Anuj Sharma

eyelet it be, Lakme AW '08

While I love scouring for potential posts , nothing feels as easy and sweet as finding a gem in my inbox. One such gem would be Fashion designer Anuj Sharma's work. His design philosophy in a single word would be 'simplify'. His clothes are an exploration in simplicity of form, design and fabric. While this may sound a little clinical , the results are a stunning line of clean cut silhouettes . Sharma uses his signature single piece of cloth to fashion quirky and interesting drapes.

In his AW '08 collection titled eyelet it be, the pieces have been hammered together, exploring the concept of the eyelet. The pieces can be worn both backwards and front , for two contrasting looks. To me they're very chic Pocahontas & I love the unconventionality of the design process.

110 by 180 cms , Lakme SS '08

In his SS '08 collection , each garment has been designed using a rectangular fabric of the same size which has contrast piping all around it. The collection is completely made without putting any darts or cut on the fabric. For more , click here & here

Shelly Bahl

A couple of colourful pieces from Toronto based artist Shelly Bahl. More here.

Flukebooks

Tara publishing is an independent publishing house with their headquarters in my hometown Chennai. They also happen to have the most insanely creative in-house design team that churns out the funniest , most bizarre visual arts & children's books . They also have a line of exquisite handmade books but this post is really about their very cool & truly novel flukebook.

From their website, " The only notebook that is as unique on the outside as whatever you choose to scribble inside, each flukebook is covered with a fusion of eclectic prints and colours, totally original and knock-out gorgeous. Every cover is stamped “Edition 1 of 1” and it’s true - you’ll never find one flukebook exactly like another. They’re impossible to reproduce! Happy scribbling."

You can find them here .

Sudeshna Mitra Bättig

"I lost my father recently. His death made me aware of our mortal, finite existence. It also made me aware of the memories that stay alive even beyond the earthly existence itself. Since my birth my father was always around me. Consequently, his sudden disappearance from this world was quite a shock for me. My father was an integral part of my life process. Nothing is as astonishing as my father’s absence in my life. He left us forever, but he exists in my inner world with textures and designs constantly rebuilding my fond memories of him." , explains Sudeshna Mitra Bättig. The artist lives and works in Kolkata. More here.

Play Clan

Stumbling onto the Play Clan website was quite possibly the most serendipitous event of the month for me. Play Clan is a motley group of designers and artists ranging from ages 18-36 who've come together to think up a great, fun brand that retails it's very own products. Right from t shirts to customized Converses to Urban art and decor. If you live in New Delhi , I see absolutely no reason for you not to visit their store and buy some of their very hip wares. Their products are thematic , so stick around for the loveless range which is a playful jab at all things 'love' . I personally covet the insanely colourful pillow above and their very cool journals. More here. Cannot wait for their online store to start functioning !

Ruby Chisti

Ruby Chisti is one of the many Pakistani artists on the rise. Her soft sculptures , fashioned out of cloth , canvas , straw and cardboard. In an interesting way , she challenges the norms of art and art as an institution playing the hierarchy of sculpture and what it is usually made of - stone and wood.

Malvika Jain

Love the colours on these caricatures by Malvika Jain. More here.

Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art

set of 24 cards. 7.7"x5" ; Rs.500

FICA encourages, promotes and supports innovative work in the dynamic field of the visual arts. FICA supports educational activities, research & art grants, and public art projects. The team at FICA believes strongly in cultural programming for children and are committed to making contemporary art accessible, increasing greater interaction amongst art institutions and the public, and generating art philanthropy.

Support FICA buy buying one of their many Postcard sets. The pictured set above features the images of Contemporary artist Atul Dodiya.

Mrinmoy Debbarma

Mrinmoy Debbarma (1982) was born in Agartala. This young artist completed his BFA in Painting, from Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan.

Mrinmoy says about his work:“I belong to Tripura. This is one among many states which has been ravaged by violence. I use characters like Tom and Jerry as a metaphor to question the act of violence . The introduction of popular design is itself an artificial device - a ploy to comment on the mechanized world, which produces violence. I introduce violence only in order to be able to critique it.”

Hitesh Natalwala

Hitesh Natalwala, born in Nairobi , Kenya; received an Honours BA in Painting from St. Martins School of Art, London, England.Working in collage,Natalwala draws on myth to contend with the trauma of a multi-generational history of migration. He currently lives and works in Australia. Images from here.

Space Invader

The mysterious masked rebel artist strikes India , decorating the already colourful walls with his signature space invader tiles - a pixelated tribute to first generation arcade games. More info here. Via *pmh.

Raghunadhan K

After studying sculpture at the Government College of Fine Arts, Trivandrum and while doing his post-graduation in the subject at the M.S. University, Baroda, K. Raghunadhan was one of the founder members of the Indian Radical Painters and Sculptors Association in 1987. Following a self-imposed hiatus of two decades, his first solo exhibition in 2006 drew gasps of admiration. His wonderfully bizarre sculptures drip with satire and humour. Images from here.

Umesh Kumar Utthaman

The works of artist Umesh Utthaman are both Realist and Surrealist psychological portraits of strained relationships, landscapes of characters suspended in zero gravity.The positions of these figures mirror the artist's palette of odd color combinations and skewed compositions. Born in Aleppey, Kerala, Umesh studied painting at the Raja Ravi Varma College of Art, Kerala. He now lives and works in New Delhi. Images from here.

Updates

I know the posts at MASALA CHAI have been getting few and far between . I apologise for this. There has been a little too much going on and I believe I lost momentum . Let's hope it has been regained.

FIRST of all , I was DELIGHTED and surprised to find this. A big thank you to the people at Live Mint for the mention. For the uninitiated , that would be the Indian Wall Street Journal. Go over and see MASALA CHAI mentioned in their top blogs post in the culture section. Or just go here.

I would also like to congratulate Graphic Artist Archan Nair . He let me know that his collab project with photographer Parris Whittingham got a mention in Kanye West's blog. That's right, KANYE WEST ! Now we all know the man has good taste , so I couldn't be happier for Archan !

Also MASALA CHAI will shortly be moving to it's own domain so in the meantime if things get a little crazy and if there are broken links or any such inconveniences and technical mishaps , please bear with me . I only aim to please :)

That is all folks. Thanks for visiting & have yourselves a great weekend!

Nidhi Malhotra

Couple of cute illustrations from Nidhi over at Unworn. Do check her newly updated website for more cuteness.

Haren Vakil

Haren Vakil was born in Mumbai and holds a degree in Architecture as well as a post graduate diploma from the Victoria College of Art, Canada. In his own words, "My work is rooted in the surreal and the fantastic. It is influenced by my background in architecture, my interest in music, especially jazz, and my experience of various cultures, east and west. My intent is to produce images which evoke wonder, surprise and amusement.". More here.