When Art and Life make room for each other

In the past, art was an integral part of interior design. From the inlaid flowers and arabesques embellished in the royal Moghul complexes to the eighteenth century murals that adorned the Mattancheri Palace in Kerala, great artworks were considered part of the overall design scheme. Art in the twentieth century has broken out of the frame, ignoring the spaces it inhabits claiming whole walls for itself. As life speeds up and the world around us increasingly intervenes, our homes and interiors assume greater importance as places of refuge and retreat. This is the stage of our own making, where with framed posters, calendars and contemporary master pieces we fashion our dreams, extend the imagination and fulfill creative expression. Our homes are a summation of who and what we are.

There are some individuals who don8217;t see art as only decoration. They have collections which are harvests of a lifetime8217;s romance with the visual and tactile world. In their homes, paintings and prints, oils and watercolours inhabit the place on an equal footing. To them art speaks with such urgency and resonance that they simply must live with it 8212; whatever the challenges.

These collectors try to juggle and create an ideal art environment alongside with an ideal personal environment. The container for their art has to become a home for their parents, children and friends too. They are constantly rotating, rediscovering, rechanging and stowing away. These are homes where artworks get shifted around and there are constant new juxtapositions and new combinations. This kind of living with art is hard work. It is a career. And when it all gets a little too much to handle, what with the decisions, the hanging, the moving around and the fussing that art collections require, there is the ultimate neutral territory 8212; storage.

It is not easy when art and life make room for each other!