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 ... ;)

Nari Shakti Awards 2018 ... Congratulations ... Ambica... :)

Acknowledging the woman who is contributing so much in the art and heritage scene in India. Knowing Ambica and her work ... I am so thrilled to have her share this wonderful news and pictures of the beautiful ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
As news of her receiving the Nari Shakti Award reaches me ... it is instant moment of elation. Truly what she does at Art Ichol (www.artichol.com) ... is absolutely worthy of the award she received. It does take a woman of grit and passion to do what she does and has achieved.

Her recent exhibition ' Disappearing Dialogs ' ... at Bikaner House in Delhi ... stands testament to how she brings together so many genre's of art ... preserving the local culture ...  the opportunity to sooo ... many artists to come together  and create such stunning art.
If you are not familiar with Art Ichol ... do find them here on face book and here for their website.

Congratulations on the amazing honour  ... Ambica Sabherwal Beri. You inspire so many of us.

Goa Style ... Diaries

For the longest time ever,I have been dreaming of the Goa style interiors. Does the  mention of Goa make you imagine ... sun swept sand ... thatched roof ... whitewashed walls ... mattresses with throw cushions ... well ! Beeeep ... wrong answer ... that's probably Cancun you are thinking of or may be the Greek islands ... :o)

Definitely not Goa style ... cause the real Goa style is a different thing alltogether ... :)

It is truly an indigineous style ... a style that evolved out of the Portugese, Hindu and Islamic influences.There are elements which strongly speak of local life ... as it was and as it is ...

We took a vacation to Goa before moving to Gurgaon.And let me show you what a beautiful  Goan bunglow I got to enjoy.It is over a 100  years old ... and restored in ways which would make any romantics heart melt ...   O.K so mine was all over the floor... :)

 This is the home of Bennita and Ganesh and their two darling girls Trikaya and Trisha ... and its a very a warm welcome to this bright yellow bunglow  Arco Iris with its beautiful Azulejos tile entranceway.

Goan interiors are often decorated with this beauitful decorative borders ... around the doors ... around inbuilt shelves ... cupboard spaces ... I enjoyed discovering the hardwork that goes into these... many times very ornately handpainted designs.And not surprisingly there are not many involved in this art these days ...

Being authentic to the Goa Style ... Benny and Ganesh have created lovely mosaic  tiled flooring  in all the rooms of their bunglow ... added  to this ,their every growing collection of old Indian colonial furniture ... the drawing room is soooo ... inviting ...with eyes wandering to every corner and not wanting to miss out any details ... while light filters in through tthe beautiful french doors theat open out on to the veranda that  runs all along  front of the bunglow.

 The Bishops chair ... a lovely piece of colonial furniture... reminisent of the Colonial history of Goa.Do forgive the shaky picture the photogapher was overwhelmed ... :)

I am absolutely in love with these chairs ... saw them in a lot of antique stores all over Goa ... some day I'm sure to pick up the entire set ... ;)

The seat at the entrance ... of Goan homes is a very typical feature ... it served many purposes in feudal homes ..and a lot of activities the ladies indulged in happenend here.This here is a beautiful balcony adjoining one of the rooms in the bunglow ... and who but my older girl Aimee enjoyed it the most ... :)

Benny and Ganesh have a passion for collecting... restoring ... and adding new pieces to their collection of furniture ... and these beds ... weee ... the whole feel takes you back into another era... :)

...the true feel of dining in Goa, is not in dining at the Leela Kempinski or the Taj ... its here at the Arco Iris ... the red flooring ... with mosaic borders ...the curtorim wind blowing throughout  the bunglow... :) ... the chairs that had many tales to share if they could ... that they once also belonged to Heta Pandit ... who is an absolute bible for me when it comes to talking about Goa ... and the lady behind the Goa Heritage Action Group

These columns are made of local Laterite stone ...patiently carved piece by piece by a craftman (something not so easy to come by these days) ... but then if you are as passionate as Benny and Ganesh ... you figure your way out and search high and low ... untill the whole bunglow was a piece of authentic Goan restoration...

... the beautiful cast iron grills all over  Goa ... soooo make me wish, I was the pied piper of Hamlin ... walk down the streets and magically all the beautiful grills come off the balconies and follow me away... don't ask me what I'd do with all the goodies ... may be all that excitment would drive me nuts ... treasure  ... treasure at last ... ;) ... don't believe me ... ??? ... you really need to take a walk down the streets of Goa ... :)

You also absolutely must, read the whole story of the restoration of Arco Iris ... here ... here (this one is their Face book page) ... I do hope you enjoyed a peek-a boo into the world that is real Goa Style ... and I shall share more on Goa Style details as I bump across them ... so do tell me what you felt ... was it a wow wee moment for you as well .... :)