The co-owner of art gallery in Calcutta, Gallery K2, and the owner of another art gallery named after her, Gallery Katayun, shares how she became a stained glass artist. Born to parents, who were painters, her taking up art at a tender age was all but natural. She went to JJ College of Art in Mumbai to learn commercial art after which she went to do masters in fine arts from an art college in Mumbai.
The turning point in her life came in the form of a three-year trip to London to master the art of anatomy drawing from Patrick Reyntiens, a noted medieval stained glass painter in the UK. “Being under the tutelage of creative minds gave me the opportunity to learn quality art,” she said.
But once she returned from London she could not find the kind of stained glass on which she painted so far.
“Then I started using fabric instead of glass in fabric in the absence of the required material. In a way, I was forced to imagine fabric to be my chosen medium,” added Katayun.
Bright colours and anatomy is her forte and she earned a lot of appreciation doing what she does best.
Katayun has a dream project in her mind. “It would be an art museum which would house pieces on the theme of seven major religions of the world, including Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism, necessarily in that order,” she says.
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It is located in a Calcutta agiary – At the Anjuman Atash Adaran Parsi fire temple on Metcalfe Street in Calcutta, there is this modern-day mural depicting the Amesha Spentas surrounding Zarathustra, The six divinities Ahura Mazda created to help Him in governing the cosmos are from left: Haurvatat, representing wholeness and perfection, Asha Vahishta, for order and truth in the cosmos, Vohu Manah, for wisdom and love, depicted here with an animal, Ameretat, for immortality, depicted here with green palm trees, Spenta Armaiti, for devotion and faith, seen here in a nun-like habit and Khshathra Vairya for metal, holding up an iron ring in one hand and a sword in the other, who presides over Ahura Mazda’s kingdom. Two other panels show a priest and Spenta Mainyu the Holy Spirit created by Ahura Mazda to oppose Angra Mainyu the destructive spirit.
This stained glass window and others in the agiary are designed by the talented Parsi stained glass artist Katayun Saklat. It is over the staircase leading to the Agiary.
There are similar different stain glasses all over the different doors and windows.
