Nitin Utge

The following are dramatic & powerful paintings byartist Nitin Utge.

This Mumbai man studied at the Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya in Pune, Maharashtra. Utge's paintings are often bright , highly contrasted images of either clowns or children. These are often working class children, a phenomenon peculiar to third world countries such as India. Nitin Utge is preoccupied with the lives of these children, forced into labour . He catches them with their guard down, in hopes of a better life . The masks are a pretty obvious metaphor of the child's putting on of a brave face for the world.

I love the fact that they are definitely quite beautiful. But eventually , they portray a very sad, reality that we all witness on a daily basis and do not do a whole lot about. This isn't exactly a socio-economic forum , but do you think art can help these kids from not-so-privileged backgrounds? If so how? I love to hear thoughts on this.

Swati Chandak Sharma

Swati Chandak Sharma is a Graphic Artist based in Mumbai.

I absolutely ADORE the rickshaw , infact I wonder if it's for sale because I would most definitely like a print. Her work is very desi at heart , crazy bright colours and all. Love her style . To see more of this NID grad's work, go here.

Nimita Rathod

When I found this beautiful image floating around the web, I tracked it down to New Delhi based Fashion Designer Nimita Rathod. Her portfolio boasts of a stint in Milan as well as working for Sabyasachi . Her Autumn/Winter collection is absolutely gorgeous. I love the palette. I've been known to love the bright colours, but every now and then , the rich tones of earthy grays, ochres and burgundys call out my name. The fabrics have a real sense of comfortable opulence about them. It's hard for me to imagine myself in one of these , sitting in tropical Chennai but I should image they'd be pretty luxurious.

I guess the only thing I don't care much for are the plush headphones. They remind me too much of Jay Carroll's (Project Runway 1) debut collection.

Joel Sailo

Every once in a while , an art manager such as myself discovers talent so fresh , underexposed & brilliant that it makes up for all the other staid, usual stuff one has to source & promote on a daily basis. Today, I stumbled onto Joel Sailo's site. I was absolutely delighted to find out he was desi. Bangalore based Mizo artist & illustrator Joel Sailo has a bachelor's degree in fine arts from the Chitrakala Parishad. I love how unique & urbane his works are. Illustration just doesn't get the attention it deserves from mainstrain contemporary art. I , for one would love to see more Indian illustrators emerge out of the woodwork .

Ghee Happy

This was way too cute to pass up. Ghee Happy is a site illustrated by pixar animator Sanjay Patel. The illustrations are from a book about Hindu Gods & Goddesses. You can also try & score some cute T-shirts & merchandise for your kid ( if he's into Krisha) . I personally love the Kali, she's fierce & purple with skulls! (& decapitated head) . It's a pity the t-shirts are for toddlers.

Check out more at Ghee Happy.

Update : I was told you can find women's tees here

Chor Bazaar

I have a weekness for clever t-shirts , even more so if it's desi , so I'm constantly on the look out for something fun and cool without it being too obnoxious. My first post ever, featured Pardon My Hindi, a fantastic site that makes uber cool desi t-shirts & stationery. I've stumbled upon another equally intriguing-sounding indie brand , Chor Bazaar.

I especially like their his & hers cool dude & ladki tees. Fun stuff.

Isharya

Back after a LONG vacation, hope all of you had a fabulous holiday season. Wish you all a very special, happy , healthy & prosperous New Year.

I figure what better way to start off 2008 than with a Jewelry post. Isharya , a homegrown business by two mums , is a luxury jewelry brand. They custom make these beautiful pieces of jewelry from the finest of materials. Like me, if you have an aversion to the regular desi fare blinged out in gold & diamonds & the works, Isharya seems like a nice middle ground. It's Contemporary Indian at it's best.