In the hands of Geoffrey Bawa and his contemporaries—Ena de Silva, Barbara Sansoni and Riten Mazumdar—textiles were an intimate collage of culture
Occupying an entire expansive wall of the living room in House No 11—Geoffrey Bawa’s home in Colombo—is a patchwork of Balinese vintage textiles. Hand-painted on cotton using natural dyes and pigments, the long horizontal registers depict ancient stories and myths. They reflect the aesthetics of textiles and painting that South East Asia and Sri Lanka have shared for several centuries, instantly reminiscent of the narrative art traditions in India—kalamkari in the south, mata ni pachedi in the west, phad in the north-west and pata in the east.
The collage induces, in an onlooker, something hypnotic. One is drawn to the intricate details of its human figures, and simultaneously compelled to stand at a distance to marvel at the larger, sweeping scale of its landscape. Faded in parts, flaking in others, a torrent of colour in one corner showing a frenzy of activity, and in another, a quiet manner of repetitive motifs—the eye doesn’t stop. I find myself wondering, isn’t this quite like Bawa’s simulation of a new architecture itself? A truly original expression of modernity or contemporaneity— however one wishes to look at it—and more? Or perhaps, eluding definition, something entirely its own?
Here it becomes important to read, as they say, between the lines, and to feel the space between things: an antique sculpture and a handmade basket, a gothic window frame next to a tarnished doorway, a stark white industrial chair paired with a colonial-period stool, a terraced garden becoming one with the sea. And it may seem this very same eclecticism ran across his use of textiles as well; but in the case of fabrics it went beyond.
Denne historien er fra July - August 2019-utgaven av AD Architectural Digest India.
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Denne historien er fra July - August 2019-utgaven av AD Architectural Digest India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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BANYAN TREE VEYA, IN MEXICO'S VALLE DE GUADALUPE, IS A NEW WELLNESS RESORT THAT LOOKS TO THE LAND.
A two-hour drive south from San Diego, the Mexican wine region of Valle de Guadalupe-dotted with fertile vineyards and family farms-has remained mostly under the radar, even to food-obsessed Americans.
DESIGNED IN 1988 BY RENOWNED LANDSCAPIST MADE WIJAYA, THE GROUNDS AT AMANDARI IN UBUD, BALI, FOREGO MANICURED LAWNS FOR AN ABUNDANT NATIVE PARADISE.
Coconut palms and banyan trees in sizzling jungle greens, cascades of bougainvillea and the scent of frangipani in the air—a tropical explosion of foliage that would have led Monet to abandon Giverny.
BANGALORE CLUB'S MAIN LAWNS, WITH A MAGNIFICENT RAIN TREE, GET A NEW UMBRELLA BAR AND COLONNADE BY AD100 ARCHITECTS SANDEEP KHOSLA AND AMARESH ANAND.
Time appears to come to a standstill when one enters the Bangalore Club.
FROM HER STUDIO IN LLOYD WRIGHT'S 1927 HOME, DESIGNER VICKI VON HOLZHAUSEN IS REFINING THE SCIENCE OF HIGHPERFORMANCE, PLANT-BASED MATERIALS.
It seems not only fitting but poetic that Los Angeles-based designer and eco-preneur Vicki von Holzhausen chose architect Lloyd Wright's own 1927 studio and residence as the symbolic headquarters of her namesake company, von Holzhausen, a pioneer in the development of high-performance plantbased materials.
IN THE LADAKHI HAMLET OF TURTUK, A KITCHEN GARDEN SUPPLIES FRESH PRODUCE TO THE BALTI KITCHEN OF BOUTIQUE HOTEL VIRSA.
To get to the most exquisite yet humble meal of your life, you'll have to take a six-hour drive from Leh and reach Turtuk, one of the only four Balti villages that fall on the Indian side of the border.
MAKAIBARI'S NEW EXPERIENTIAL STORE IN KOLKATA IS DESIGNED TO EVOKE A TEA PLANTER'S BUNGALOW.
Smell the tea, feel the carpets, enjoy the space”—such is the invitation from Rudra Chatterjee, chairman of Obeetee and managing director of Luxmi Tea Group, at the launch of fine tea brand Makaibari’s experiential store in October, at the Taj Bengal in Kolkata.
ARTS OF HINDOSTAN PIECES TOGETHER A SHORT HISTORY OF THE MUGHAL FLOWER-FROM ITS ORIGIN IN ATELIERS IN MEDIEVAL INDIA TO ITS UBIQUITY ACROSS TIME.
The Mughal emperor Jahangir was famously enraptured by the beauty of flowering plants that he saw on his visit to Kashmir in the spring of 1620.
A FURNITURE-ARTWORK PAIRING COMES TOGETHER AS PAOLA LENTI'S CAMPANA BROTHERSDESIGNED BENCH IS REIMAGINED TO MATCH ARTIST HUGO YOSHIKAWA'S PLAYFUL STYLE.
Vegetation has been the central subject matter of many Hugo Yoshikawa artworks for the past few years.
FROM SCULPTURES TO JEWELLERY, ARTIST LYNDA BENGLIS'S DESIGNS FOR LOEWE FEATURED IN THE BANCA MARCH GARDEN IN MADRID EARLIER THIS YEAR.
This spring, when the gates of the private Banca March Garden in Madrid's Salamanca neighbourhood opened to the public, visitors could experience four monumental fountains, emerging from the ground and soaring towards the sky.
FERNS AND FLOWERS BLOOM ON TOD'S BAGS AND SHOES, A SPECIAL LINE DESIGNED BY RAHUL MISHRA― NATURE BEING HIS CONSTANT MUSE.
India was once called “sone ki chidiya” (golden bird) for its abundance of resources, wealth and prosperity.