French artist Michelle Roy
Fancy some French art, embellished with Chinese calligraphy and featuring Mahatma Gandhi and the famous Mumbai “kaamwalli bai“? Then head to Kevin Tayebaly’s The Art Loft (above Patel Stores next to Mehboob Studios in Bandra West), for a look-see of these intriguing works by French artist Michelle Roy.
The Mahatma goes Mandarin
Rather fragile-looking and petite, Michelle Roy is soft-spoken and eager to share details about her art works. She is a calligrapher who spent about thirty years in Asia where she fell in love with the Chinese calligraphy. This art form finds its way into her works in various scripts and fonts.
The famous Mumbai monsoons also inspired the artist
Michelle has studied the art of calligraphy for many years with some famous masters of the art-form when she moved to Korea in 2006. “I had the opportunity to be introduced to Mulpa, a group of Korean and international artists devoted to the renewal of calligraphy in modern art and studied under them,” she reveals in a heavy French accent.
The humble “kaamwaali bai” also gets her due space on Michelle’s canvas
They works (paper and ink, with paper cut-outs) display Chinese, Korean and even Hindi characters: some written, some cut and paste, some printed in reverse.
Michelle explaining the finer nuances of her work to patrons
Most of the calligraphy is from classical Chinese texts or from ancient inscriptions on rocks. “I like to incorporate the characters with a drawing which has no link with the text,” says Roy.
The exhibition is on only till the 5th of July. So get there soon if you want to buy any of these art-works, priced from 400 Euros to 1000 Euros.