A free public talk by researcher Kay Talwar will be the latest lecture for the Hillestad Textiles Gallery exhibition “Pigment on Cloth: Tradition, Family, and the Art of Indian Pichvai Painting.”
Talwar will discuss her insights beginning at 2 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Home Economics Building, Room 11, on Nebraska East Campus.
The lecture, “Making the Desert Bloom: Painted Textiles for a Krishna Temple,” will discuss Talwar’s personal connection to the history and practice of making pichvais: devotional paintings on cotton cloth made as temple hangings in the Indian town of Nathdwara. A reception will be held shortly after in the Hillestad Textiles Gallery.
Talwar holds a master’s in art history from the University of Michigan. She co-authored “Indian Pigment Paintings on Cloth” for the Calico Museum of Textiles in Ahmedabad, and “In Adoration of Krishna: Pichhwais for Shrinathji” for the TAPI Collection, Surat. She is heavily involved in the Indian community of Los Angeles, promoting and supporting Indian art and cultural activities. She served as chairwoman of the Southern Asian Art Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for six years.
The exhibition, continuing through Nov. 16, presents the work of one contemporary family of pichvais painters who represent the fifth, sixth and seventh generations of pichvais artists in their lineage. The display documents their continuing creation of these visual narratives, which illustrate stories from the life of the youthful Krishna.
For more information about the lecture or exhibition, contact Michael James, department chair of textiles, merchandising and fashion design, at michael@unl.edu or 402-472-2911.
