{"id":32383,"date":"2020-10-06T17:26:49","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T17:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bocadolobo.com\/en\/inspiration-and-ideas\/?p=32383"},"modified":"2020-10-06T17:28:07","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T17:28:07","slug":"a-luxury-residence-idealized-for-a-mega-art-collecting-couple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bocadolobo.com\/en\/inspiration-and-ideas\/a-luxury-residence-idealized-for-a-mega-art-collecting-couple\/","title":{"rendered":"A Luxury Residence Idealized For A Mega Art-Collecting Couple"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nadia <\/strong>and Rajeeb Samdani<\/strong>, the mega art-collecting couple based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, have recently opened the doors to their gallery-like luxury residence<\/strong><\/em>, to international luxury lifestyle platform\u00a0Robb Report<\/strong>. Inspiration and Ideas<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>is now embarking on this journey o showcase this luxury residence<\/strong><\/em>\u2018s exquisite art furniture<\/a><\/strong>, limited edition pieces<\/a><\/strong>, and overall grandeur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The artworks featured in this opulent home<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>epitomize many of the Samdanis\u2019 collecting habits:\u00a0They are by rising stars the collectors know personally, are acquired on the globe-trotting couple\u2019s travels like souvenirs and, while not lacking conceptual rigor, have a touch of whimsy. The couple\u2019s devotion to their art is so fervid that it takes precedence over their luxury residence<\/strong><\/em>\u2019s architecture. \u201cWe will build or knock down a wall to accommodate another work<\/em>,\u201d Nadia says. \u201cWe\u2019ve acquired the art and then built the right space for it, not vice versa<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The terrace, with Shilpa Gupta\u2019s \u2018Deep Below, the sky flows under our feet,\u2019 2014.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Samdanis named their house Golpo<\/strong><\/em>, Bengali for \u201cstory\u201d or \u201cfairy tale.\u201d The luxury residence<\/strong><\/em>, which stands in an affluent neighborhood of embassies, international hotels,<\/strong> and luxury shopping<\/strong>, does justice to both definitions, telling of the couple\u2019s passion for collecting. Designed in collaboration with\u00a0Brain Train Studio<\/a>, a subsidiary of their\u00a0Golden Harvest<\/a>\u00a0business conglomerate, and completed in 2012, Golpo<\/strong><\/em> is a hybrid of a home and a museum<\/strong>, manifesting the couple\u2019s desire to live immersed in art from the ground floor on up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marc Quinn painting and Michael Dean\u2019s Red and concrete sculpture X, 2015.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Samdanis rotate the art on display at the luxury residence<\/strong><\/em> every 18 months. \u201cYou don\u2019t want art to sit in a warehouse<\/em>,\u201d Nadia says. But it\u2019s not a simple process. \u201cIt takes almost three months to figure out, looking through the archive and deciding where to place it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Samdanis\u2019 engagement with international institutions has focused heavily on connecting Western audiences to the art of the couple\u2019s part of the world. At the Tate<\/strong>, for instance, Rajeeb cofounded (and Nadia joined) the South Asian Acquisitions Committee<\/strong> to support acquisitions and loans of artworks from the region, and they have recently donated Choudhury tapestries<\/strong> to the Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/strong> and the Tate<\/strong>. A bridge between East and West is visible in Golpo as well. Works by Western and Eastern artists hang alongside each other, and at times an artist of one culture deals with the other directly, such as Pawel Althamer<\/strong>\u2019s duo of skeleton-like human figures,\u00a0Safik<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Nahid<\/em>, named after two Bangladeshis, which were exhibited at the Venice Biennale<\/strong> in 2013. The Polish artist, a close friend of the couple\u2019s, also gifted Rajeeb his favourite artwork in their collection, a painting Althamer<\/strong> created in collaboration with the couple\u2019s three daughters for their father\u2019s birthday a few years back. Raising children in an art-filled home<\/strong> was less of a challenge than they expected, Nadia says, noting their daughters grew up knowing to touch with their eyes, not their hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Imperfectio Armchair by Boca do Lobo<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Imperfectio Sofa by Boca do Lobo<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nadia caught the collecting bug from her parents, though the art of her own childhood was a far cry from a sound installation or an interactive sculpture. After she married Rajeeb, who owned a painting by well-known Bangladeshi artist Zainul Abedin but did not consider himself a collector, the two began a transition toward contemporary art, one she describes as \u201can organic learning process through reading and traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, they still felt comfortable with South Asian art. They bought paintings by Indian modernists, such as M. F. Husain and F. N. Souza, and then came a Rembrandt etching<\/strong>, currently hanging in their bedroom, followed by Picasso drawings<\/strong> and Salvador Dal\u00ed sculptures<\/strong>. But then, as they travelled more widely and began frequenting fairs and galleries, Nadia found herself drawn to living artists making art in our own era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See Also:\u00a0\u2018Sunny Valley\u2019 Residence: Spectacular Design by Bolshakova Interiors<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \"Odette<\/a>\n\n\n\n

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Well immersed in the international art world, they have amassed works by a who\u2019s who of contemporary artists<\/strong> over the past decade, with a fine balance between South Asian and global names, primarily from Asia and Europe. In the process, the Samdanis have made a name for themselves as prominent collectors\u2014appearing on\u00a0ARTnews<\/em>\u2019s\u00a0Top 200 Collectors list<\/strong>\u2014and as philanthropists, founding the\u00a0Samdani Art Foundation<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Dhaka Art Summit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eden Series by Boca do Lobo<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The collection is a testimony to acquiring purely from a personal connection with a work, which mainly stems from friendships they\u2019ve cultivated with artists. The luxury residence<\/strong><\/em>\u2019s most controversial piece, arguably, is\u00a0Lost and Found<\/em>, Pakistani artist Huma Mulji\u2019s haunting human figure made out of buffalo hide. Originally in the entry gallery, it was moved to a more discreet location, reportedly upon requests from staff who were troubled by the sculpture\u2019s eerie expression and decayed skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alicja Kwade\u2019s \u2018Hypothetisches Gebilde,\u2019 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The couple started their foundation in 2011 to foster the visibility of Bangladeshi artists in and outside the country, and the following year launched the Dhaka Art Summit<\/strong>, a biannual intensive art and architecture extravaganza<\/strong>, which wrapped its fifth instalment,\u00a0Seismic Movements<\/em>, in mid-February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Jitish Kallat bronze sculpture is mixed with a Tracey Emin neon and pieces by Christina Quarles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After 16 years of collecting, the couple says they still search for acquisitions the way they did the first day, based on an initial reaction to an artwork, regardless of whether it\u2019s by an artist they\u2019ve known and collected for years or a new discovery they cannot wait to learn about. They do not roam art fairs<\/strong> or galleries with a wish list. \u201cEvery time we go to Frieze or Art Basel, we say, \u2018No shopping this time,\u2019<\/em>\u201d Nadia says, adding with a laugh, \u201cbut that never happens<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Robb Report<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Photography:\u00a0Asif Salman<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Did you like this article?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

See Also:\u00a0Design Intervention Turns A Bangkok Apartment Into A Stunning Abode<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \"Metamorphosis<\/a>\n\n\n

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