On An Art Trip
- January 27, 2012
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For Karen Stone Talwar, art literally crosses boundaries as she travels with a group of art enthusiasts across the globe. Art has met travel to form Adventures in Art, a platform recently launched by Karen, which allows a glimpse into the art scenes in different parts of the world. The maiden journey is with the ongoing India Art Fair (IAF) where Karen has come down with a motley group of art patrons, gallery directors, and collectors from Houston, California, Paris and Vienna. Following a busy itinerary planned by Karen, the cluster is busy attending stimulating discussions lined up at the IAF, interacting with gallery owners at the booths installed at the venue and visiting museums and private art collections in the city.
For an art enthusiast, it’s no longer sufficient to be aware of just their art scene. Karen says, people are consciously looking to educate themselves on art practices around the world thus rendering a crucial role to her venture. In this particular group which is currently visiting the IAF, Karen says, she was surprised to know that there is much awareness about Indian culture but not much information on the contemporary art scene. During the group’s excursions to private collections and interactions with art scholars, they got to see, how elements of religious iconography, for instance Ganesha, make their way to a work of art and then how does one live with it in their homes.
Besides IAF and private collections, the other important destinations listed in the group’s schedule are visits to Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Devi Art Foundation, National Gallery of Modern Art, artists’ studios and a host of lunches and dinners with members of art fraternity in the Capital. At $8000 per person for the current trip, Karen has arranged for their stay at Hotel Oberoi, VIP tickets to the Fair, travelling in the city and most of the meals.
While in 2012, she has zeroed in on Frieze New York Fair, The Armory Show (New York) and Art Basel Switzerland, in 2013, she intends to come back to India Art Fair and also do Art Hong Kong and Contemporary Istanbul (Istanbul’s art fair). “One of the many deciding factors for choosing a particular fair would depend on the availability of VIP tickets, the opportunities available for the guests to meet the artists, visit some of the top museums, some quality private collections. The group will always reach three days prior to the Fair so that the guests get a sense of the city before they jump into the art scene. For instance, till now they have seen the motif of bindi appear in so many art works, and they know of artists working with it but on the streets, when they saw a local woman wearing bindi, it just came alive,” tells Karen. For her inaugural trip, choosing India was natural. Karen’s marriage to an Indian allowed her exposure to a bustling contemporary Indian art scenario followed by a long association with the arts of the region, continuing to date. A major in art history, she started her association with contemporary Indian art in New York as the director of the Bodhi Art there. Handling another project by the Christie’s and then becoming the director of the patrons of Asia Society, took the relationship even further.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/art/article2831796.ece