Sayed Haider Raza (b.1922)

Sotheby's, London, July 14, 2005, lot 64

Overall very good condition. Painted on three panels, framed together. Subtle tonal variations in red panel on left not noticable in catalogue illustration. Both the red and blue panels flanking the central panel would benefit from restretching.
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Central to SH Raza's artistic ethos are the fundamental, metaphysical concepts of germination, creation and completion. By the mid-1980's, Raza's paintings had evolved into tightly-ordered geometric compositions. Utilizing bold primary colors, geometric patterns and the guiding principle of orthogonality, Raza's exacting methodology recalls the De Stijl tradition of neo-plasticism, the Cubist and Expressionist influence of the École de Paris, and the precision and iconographic symbolism of Vedic theology.

In particular, it is the use of the bindu – the seed bearing potential of all life – which dominates Raza's work. The artist elaborates: "The bindu is the symbol not only of Hindu spirituality, but also of Indian art, aesthetics and awareness of life. It is absolutely primordial in its nature. When I paint the bindu, I am aware that I am literally in the womb of time, with no disturbance of sound or sight and that I am creating a spark of divinity. I am not painting for the buyer or the lover of my art. I paint to go on a journey within myself. I am excited that when I paint the bindu on my space – which is the canvas – in the solitude of my studio, it is an act of supreme consecration. Wherever my painting hangs, I create a temple." (Raza in conversation, http:// raza.net)

The bindu or seed, represented by concentric circles, is often paired in Raza's work with the upwards-pointing triangle (the lingam, or masculine principle) and the downwards-pointing triangle (the yoni, or feminine principle), suggesting divine union through sacred geometry, much like the traditional shilpins or Vedic artists of ancient India. The mystical union of diametric opposites – masculine/ feminine, day/ night – constitutes the algebra of Indian metaphysics, and imbues Raza's artistic vocabulary with a mythopoeic directive.

In the triptych Rajasthan, one of several large canvases from a series of the same name, Raza's central geometric panel is flanked on the left by a panel of vibrant red, and on the left by a panel of swirling, murky cerulean. The dual flanking panels of the Rajasthan triptych evoke a sense of heat, urgency and oblivion. The first in the Rajasthan series was painted during the artist's summer-long teaching fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley in 1962 – the title of the work reflects not the artist's immediate surroundings, but rather captures a feeling or nostalgia for home which informs many of his most significant works.

Recalling his childhood, Raza explains: "On market day, under the radiant sun, the village was a fairyland of colors. And then, the night again. Even today I find that these two aspects of my life dominate me and are an integral part of my paintings. There are a multitude of variations, but it has the departure point in an experienced feeling, even if the real problems are of a plastic nature." (Raza rpt. Jacques Lassaigne, Raza Anthology 1980-90, Bombay, 1991)

"Even as the acrylic medium lends the painting a fluid vibrancy, Raza's tempestuous gestures ... in paintings like Rajasthan will be immortalized. One painting of this name is recreated in many different ways to resonate the same climate of experience. The three primary colors – red, yellow and blue – emerge along with black and white to be assembled and reassembled, stimulating the passion and violence of the land." (Yashodhara Dalmia, The Making of Modern Indian Art, New Delhi, 2001, p. 155)