By IANS
New York : The spotlight will once again be on India’s greatest 20th and 21st century artists, including Tyeb Mehta, Raza and Souza, at Christie’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale here Sep 20.
Tyeb Mehta’s “Mahishasura”, 1996 (estimate: $750,000-$1.2 million) is part of the body of work that the artist embarked upon after he abandoned his expressionistic style, which was characterised by a diagonal divide that allowed him to use a single figure but adopt a different form on each side.
“Mahishasura” is a far reminder of Mehta’s diagonal period and the painting’s subject matter is taken from Hindu mythology. The divide here really runs between the masculine and the feminine, between the divine and the mortal, and between the bestial and the human.
Raza’s work on sale is “La Terre”, 1980 (estimate: $350,000-500,000), a prime example of the artist’s boldly expressive use of golds, reds and blacks. The painting relies on colour to convey warmth and a lyrical message. And as art historian Geethi Sen points out: “Geometrical forms are used to map the universe.”
Souza’s highly personalised style comes to the fore in an untitled work of 1958, estimated $200,000-300,000. The painting expresses Souza’s fascination with Catholicism, but only to break it down and show the lack of substance and content. The face of the ecclesiastic figure portrayed here reveals an immense void rather than any hopeful message.
“Nude with Fruit”, 1958 (estimate: $300,000-400,000) however, possesses a fullness and a tranquillity rarely seen in Souza’s oeuvre.
Among the highlights of a next generation of artists, Bhupen Khakhar’s “I, Me, My Village” (estimate: $200,000-250,000) stands out. The artist employs the devices of popular Indian religious imagery, early Italian painting, Byzantine icons and Indian miniature painting.
He juxtaposes scenes of Indian village life with Hindu imagery identified in the painted portrait of Shiva, alongside more allegorical elements including a distant quaint townscape that seems drawn from fiction rather than reality.
Atul Dodiya has become a widely recognised figure in South Asian contemporary art, influencing many of the country’s burgeoning younger artists. The sale will present “Three Painters” (estimate: $150,000-200,000), a work in which Dodiya shows himself and Bhupen Khakhar standing ironically before a depiction of “La Réproduction Interdite” (Not To Be Reproduced), 1937, by René Magritte.
An antiquated and Picasso-esque sculpture of a pregnant female hovers surreally near Dodiya, suggesting that he has been impregnated by the ideas of these two artistic greats.
From the collection of Mitchell and Laurie Schwarz is Avinash Chandra’s Untitled, 1969, estimated at $150,000-200,000. This work embodies the saturated palette, ethos and ebullient energy of the West during the 1960s. It possesses a sexual virility and joie de vivre executed on a scale that makes this a masterpiece among his works.
The sale also features Anish Kapoor’s Untitled (estimate: $35,000-50,000), a watercolour executed in 2000. It is one of these ethereal works where the viewer is magically drawn into undulating pools of colour.
Also going under the hammer is Rameshwar Broota’s “A Chance Encounter”, 2007 (estimate: $180,000-220,000), a prime example of the artist’s working method whereby he creates texture by scraping away layers of monochromatic paint.
The sale offers a superb selection of contemporary art, including photography, print, mixed media and oil on canvas.
Rashid Rana’s “A Day in the Life of a Landscape”, 2004 (estimate: $50,000-70,000), is a great example of the oeuvre of one of Pakistani’s most promising artists who was recently featured in an exhibition alongside masters like Piet Mondrian, Agnes Martin, Robert Rauschenberg and Andreas Gursky.
The grid as well as the pixel plays a major role in “A Day”, whereby the work becomes an exercise in perception. From a distance the work is a landscape, from the midpoint it breaks down in a mass of colours.
Rana has used gritty photographs of metropolitan Lahore to recompose “Rural Canal”, a landscape painting by the beloved Lahore School painter Khalid Iqbal.
N.S. Harsha’s Untitled, 1997 (estimate: $60,000-80,000), shows the artist’s preoccupation with feet. He sees the foot as a representation of the human condition, while also acknowledging its place as the representation of the transitory presence and unknowable and inexpressible divine in Hindu and Buddhist texts.
Jitish Kallat’s “Covering Letter” (estimate: $40,000-60,000); Justin Ponmany’s “Elixir” (estimate: $30,000-40,000); Aisha Khalid’s “Behind the Curtain” (estimate: $8,000-12,000); Shibu Natesan’s “Montage I” (estimate: $60,000-80,000) and Chitra Ganesh’s “Secrets” (estimate: $7,000-9,000) will also feature in the sale.
With the markets tumbling and slow sales, what is to be seen is whether Tyeb’s “Mahishasura” will repeat the 2005 record.