Bougainvillaea, Artist retreat, Udaipur
I first met Bhupesh, a highly established stone sculptor, when I had an exhibition in his beautiful gallery, Bougainvillaea, in Udaipur, Rajasthan. We immediately connected and I continued to show at the gallery for a few years. He then decided to move the gallery and set up an artist retreat at his property on the outskirts of Udaipur. This dream started in 1996 when he was awarded the Charles Wallace fellowship to visit the UK, and was based in a beautiful studio in Raglan near Cardiff. This studio was owned by Professor Harvey Hood, head of department, sculpture, Cardiff University, who ran few residencies and working studios. The space was so beautiful that Bhupesh took his inspiration from there and committed himself to pursue this same dream. After a few successful exhibitions he was able to buy an arid piece of land. He started planting trees and developing it and this has taken nearly 19 years to reach this point. Bhupesh and his team of resident sculptors have a well-established working stone studio and the plan is to expand this to include a bronze foundry, painting studio and I am working with Bhupesh to create a ceramic studio so I can continue to go to India and play! The long-term plan is to have international artists, students and enthusiasts to enjoy fully equipped studios with resident artists working alongside.
Unable to return for three years, I finally visited this February, taking the family with me, to find that the first phase, the villa, has now been completed. Bhupesh and his wife Tanuja have put their heart and soul into making this a truly wonderful place to rest, relax and be inspired.
Each of the rooms are spacious and very comfortable. They are decorated in an artistic and stylish way and very well equipped. There are plenty of air conditioning and fans for those hot days and the extra outdoor shower is just icing on the cake!
The facilities include a swimming pool and a plunge pool and there are plenty of options to sit and relax in shaded areas or on the balconies to watch the beautiful sunsets. The well equipped library is just wonderful if you just need some quiet time.
More information can be found at: https://www.villabougainvillaea.com/
Artists Residence Painting Studio
Site for ceramic studio Bronze casting pits
Outdoor stone sculpture workshop
Gallery Villa Room
Library
