William Hodges

William Hodges India 'A View of the Fort of Bidjegur' Early India Engraving

1786

Compelling set of 25 etchings from an exciting new talent, Indian Artist Sonal Varshneya Ojha. The 25 works are Edition 4/7. Editions 1, 2 & 3 have already sold, Edition 2 has been purchased by a Museum Collection in Belgium. Loved by private clients and Interior designers alike, Sonal has exhibited at International art fairs and exhibited with leading Galleries. Vachik, Edition 4/7, 25 Etchings on Archival paper, dated 2022, signed and titled under each piece in pencil 65" x 50" (depending on hanging layout), without framing, comprising 25 etchings. Each etching, sheet size 17" x 14", image size 13" x 10" 2022 Signed, Editioned, dated and titled in pencil Provenance: From the artist's studio Sonal is a storyteller. Her primary medium of choice is printmaking, exquisite etchings whose protagonists jump off the page to tell their stories. Like all good narratives that lucidly roll from one tale to the other the artist works in series. Be it her Kissa Goi or her new Vachik stories, each work comprises of many parts, all fitting together as one large work, or, equally as pleasing, as individual works that may or may not speak to each other in any combination of pattern. Sonal lives and works in Lucknow, in India, the City famous for its tradition of Ghazal poetry. In past times the poems were displayed in Diwan's (illustrated books) a calligrapher and artist would be commissioned to illustrate the poems. Sonal references these traditions and we can see traces of this in her contemporary images. Ghazal's delight and employ elements of playfulness, anecdote and surprise. They take their audience on a bitter-sweet journey and Sonal invites us to do the same. The artist explains that in the evenings the women gather on the roof terraces of her town to tell the tales that are passed from the older generations to the younger women. These are stories that primarily revolve around the woman and their everyday role in a patriarchal society. These tales become mixed with the contemporary, both local and global events that effect the lives of the women. At first glance there is an anecdotal quality to the visual narratives but look a little longer and you will be rewarded by layer upon layer of meaning. Through the clever use of text and images of objects which may at first appear to be dislocated, each part of the image pulls together the narrative, expanding it into many different levels. In Sonal's own words, 'This work is very close to my heart, a lot of emotions are attached to this work. Some such feelings that awakened for the first time and they were priceless. I have lived that time, felt it very closely, whatever happened to me at that time, I have tried my best to make it work. Kajal has a very important role, when there are children and grandmothers complete it, it is said that by applying Kajal in the eyes of the children, the eyes become bigger. Which we call Nazarota which is a small iron vessel. Kashmiri shawls...

Compelling set of 7 etchings from an exciting new talent, Indian Artist Sonal Varshneya Ojha. The 7 works come from a series of 25 works, Edition 4/7. The full Edition is available o...

Compelling set of 7 etchings from an exciting new talent, Indian Artist Sonal Varshneya Ojha. The 7 works come from a series of 25 works, Edition 4/7. The full Edition is available o...

There is a natural and raw understanding in Mukesh Sharma’s prints that depict, and are influenced by, the Rajastani communities of his home town in rura...

This 18th century hand-colored copperplate celestial map by Johann Doppelmayr entitled "Theoria Planetarum Primariorum In qua ipsorum motus in Copernican...

This is a 16th century original hand-colored copperplate engraved map of Frankfort, Germany entitled "Francenbergum, vel ut alij Francoburgum Hassiae Opp" by Georg Braun & Franz Hogenberg, from their famous city atlas "Civitates Orbis Terrarum", published in Cologne, Germany in 1595. This is an English translation of an excerpt from the original text in the atlas: "Frankenberg or, according to others, Francoburgum, a town in Hesse. Charlemagne vested the town of Frankenberg with many freedoms and privileges, which it still enjoys to this day, and on account of its valiant and victorious soldiers awarded a signet, upon which there formerly appeared a golden castle with a tower, together with the letter F and a golden crown. Frankenberg, seen here from the northeast, lies on a hill above the River Eder. The hillside is covered with fields neatly separated by bushes and fences. Soaring above the town is the massive Liebfrauenkirche, which was modelled on St Elizabeth's church in Marburg. The New Town was founded in 1335 at the foot of the hill (right) and merged with the Old Town as late as 1556. Frankenberg was founded by Conrad of Thuringia in 1233/34 to prevent the archbishops of Mainz from expanding their sphere of influence...

This 18th century hand-colored copperplate celestial map by Johann Doppelmayr entitled "Astronomia Comparativa in qua Planetarum Primaria Phaenomena" (Co...

This 18th century hand-colored copperplate celestial map by Johann Doppelmayr entitled "Phænomena Motuum Irregularium quos Planetar inferiores Venus et M...