Leela: Portrait of a Woman in a Green Dress
Leela. See Bartolomeo Vento's painting in the distance. Photo by Lynn Susholtz.
Press Release from Timken Museum of Art. June 2018.
The Timken becomes, once again, the theater of the/modernist installation, turning its galleries into a playground for a contemporary visual artist. This year, the museum has a real treat: our artist is none other than Bhavna Mehta - named Emerging Artist for the San Diego Art Prize in 2014, who was the Timken's artist-in-residence during the month of June. While in the museum, Bhavna and her assistant finished the last touches to "Leela – Portrait of A Woman in a Green Dress," a 3-dimensional artwork on display throughout the summer, echoing the Timken's "Portrait of a Lady" by Bartolomeo Veneto.
"Leela - Portrait Of A Woman in A Green Dress:" the history.
It was back in December 2017 that the Timken's "Portrait of a Lady in a Green Dress" first caught Bhavna's eye. She was so intrigued by her sculptural presence, that Bhavna felt compelled to pay homage to her - "with absolutely no intent on copying". As for the name of her lady, it came from Bhavna's memories; growing up, she often heard the Sanskrit word Leela which means cosmic play. Leela also comes from the word leelo which means green in Bhavna's mother tongue Gujarati.
And for obvious reasons: unlike Bartolomeo's "Portrait of a Lady" - enclosed in the border of a heavy Venetian frame, stuck in a two-dimensional world with heavy clothing she seems trapped within - Bhavna's paper Leela floats in the museum's central rotunda. The light wind coming from the museum doors will caress her delicate paper dress, allowing her to dance in the air; her head, surrounded by buzzing paper dragonflies and butterflies infused with her ideas and dreams, embracing her as the center of her own universe.
Living just a few feet away (and right before her eyes), Leela offers a contrasting narrative to Veneto's "Portrait of a Lady." "It's a powerful dialogue offered by those two women, similar, and yet so different." says Bhavna. "I dream that behind the scenes, when the museum closes its doors, the two women meet halfway and get to know each other". A dream Bhavna Mehta invites us all to share.
The Timken becomes, once again, the theater of the/modernist installation, turning its galleries into a playground for a contemporary visual artist. This year, the museum has a real treat: our artist is none other than Bhavna Mehta - named Emerging Artist for the San Diego Art Prize in 2014, who was the Timken's artist-in-residence during the month of June. While in the museum, Bhavna and her assistant finished the last touches to "Leela – Portrait of A Woman in a Green Dress," a 3-dimensional artwork on display throughout the summer, echoing the Timken's "Portrait of a Lady" by Bartolomeo Veneto.
"Leela - Portrait Of A Woman in A Green Dress:" the history.
It was back in December 2017 that the Timken's "Portrait of a Lady in a Green Dress" first caught Bhavna's eye. She was so intrigued by her sculptural presence, that Bhavna felt compelled to pay homage to her - "with absolutely no intent on copying". As for the name of her lady, it came from Bhavna's memories; growing up, she often heard the Sanskrit word Leela which means cosmic play. Leela also comes from the word leelo which means green in Bhavna's mother tongue Gujarati.
And for obvious reasons: unlike Bartolomeo's "Portrait of a Lady" - enclosed in the border of a heavy Venetian frame, stuck in a two-dimensional world with heavy clothing she seems trapped within - Bhavna's paper Leela floats in the museum's central rotunda. The light wind coming from the museum doors will caress her delicate paper dress, allowing her to dance in the air; her head, surrounded by buzzing paper dragonflies and butterflies infused with her ideas and dreams, embracing her as the center of her own universe.
Living just a few feet away (and right before her eyes), Leela offers a contrasting narrative to Veneto's "Portrait of a Lady." "It's a powerful dialogue offered by those two women, similar, and yet so different." says Bhavna. "I dream that behind the scenes, when the museum closes its doors, the two women meet halfway and get to know each other". A dream Bhavna Mehta invites us all to share.
Installation process - most pictures by Lynn Susholtz
Cutting, folding and assembling parts of Leela