“A thing of beauty is a joy forever” - Whether or not you agree with Keats’ famous idiom, it would definitely crop up in your mind if you visit the latest pop-up hosted by The Gift Shop at Kolkata Centre for Creativity, for Interarts.
Interarts is an international brand that offers art objects, exquisite dinnerware and antique pieces, specially procured from international brands all over Europe, to corporate and private collectors in Indian cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, and others.
We met Purnima Sethi, one of the co-founders of the ten-year-old company which is well known for bringing in some of the most sought after porcelain and glass wares from Europe to India. “Our philosophy is to provide unique and functional products at affordable prices. We aim to prove that art has no boundaries and brings together people with talent and aesthetic taste on a common platform,” she says.
“I am a compulsive buyer and I keep collecting pieces, wherever I go. But with Interarts, we aim to increase the awareness of lifestyle products, so that people know what is it that they are buying,” says Purnima, an art collector herself, who founded the company after being goaded by people, who liked Purnima's personal collection of art objects.
The most distinguishing thing about the exhibition, is the specially curated line up, which begins with five to six types of dinnerware, including the famous German brand Falken Porzellan, with its 22-carat gold, hand-painted rims, to Crystalite Bohemian wine glasses, Royal Crown Derby dinner set, Hudson Middleton Porcelain Tea Set or the characteristic transferware in blue ink by Spode.
There are some antique pieces too, the production of which has ceased for about 60 years now. We found old Royal Doulton Flambe, Jasper Plaque, and Jasper Mug by Wedgewood and old porcelain figurines from Dresden and the Peter Scott Wild Fowl collection by Staffordshire, which is a hand-painted series of ducks, by artist John Bromley. There was a pair of Victorian vases too, made of light-weight glass, with hand-painted colourful designs.
There was some element of awe or beauty, no matter where you turned your head. If on one hand, you had the life-size sculptures of animals by the Italian brand Abhika, such as the running cheetah or a sitting leopard, and varying sizes of dogs, with their sparkling glaze finish, there were some others, like the cute bronze miniatures of girls and boys, either sitting or making merry.
“We are passionate about bringing to you the work of world-renowned artists and manufacturers that are both functional and can be sound, long- term investments,” says Purnima, who makes sure somebody from her family is always there at the exhibition to introduce the pieces to the people.
The LSJ International Picnic basket sets in three varying sizes, with plates, spoons, wine glasses, and mugs, would give you another reason to skip your daily chores and plan your next day off for an impromptu picnic.
But our visual journey didn’t end there, as the glass wares were the most eye-catching objects for us. Large Fish Vase by Vanessa Mitrani and Fish Vase Pair by the same artist created an illusion of porcelain fishes swimming in an empty glass bowl, through the varying techniques of glazed (which denoted the fish in water) and bisque finishing (which denoted the fish being in a waterless space). The Fish Vase Pair was made of two parts of the same porcelain fish, divided into two glass containers and presented together.
There were works by glass blowers like John Lewis and some pieces created by sand casting by Sue Perry too. You would also find a transparent white glass piece with a one-horned Rhino created by reverse carving by Swedish artist Matt Johnson and Waterford’s Linea Collection with simple glass-blown pieces in varying shapes and solid colours, which comes in two parts.
If you like to collect gifting items for people, there are ceramic mugs with tea caddy by Wedgewood, gold-embossed photo frames by Monsoon as well. Moorcraft’s Lily Vases were clearly the most distinguishing pieces in colour. We weren’t surprised when Purnima told us about the elaborate three-stage process which is involved in making every single piece.
The Gift Shop (TGS) at Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) features a distinctive collection of works from across the country, including dainty glassware, set of ceramic bowls, vases, pottery, and items of decor. KCC invites creative minds to participate in a living dialogue, on how to contribute to the culture of life, in response to the chaos in the world around us.
Visit the Interarts exhibition at Kolkata Centre for Creativity, between April 5- April 7, 11 am – 9 pm.