Lot 65
  • 65

Manjit Bawa

Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 GBP
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Description

  • Manjit Bawa
  • Oil on canvas
  • 109.2 by 86.4 cm. (43 by 34 in.)

Provenance

Contemporary Indian Paintings, from the Chester and Davida Herwitz Charitable Trust, Sotheby's New York, 3 April 1996

Exhibited

Tokyo, Japan, Fukuoka Museum of Art, Asian Art Exhibition, 1982

Literature

ART India, April-June 1996 (first issue), illustrated on the front cover

Condition

in good overall condition, minor scattered specs of surface dirt, recently re-stretched and framed, small tear lower right of orange/yellow background recently restored and not visible from the front, background colour more orange in reality, flesh tones more pink
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Bawa's distinctive use of colour is grounded in his training as a silk-screen printer and his study of Rajput and Pahari miniature paintings. 'He enjoys the delicious green of the Kangra miniaturists, but will select only the colour as a trace of the tradition; he does not feel obliged to relay the painstakingly delineated, thousand leafed Kangra trees in his painting... Colour itself becomes a resonant variety of space: a luminous and neutral field, virtually unmarked by a specific sense of place, in which is isolated dream-figures can operate without labouring under the burden of allegiance to any single history.' (Ranjit Hoskote, 2000).

His subjects often inspired by icons and myths represent the dual polarities of the human and animal world, although they share the same environment they 'occupy separate mental universes'. Bawa's works question the dynamics of these relationships, how one communicates with the other. Some of his works display an erotic undertone through his treatment of the figures; their voluminous bodies, full lips and wide eyes contrasting with a sharpened beak of a bird or claw of a cat.