Architecture & Art: Architects Reveal Their Alter Ego
Brinda Somaya, Gautam Bhatia, Martand Khosla, Rajeev Kathpalia and Rohit Raj Mehndiratta present their artworks in Delhi
Many believe that architecture is like art – an artistic, intricate thought transferred on paper and then given tangible form. There is a connecting line, therefore, between creating the art and communicating its idea, notion or perception.
Taking off from this concept, STIR and Artpilgrim Live present ‘Connecting Lines’, an exhibition of the definitive art of five celebrated architects in India – Brinda Somaya, Gautam Bhatia, Martand Khosla, Rajeev Kathpalia and Rohit Raj Mehndiratta – at the Bikaner House, New Delhi, from 27 September to 5 October. The architects manifested their thoughts through different artworks, classified into three broad sections – ‘Architecture as Architecture’, ‘Architecture as Art’ and ‘Art as Art’.
Taking off from this concept, STIR and Artpilgrim Live present ‘Connecting Lines’, an exhibition of the definitive art of five celebrated architects in India – Brinda Somaya, Gautam Bhatia, Martand Khosla, Rajeev Kathpalia and Rohit Raj Mehndiratta – at the Bikaner House, New Delhi, from 27 September to 5 October. The architects manifested their thoughts through different artworks, classified into three broad sections – ‘Architecture as Architecture’, ‘Architecture as Art’ and ‘Art as Art’.
Gautam Bhatia
Architect, Gautam Bhatia
For Bhatia, when he started out, approaching architecture was like approaching a problem that had to be solved, “much like a surgeon treating a cancer patient. Indeed, much in the way a politician perceives India, a place of problems. It took some undoing to understand that such an approach was not only flawed but was filled with a dose of perennial defeat. Art, on the other hand, was not in collusion with reality, but with imaginary flight. I have always felt that drawing is too precious an activity to be wasted wholly on architecture. What I attempt here are subjects that I hope spring somewhere between realism and private paranoia. The drawings grapple with suggestions at the remote edges of possibility. I have tried to draw that which I would never get to build, and delve into unlikely states of space – places that are more idea than art,” he says.
Architect, Gautam Bhatia
For Bhatia, when he started out, approaching architecture was like approaching a problem that had to be solved, “much like a surgeon treating a cancer patient. Indeed, much in the way a politician perceives India, a place of problems. It took some undoing to understand that such an approach was not only flawed but was filled with a dose of perennial defeat. Art, on the other hand, was not in collusion with reality, but with imaginary flight. I have always felt that drawing is too precious an activity to be wasted wholly on architecture. What I attempt here are subjects that I hope spring somewhere between realism and private paranoia. The drawings grapple with suggestions at the remote edges of possibility. I have tried to draw that which I would never get to build, and delve into unlikely states of space – places that are more idea than art,” he says.
Martand Khosla
Architect, Martand Khosla and RKDS
Khosla’s art practice explores urban continuity and transformation. “It also acts as both a counter and a complement to architectural practice, and my experience of building in India. Earlier works of the art practice explore how construction-fuelled employment shaped contemporary social identities and nostalgia for a migrant. Situated both as participant and observer, I employed brick dust collected from my construction sites as a language of tension, allowing material to pay tribute to both the temporary and permanent, to construction and demolition. My current work traverses the lines between sculpture and object, movement and remnant, material and memory. Inspired by the human churning of urbanisation, I try to replicate the micro-process of macro-construction – and simultaneously move from the lens of authoritarian power to its dispersion, exploring the transformations that lie in between,” he says.
Architect, Martand Khosla and RKDS
Khosla’s art practice explores urban continuity and transformation. “It also acts as both a counter and a complement to architectural practice, and my experience of building in India. Earlier works of the art practice explore how construction-fuelled employment shaped contemporary social identities and nostalgia for a migrant. Situated both as participant and observer, I employed brick dust collected from my construction sites as a language of tension, allowing material to pay tribute to both the temporary and permanent, to construction and demolition. My current work traverses the lines between sculpture and object, movement and remnant, material and memory. Inspired by the human churning of urbanisation, I try to replicate the micro-process of macro-construction – and simultaneously move from the lens of authoritarian power to its dispersion, exploring the transformations that lie in between,” he says.
Rajeev Kathpalia
Partner, Vastu Shilpa Consultants
Kathpalia looked at the infinity of space and celestial bodies as inspiration for his work. “We know that the change in the quality of light through the day in different seasons at different latitudes has played a significant role in the way architecture has been shaped over millennia. Space is defined by light revealing matter. Material, texture, positioning and acoustical resonance of this matter decide its revelation. A client’s programme, desires and dreams, the social, cultural, geographical and historical context, all create circumstances that are often paradoxical. The balancing of these paradoxes gives the impetus for design. My search for aligning these begins on paper as scratches that transform into sketches. Drawings grow, change scale and become models. Eventually, dimensioned drawings emerge with finished models,” he says.
Read more:
The Essential Guide for Art Lovers
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What is architecture & art to you? Share with us in Comments below.
Partner, Vastu Shilpa Consultants
Kathpalia looked at the infinity of space and celestial bodies as inspiration for his work. “We know that the change in the quality of light through the day in different seasons at different latitudes has played a significant role in the way architecture has been shaped over millennia. Space is defined by light revealing matter. Material, texture, positioning and acoustical resonance of this matter decide its revelation. A client’s programme, desires and dreams, the social, cultural, geographical and historical context, all create circumstances that are often paradoxical. The balancing of these paradoxes gives the impetus for design. My search for aligning these begins on paper as scratches that transform into sketches. Drawings grow, change scale and become models. Eventually, dimensioned drawings emerge with finished models,” he says.
Read more:
The Essential Guide for Art Lovers
Tell us:
What is architecture & art to you? Share with us in Comments below.
Sponsored
Architect, Somaya and Kalappa Consultants
A pioneering Indian architect, Somaya’s work is reflective of the fact that “art and architecture cannot be distinct from each other but are seamlessly interwoven with the built environment. Ritual, materials and living craft traditions descend from a cultural heritage of genius and beauty. These traditions are a perennial source of inspiration to us architects, who embody identity and meaning in the conserving of the old and building of the new,” she says.
Don’t miss:
Book of Memoirs: A Monograph on Brinda Somaya’s Design Contributions