With frame shops, it’s just like real estate — location, location, location. I know that many expats recommended the framer on the corner of Carrera 11 and Calle 85. It’s convenient. I went to the frame shops on Carrera 17 somewhere near Calle 70. (The photo is from the national gallery of art in Bogota.)
After the prodigious amount of items that I got framed in Dhaka, I didn’t have much wall space left in my apartment. So I took my time getting my two items framed in Bogota. On one of my epic six-hour walks, I decided to check out the prices and options for framing. I found the prices reasonable. About $24 to frame a certificate in plain black. I also got a fancy frame for my tiny certificate from the equator in Ecuador. One of the activities at the equator was the egg balancing act. More about that in another blog posting.
A special lungi frame for my photo of a man in a lungi.
A great delight of living in Dhaka is getting custom made, hand crafted frames. But, much more than that, my framer, Shamim of Cezanne Gallery, is an artist. Like great artists, he grows and develops his craft. I have given him several new styles of frames which I designed for my own photographs and artwork, and he took the ideas and “ran with it” as Americans like to say. I am impressed. Cezanne Gallery also has ready made paintings and artwork for purchase but I prefer the framing experience when sitting in the calm studio on the second level of UAE mall, ceiling fan blowing, and artistic inspiration flying.
Cezanne Gallery in UAE Market on Kemal Ataturk.
The Cezanne Gallery is hard to find because it’s in plain sight. It’s located in the UAE Market on Kemal Ataturk, in Banani. If you drive west on Kemal Ataturk away from Gulshan 2 Circle, then this red brick two level mall will be on you left right before you reach airport road.
Shamim in his frame shop.
He is pricier than some other shops but his frames are cheap compared to the U.S. where a custom made frame can cost $24 per inch. Cezanne’s prices vary depending on what you get done but my frames have cost from $4-$150. Cezanne Gallery will re-do something if you do not like it. They deliver in a week (literally will deliver if your frame is too big or you cannot pick it up). They have an array of frames, mattes, and will match the color of the matte and frame to some part of the artwork or anything you can indicate (I once asked for the frame to match the brick wall outside). I thoroughly enjoyed the creative process of thinking up designs for my frames and I have done a fair amount of framing. Shamim is a gentleman and I have enjoyed the endless possibilities we have discussed while sitting in Cezanne Gallery.
A block framed with a background of fabric printed with the block in the frame.
For the creative person, Bangladesh is a wonderland of fabrics and possibilities. Much to the amazement of some of my Bangladeshi friends, some of us buy the wood blocks to use as artwork. I will have more of these made to give away as gifts in the future.
A framed box with four block prints on sale at Cezanne Gallery in the UAE Mall in Gulshan.
With frame shops, it’s just like real estate — location, location, location. I know that many expats recommended the framer on the corner of Carrera 11 and Calle 85. It’s convenient. I went to the frame shops on Carrera 17 somewhere near Calle 70. (The photo is from the national gallery of art in Bogota.)
