Rendezvous - India Art Fair 2020 ... :)

 I was glad to have made it to the India Art Fair and give a slip to the frenzy that is the weekends. It surely felt more relaxed to take in all the art work and admire the ones I liked ... for the simple fact that I liked them for my personal reasons ... good point, I realize 'cause we are talking about art, here ... right?
Like the pieces in the image above ... the earthy colours sure appeal  ... but did love that feel of watching it through a fog and mist. It instantly reminded me ... that I have been wanting to do giant water colours for the longest no. of years and of course that statuesque doesn't look like is going to change anytime soon ... ;) ... but well I found my connection to this art piece.

 Walking the aisle's ... I can't help take in all the details that they put in the display's ... being an exhibition space designer ...I know, it looks fabulous all done ... but its a whole different ball game when you start with a blank canvas.
every designer gets asked a lot ... 'I just can't visualize, art on my walls and so I am very scared to venture into buying an expensive piece' ... oh ! these venues are just the right place to start with your inspirations and also to put an end to any doubts about the place of art in your life and on your walls.

... my daughter 's first question at looking at this image was ... 'sooo ... are those benches there as an art piece or are they there for what they are supposed to be for ...' :)) ...  figure that darling, that all the reason we love art ... its an art show ... that's how lovely life in an art world is ... find your expression and reason and logic ... that is if at all you feel a feed for that last bit. 

 ...love the art  ... but then the display can do a lot of talking too ... or put an end to it ... if you know what I mean, when you stopped at a artpiece or walked pass one ...

 that woman isn't me ... but I was just as intrigued ... ;) ... pretty sure I was in many a shots clicked ... pouring over the details of this particular painting ...

'I am a citizen of that ruined place' ... installation art in porcelain by artist Shaurya Kumar ... I was not sure how to respond to the irony of those words ... suddenly overwhelmed by the thoughts in my own heart ... the reality of my current times ... :( and lets just leave it at that ... 

But Shaurya Kumar ... they do say an artist is always ahead of his time ... :( ... you got us all ...

Not ashamed, at all to say ... some pieces just call me ... 'cause the colours just do that charming number on me ... after all isn't it about that relationship between me an art ... well ! there ... if colours get me ... that is my reason to love ... :) 

Judge me  ... ;) ... sure by all means ... :))

 And then starts the romance with the old masters ... a picture cannot justify the way the details of the works ... and ... those are what are making me crush over so many masterpieces here this year ...

 Kshendranath Majumdar's, Krishna ... another heart stealing moment ... I love the resemblance of his work with Chugtai's. But I am in love ... almost fantasizing the idea of an art heist ... :)) ... glad its just a romanticized idea in my head ... in reality I 'd be singing looney tunes ... what with all the overwhelming lot of pieces I lost my heart to this Saturday.

 Ramachandran's works ... always the kind that stop you in your step, until you give it a once over ... the green skin tone of his protagonist and the signature parrot ... yes it is a Ramachandran. A bad picture of a gorgeous  work ... my bad ladies and gentleman... ;)

 Laxma Goud ... another of my fav. artist ... the glare of the over head lights is a really bad excuse I will use to not having been able to get better shots of his works ...

 Manjit Bawa ... this collection of his sketches ... is all that one can ask for ...  to have in your life, a minimalistic Indian Art. My personal preference over the paintings ... :)

oh ! was I fantasizing an art heist, :)) ... silly fantasies ... I tell you  ... telling me in my head, how these classic pieces of unknown artists sure add into list of pieces I'd bag ... ;) 

I was recently invited by one of our customer's to come view this couple's personal collection of Indian art and a painting of Noorjahan ... had me ... I mean it really had me floored ... and after that to see these stunning works with all the detailing ... :) ... one sure feels proud of our art legacy and envy of the one who'd own such precious pieces of Indian art history.

 One of those pieces that garners long drawn conversations with many who throw at us how ... their little one can do it too ... infact, I hit upon just the right book at the book shop... 'about how your 4yr. old can't do it ... :) ... yes ... they can't ... Modern pieces of art ... I am available for a serious conversation on that ... at our store ... if ever you feel you cannot figure why they don't deserve the credit that they get.
To every abstract artist out there ... hats off to you all ... and RESPECT ...

 Coming back to the legends ... for me ... it was nice as I walked through the Art Show ... to find pieces that put an art in front of some of the names we grew up with ... :) ...

This one too, I can bag and take home ... :) ... ok, so not all pichwai cut it for me ... the architectural ones sure allure me ... but pieces like this in black fabric, painted with natural pigments ... it sure sails my boat.
On that art heist front ... do they bag their pieces or carton them ... do they get porters before hand or muscle power it themselves ... wee ... the more I think of it ... more it looks physical challenge could be  stumbling block ... more then anything else ... ;))

 Overall, I loved the show ... some lovely books in the book shop ... great coffee ... and I say Saturday was a shooting success ... Oh! wait  ... we did make it to inauguration of Kingston's solo show at India Habitat ... :)) ... well ! lets just take that up in our next post should we ... I got a few pieces bleeding my heart there too ... ;)

An Art Exploration at Maihar and discovering Art Ichol ... :) Part 1.

