Magic Of Coffee On Display At The India Art Fair 2015

Coffee in all its artistic brilliance

The India Art Fair 2015, held at New Delhi's NSIC exhibition grounds was about expression, beauty, and thought provoking ideas. Almost like the perfect balance in between Delhi's chilly spells of weather! It also happened to be the occasion where Le Meridien showcased Coffee art at their counter, or rather, it was where 'Coffee met art'. What was previously restricted to snapshots on social networks, was on live display at their counter, with Le Meridien's global latte artist Esther Maasdam doing what she does best; recreate master works on cups of foaming Lattes! From the Lord Ganesha to peacocks and the likes, she completed the event theme really well with the block prints by visual artist Sohan Jakhar on canvas. Yes, Coffee as a medium of artistic expression wasn't restricted to just the Lattes alone!



The primary attraction of the Le Meridien counter was obviously Esther Maasdam's mastery of the Latte designs, which got its perfect compliment from Sohan Jakhar's motifs on the canvas below. It is not everyday that a medium like coffee is used for such creativity like motifs, and goes to show what fascinating things a creative mind can be up to if given the right forum.

One of the block print motifs by Sohan Jakhar

While the bigger block motifs formed the base on canvas, it was the cups of Latte which drove everyone to buzz around the stall. The efforts of the artist was truly meant for grabbing eye balls at large, and did so with aplomb. But reaching here isn't really a child's play. On asking Ms. Esther, she said, 'going through courses and training' was her route to the unconventional career choice and notary, just as it would for any other stream of work. 

Esther Maasdam

On asked about having a bad day on the job, Esther's answer of eerily similar to that of what one would generally expect in creative fields. "Once at an event, I was asked to wrap up simply because they needed to churn out coffees in larger numbers, and the hearts were the easiest things to make,"  lamented the Latte artist. It was an echo of what one might experience especially when encountering volumes as a criterion for judgement, rather than quality work output to speak for itself.

Sohan Jakhar

Sohan seemed just as excited to be doing his part at the event. He is someone who works more on acrylics and oils, and this too was something new he experimented with. As an art lover, one would hope he continues with this line of work in the future as well, and perhaps go beyond block prints to showcase creativity with coffee. 

                                 Delicacies like the rose cardamom rolls to enjoy with the artistic lattes

There were a few delicate treats to enjoy with the attractive Lattes. A personal favorite was the Rose Cardamom rolls, which turned out to be delicious, perfectly soft and crispy at the same time. 

Some of the art on display was obviously where the major crowd was, at the India Art Fair. It was rather apt that this was a medium used by the Le Meridien team to get themselves a chunk of the aesthetic attention flowing about. Some of the displays were: