art Village, Maharashtra

Suresh Pungati

Suresh Pungati is a Rock Dhokra artist and co-founder of Devrai Art Village in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli region. His work distinguishes itself by casting brass onto sculpted river stone using a centuries-old lost-wax process, creating unique forms that are both heritage-rich and art-forward. Through Devrai, he trains tribal youth and redefines tribal metal art for modern collectors. Each sculpture is a harmony of earth, flame, and tribal imagination.

From the deep forests of Gadchiroli, Suresh Pungati channels a 4000-year-old tradition of lost-wax metal casting into a modern form called Rock Dhokra. Born into the Madia tribal community, he helped found Devrai Art Village, where sculpted stone fuses with brass under exacting conditions to create mesmerising forms rooted in heritage but speaking to global design sensibilities.

Trained through years of apprenticeship, Suresh began by casting clay moulds around river pebbles before pouring molten brass into them, each piece a dialogue between earth and artistry. Under the canopy of a sacred fig tree in Panchgani, he and his team turned Rock Dhokra into a cultural innovation, combining ancient technique with contemporary aesthetics.

Suresh’s creations have toured exhibitions from local galleries to international audiences, representing a fusion of form, forest, and fine art. He also mentors tribal youth, preserving Dhokra’s legacy while ensuring it evolves.

Each sculpture he makes blends ancestral rhythm, natural raw material, and trained hands, a testament to tradition reimagined as living design.

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