A few months ago, I spent a beautiful week in Maihar, a quaint little town in Madhya Pradesh. Thanks to my dear friend and ceramic artist Rekha Bajpe Aggarwal ... being part of this  crazy bunch of women ... out on an 'Art Exploration' trip... has been one of  the most memorable time of my life.We were headed to Ambica Beri's ... Art Ichol. Let me share with you one of the most amazing destinations in India, today ... for an artist ... an experience one is not likely to forget easily :)

(L-R) Suparna Arora, Rajee Sood, Rekha Bajpe Aggarwal, Sangeeta Batra and Simran Sandhu

So here goes ... :)

An overnight train ride and we arrive at Ambica's home, the Maihar Haveli, a grand old heritage home, standing regal ... elegant and still in all its glory.

The welcoming haliconias ... the ochre arches of  a trypical colonial Haveli ... 

I needed a bit of a push and a shove to move in ... cause standing tall at the entrance is the creation of artist Narayan Sihna titled 'Deviji' ... well ... there is lot more we'll talk about this artist soon ... cause I am floored by his creativity.

                                                          'Devi ji' by Narayan Sinha

Vintage photographs ... ceramic art and murals ... paintings ... antiques adorn the entire Haveli 

Moving deeper into the beautiful home ... the veranda's around the inner courtyard make you realize what it is to be surrounded by art ... art to live with ... art to be one with.This place invokes creativity to go in an overdrive ...  :)

Gallerie walls, adorned with art ... greens all around ... those bougainvilleas ... ah! there are murals ... and ceramic art pieces all over this property ... phew ! ...

Show me a person in India ... who does not get all nostalgic looking at those colonial chairs on a veranda ... as for me ... the thing about such places is the sudden urge of going on a tea drinking binge ... as they say ... Chai pe ... chai pe ... chai ho jai ... ;)

I fell in love with the way Ambica  used this old carved wooden pedestal to hold her urli ... the designer in me really does a cartwheel  ... weehee ... look at the details ... I couldn't contain my excitement ... everytime I passed by I'd click a few pictures ... and get all touchy feely with this fella ... ;))

Ah ! my love for all things old ... my mind wanders off to all the stories it holds ... hmm ! wonder where it came from ... where it might have been carved and installed and then one day done away with ... blessed are those that find ... final homes like this ... :)

I have no doubt Ambica's father was one proud dad ... what with all her contribution to the art world ... but to hear her talk about her late father ... it strikes an emotional chord with me ( I was always my daddy's lil' girl) ... all her stories about how he helped her restore this home and the important role he played in the making of Art Ichol ( we'll go there more in details in a later post)

The works of some of the most prominent artists in India stare back at you from around the garden too ... works that they created while staying here in art camps ... retreats ... residencies ...  breaks ... vacations ... :)) ... well ! they all leave behind many beautiful stories too ... one can never have enough of discovering the treasures of art  ... :)

The ceramic center at the Haveli ... is where we spent some crazy back breaking hours ... but then we were really on a creative high ... and the feel of unhindered hours of letting your creativity flow ... taking tie out for a tea break with other artists ... the whole atmosphere is charged.The sheer joy of letting your mind free to create and explore.
On our days of exploring painting and sketching ... I infact found myself get back to sketching after sooo ... many years ... talk about getting me all emotional ... it really did ... and ... I have since, gone back to always travelling with my sketch pad and and pencils ... :)

 I am not even going to attempt  ...  saying I can remember the names of all the artists who left behind such creative collections ... well ! firstly because I am just too much of a novice in this genre of art and secondly ... a ... yeah ! waaaaay too many  ...

 ... I did ofcourse fall in love with these very interesting animals ... which as Milan Singh ( the resident ceramic artist) told me ... where the works of a local man who would come from the village to learn ... his inspiration being very much his local style of making animals in terracotta. For someone who had soooo ... much talent it was heart breaking to know he gave up due to family and financial reasons ... :( ...

 O.k, just a little peek into our time at the ceramic studio ... this picture would easily be some where close to midnight ... the chai and coffee to keeping us all fired up ... ;))

 And while we all worked together ... these pieces were coming to life ... the plan was an introduction to Raku and a few other firing techniques ... aaaa ...  yeah ! one of them needed tons of beer ... ;) ... hey ! just saying we had fun ... :) ... but honestly ... its called Obvara pottery ... come on, go google ... ;))

What's more wonderful than dinning with all the resident artists of Art Ichol. One can only imagine the conversation ... when you have painters ... ceramists ... sculptors and even a bronze casting artist. Who also happen to be beautiful singers and poets. Added to this mix are stories and anecdotes from Ambica and her lovable family ... :)
For our next leg of the trip we moved to Art Ichol ... but that's for the next post ... :)
So incase, you happen to be an artist ... a designer or you are an aficionado of all things creative... or may be you are a traveler looking for exciting destinations in India to explore ... do stay tuned while I come back to share more about  Maihar and Art Ichol. And ofcourse more about the lady behind it all ... Ambica Beri.
But if your curiosity is way over the brim ... you can discover more on their facebook page, here and their website here.