Some of my favourite artworks
Here are a few art pieces over the years, which have stayed with me. Along with the story linked to it. I am also including some sculptures and handicraft pieces which I really liked.
This is of course a small subsection of art I have liked over the years, depending on whether I remembered and/or was allowed to take a photo of them. Going forward I plan to be more diligent in capturing such art which draws me, and posting them here...
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| Whistlejacket |
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| The girl |
I ran into this painting at an exhibition in Kala Ghoda in Bombay, while waiting for a friend. And I took a photo of it from my phone when cameras used to be quite awful. Maybe it was from a blackberrry.
Again, this painting has stayed with me for years. I don't know who the artist is, but I love the emotions of this painting, of this girl, sitting next to a river with a bridge, comtemplating on life...
Wood sculptures, Bali, 2010Bali has a tradition of each village having its own skill, with everyone in the village learning and excelling in that art form. We visited one which did batik painting, one did silversmithy and one focused on carvings in wood. The showroom in the village had such exquisitely and delicately carved wood sculptures, you could easily get lost exploring all the pieces. What I loved in them was the sense of beauty and simplicity in all them, just like on the island, and its people...
There was one carving of Ram and Sita which I loved the most. I missed buying this specific piece, and kept looking for a similar one for some time. And finally, I bought a version of this from the airport before leaving the country.
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| Ramayan |
Glimpses of Ramayan seem to be everywhere in South-East Asia. During my visit to a few temples in Bangkok, I came across vast scenes from the Ramayan. And each of them was painted delicately. Here is one such painting from a temple, which attracted me towards it, with its peace and tranquility.
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| Church in Ghent |
I love churches, and make it a point to visit any and every church that I can. Whether its in Mexico, London or Allahabad. And by default, all churches are tastefully decorated on the inside, with paintings, sculptures, chandeliers and so on. Of the 100s of churches I have visited, there is one in Ghent which somehow felt grander than the others. It had many sculptures in marble, all of which felt so real and life-like. Here are a few of the many pics I took there.
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| Mayan art |
The art and handicraft I observed in the museum of anthropology in Mexico City, and the streets of Merida are beyond compare. The colours and the artistry was something I have not seen in Europe. It felt it was from a different continent, from a different world. Here is a picture of a manuscript in the museum, and some beautiful embroidery pieces. The colours in the embroidery were so inviting and uplifting. Till today I wish I had bought this colourful bedspread. I have not seen such work ever again after that.
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| Mexican embroidery |
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| A beautiful Mexican bedspread |
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| Bags in the wind |
While wandering in the local market in Maputo, I came across this local market which was selling hand made bags made of straw. I was struck by the image. The sun was out, the bags were hung by the trees, and the bright colours and handwork of the bags made the whole scene look like from a Bollywood movie 😁. This view of the colourful bags swaying in the wind has stayed with me forever.
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| Eyes of Van Gogh |
After wandering around the museum getting a personal tour of the paintings, we came across this huge huge print of Van Gogh's self painting displayed on the ground floor of the museum. With its reflection falling on the glass wall opposite. Given its size and the bright colours, this image came out to be much more powerful than a lot of the smaller paintings. And created an image which reminds me so much of Van Gogh, of his mysterious craziness.
While visiting the Pennines national park in the UK, we were walking around in a church in the village of Alston Moor and I came across some water paintings on display and sale. And I feel in loved with these water paintings of flowers. Especially the purple ones 😝. I loved them and they would have looked good in my living room. But I did not buy them as I wasn't sure if they were good art! Now I know better,and would have.
I was staying at the Ritz hotel in Bangalore and came across multiple large abstract paintings in the main reception, in the office floor, the dining room and other common areas. I generally don't like abstract art, but these drew me towards them, the colours and the emotions that were emanating through these. My friend, who is an artist also loved it. And that convinced me my liking wasn't wrong 😝. And so I took a few photos of some of those pieces. Here is a collage of a few of these decorating the different part of the hotel.
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| Stained glass in the Duomo |
The large stained glass windows in the Duomo in Milan are grand, and they will draw you towards them. They all have detailed scenes depicted on them, and I found these somehow grander than a lot of other stained glass paintings I have seen before. Here is one photo of it, though I don't think any of these photos can do them justice.
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| Market ceiling |
My journey into the art world
Some of my favourite artists
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