Five South Asian New-York based artists revisit their roots and discuss influences, inspirations and their practice. Growing up between cultures — her father is Lebanese and her father is Afghani — artist, writer, activist and scholar Mariam Ghani often felt that the place with which she identified most was the border — and that is… Continue reading 5 South Asian artists who’re tackling culture, politics, gender and nostalgia
The world is a canvas to the Burman-Maity imagination. Two throw colour at it; the third plucks images out of it. No dream is too unwieldy for this creative family of three, no idea is too small to act upon. Even when their eye sees the same thing, all three — the two artists and… Continue reading The Burman-Maity family is proof that creativity runs in the genes
The real stars behind the New York edition of Frieze Art Fair 2018 are the weather gods. The much-touted Fair opened to clear blue skies, a bright sun and summer temperatures, on a perfect spring day. Typically, the art world can be a serious lot, with black as the colour of sartorial choice on any… Continue reading Everything you missed from New York’s edition of the Frieze Art Fair 2018
New Delhi’s favourite home of all things art-related, Bikaner House, is currently showcasing One Soul Many Lives, an exhibition set to the lyrical poetry of Laxmana Dalmia. Co-curated by art critic and curator Georgina Maddox, and presented by Ashwini Pai Bahadur of Artspeaks India, the show features works by some of the country’s leading artists, such… Continue reading This new exhibition in Delhi marries art with poetry to spectacular result
Pooja Singhal first fell in love with pichvai as a little girl, growing up in Udaipur, when she would accompany her mother, an avid collector, to the temples in nearby Nathdwara, the birthplace of the traditional art form. The meticulously detailed, hand-painted textiles, which were hung behind the idol of Srinathji (an incarnation of Krishna),… Continue reading Art exhibition to watch out for: Pooja Singhal’s Pichvai Tradition & Beyond
By now, we know better than to simply reduce Pakistan to a hostile state that harbours terrorists and seriously stylish women. We keep hearing of a highly talented art community, a flourishing fashion scene and hundreds of inspiring women working towards empowerment, and some of them create disruptive content on Instagram while they’re at it. This… Continue reading 12 cool Pakistani women to follow on Instagram
Kolkata is synonymous with rich cultural heritage, and it’s no wonder that the former capital was selected to exhibit contemporary art and design at The India Story festival. In its third edition now, the event is making a mark for itself as one of the leading fashion, art and culture exhibition, courtesy its line-up of talented curators from… Continue reading Here’s why The India Story festival should be on your yearly calendar
Trust Sabyasachi to turn to create beautiful art — this time, a wallpaper, for Nilaya by Asian Paints featuring Deepika Padukone. Titled Guldasta, the wallpaper is inspired by the designer’s life spent in North Calcutta, in the late seventies and early eighties. Featuring hand-painted motifs of tigers lounging amidst peaceful palm trees, the Taj Mahal,… Continue reading Deepika Padukone stuns in Sabyasachi x Nilaya’s new collection
Art expert Chelsea Neman Nassib offers lessons to the amateur buyer looking to invest in art. How to figure out “your style” Setting the intention to discover and educate yourself about artists and their work is a key starting point. Even with a busy schedule, I always make time to visit artist studios, attend openings… Continue reading A beginner’s guide to invest in art on a budget
All my life, I have stayed away from buying established artists. To buy their work, all you need is money. When you do that, you do not employ the three things that I think are critical in buying art: your eye, your intuition, your self-confidence. And I buy a lot of youngsters. Because very few people… Continue reading 4 unconventional young artists worth investing in
Tarun Tahiliani is having a major moment. The veteran couturier just finished styling our delectable November 2017 cover with Jacqueline Fernandez dressed in an elaborate embroidered jacket. A few weeks ago, Kareena Kapoor Khan styled herself in a champagne gold sharara from his couture archives, reminding us of the timeless appeal of a Tarun Tahiliani… Continue reading Tarun Tahiliani picks the one Indian fashion label he’s loving right now
One scroll through artist and designer Furqan Jawed’s Instagram will sum up his approach to art. A marriage of clean visuals and witty words, providing you with imagery inspired by popular culture that has been twisted and subverted to create something new. “The semantics of everyday visual media excite me to create work which celebrate the… Continue reading Artist Furqan Jawed on the inspiration behind his ELLE 250th cover collaboration
An illustrator, visual artist and graphic designer, Sajid Wajid Shaikh’s experiments with art and design are as unique as it gets. Whether he’s using embroidery as a medium, making sculptures or creating portraits out of scrap material, his novel approach towards art is building a culture that’s exclusive to creativity and emotions. “What excites me… Continue reading Meet the graffiti artist who tricked out ELLE’s 250th issue cover
Almost four decades after the artist’s death, Man Ray’s work has found its way to India for the first time. Often credited with changing the face of fashion photography, and sculpting the Surrealist and Dada movements, the legendary 20th-century American photographer’s art is being displayed at Mumbai’s TARQ gallery in an exhibition, titled Views Of… Continue reading Catch legendary artist Man Ray’s work in India for the first time
Much has been written about the devastating tragedies that inspired artist Dhruvi Acharya’s first solo show in India in eight years. Her father died the day after her New York exhibition opened in March 2010 and later that year, her filmmaker husband Manish Acharya passed away in an accident. But according to Acharya, it was… Continue reading Losing her father and husband in one year, here’s how this artist fought back
Imagine you’re rushing to catch a train at the station and you come up against a wall of steel trunks, arranged in a way that they converge in a corner, forming their own space. On these trunks, a film is being projected. You can either give it a cursory glance; get a little disoriented with… Continue reading Owais Husain tells us what to expect from his latest installation
Hyderabad-based artist and photographer Dia Mehta Bhupal has a unique way of looking at and redefining ordinary spaces through her work. Her photographs capture spaces that are “both strange and familiar”, making the process an awe-inspiring and unusual one. Her conceptual images have made her a name to look out for globally. Now, she is… Continue reading Everything you need to know about Dia Mehta Bhupal’s upcoming exhibition
Begun by husband-wife art connoisseur duo Prateek and Priyanka Raja in a ’30s heritage building in Kolkata, Experimenter is a critically-acclaimed contemporary art gallery, which highlights experimental and alternative artists from all over the world. (Priyanka Raja is one of several power women in their 30s who are shaping South Asian Art) Just about eight years old,… Continue reading Art lovers in Kolkata, pay a visit to the Experimenter
Delhi-based photographer Gauri Gill’s new solo exhibit, The Mark On The Wall, features works from three series at Mumbai’s Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke. Places, Traces (2016) is a compilation of new images about the landscape, and part of her larger ongoing series called Notes From The Desert, a photo archive of rural Rajasthan which Gill has maintained since 1999. They capture intriguing… Continue reading Photographer Gauri Gill documents rural life in Rajasthan
British curator Antonia Marsh has been known to rally girl gangs – of artists – under Girls Only. Over two years she has taken the programme across New York, London and Copenhagen, before bringing it to India. It covers a wide spectrum of mediums: photography, performance, installation, sculpture, film, video, written word, textiles, drawing and… Continue reading Girls Only puts the spotlight on 14 female artists
