Nelly Sethna
Nelly Sethna | |
---|---|
Born | Nelly Mehta 1 November 1932 |
Died | 1992 |
Alma mater | Regent Street Polytechnic Cranbrook Academy of Art |
Known for | Textile design |
Spouse | Homi Darab Sethna |
Awards | Padma Shri (1985) |
Nelly Homi Sethna (
Early life and education
Born on 1 November 1932 in Bombay, Nelly was the daughter of Pestonji and Goolbanoo Mehta.[4]
Nelly had joined the commercial arts department at
She first met Marianne Strengell, Artist-in-Residence and Head of Weaving at Cranbrook Academy of Art, at a hotel in Mumbai. According to Strengell, Sethna had arranged a meeting with a sample of her work. With Strengell's support, Nelly received the Ellen Booth Scripps Award to study weaving at Cranbrook in 1958–59.[7] Under the apprenticeship of Strengell, Nelly learned to create ‘self-made’ products which were based on the principles of the Nordic sloyd system. Her training involved experimentation with several techniques and put an emphasis on problem solving.[1] Sethna continued to correspond with Strengell in the subsequent years, during which she expressed her gratitude about the opportunity to study at the academy.[8] Strengell had, thus, become her lifelong mentor.[2]
Career and influences
After Sethna's arrival in India in 1957, Neville Wadia invited her to join the first textile design studio at Bombay Dyeing.[1] She had then moved to Cranbrook in 1958. During her time at the academy, she taught art to children and gave speeches at community events.[8] Upon returning to India, Sethna was promoted to head of the design studio at Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing.[2] Overall, she served as the chief textile designer for Bombay Dyeing from 1957 to 1958 and then from 1960 to 1968.[8]
Establishing the Textile Department at NID
In 1966, Sethna was invited to Ahmedabad by Gira Sarabhai, the co-founder of the National Institute of Design (NID).[1] The latter acted as a consultant to establish a textile design program which "combined design training in weaving and printing, in crafts as well as mass production technologies."[7] With her friend from Cranbrook, the Finnish textile designer Helena Perheentupa, Sethna had laid the foundation of what is now known as the Textile Design Department at NID.[2]
Commercial works
During her lifetime, Sethna had received design commissions from the Indian Pavilion at the Expo '70 World's Fair, Indian government, and Air India’s headquarters in Mumbai.[7] Her other commercial works include a three-storey tall wall-hanging in the stairwell of the Ford Foundation in Delhi, tapestries at Godrej Bhavan in Mumbai, and ceramic murals for the lobby of Express Towers in Mumbai, a building designed by Joseph Allen Stein.[2]
Revival of Kalamkari
Sometime around in 1970, Sethna had visited
Sethna played an instrumental role in the revival of this craft by creating new design layouts that appealed to the contemporary audience. She also unearthed beautiful hand-carved traditional kalamkari blocks that had fallen into disuse.[9] Further, she helped the craftspeople exhibit widely and wrote about their practices in her book Kalamkari: Painted & Printed Fabrics from Andhra Pradesh (1985).[7]
Exhibitions
- 2013 - No Parsi is An island, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai; Curated by Pheroza Godrej, Firoza Mistree, Ranjit Hoskote and Nancy Adajania.[10]
- 2021 - The Unpaved, Crusty, Earthy Road | Nelly Sethna: A Retrospective, Chatterjee & Lal, Mumbai; Curated by Nancy Adajania.[11]
Awards
In 1985, Sethna was awarded Padma Shri by the Indian government for her contributions to trade and industry.[12]
Bibliography
- Sethna, N. H. (1973). Shāl: Weaves and Embroideries of Kashmir. India: Wiley Eastern.[13]
- Sethna, N. H. (1985). Kalamkari: Painted & Printed Fabrics from Andhra Pradesh. United States: Mapin International.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d "The Unpaved, Crusty, Earthy Road | Nelly Sethna: A Retrospective, curated by Nancy Adajania". Chatterjee & Lal. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Tapestries of time: A portrait of Nelly Sethna". Architectural Digest India. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "10 Textile Artists You Should Know". India Art Fair. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ Indian Who's Who 1980-81. New Delhi: INFA Publications. p. 99.
- ^ "Sethna, Nelly Homi (1932-1992), textile designer and alumna - University of Westminster › Records and Archives". westminster-atom.arkivum.net. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Untitled - Nelly Sethna | The Surya Collection: Property from Mrs. Ute Rettberg". Sotheby's. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ OCLC 1241256068.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ S2CID 244948284.
- ^ a b Dalmia, Yashodhara (September 1978). "Note: Kalamkari: Transformation by Nelly Sethna". Marg - Homage to Kalamkari. 31 (4): 81–88.
- ^ "No Parsi Is an Island | JNAF". jnaf.org. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Nelly Sethna at Chatterjee & Lal". www.artforum.com. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ Directorate of Printing, Government of India (16 March 1985). Extraordinary Gazette of India, 1985, No. 78. New Delhi. p. 4.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 978-0-85226-809-4.
- ISBN 9780295962504.