Chintamoni Kar (1915-2005)

Good overall condition. Areas of dark residue on right forearm, center of sash, and abdomen.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

"Chintamoni Kar proved himself to be a modernist whose rejection of earlier practices did not suspend his own aesthetic as a traditionalist. He arrived at a voluptuous minimalism after peeling off layers of learning that ranged from those of a ritualised artisan-sculptor to formal academic training to more avant-garde practices across the cultural capitals of Europe. His peripatetic ways created a liquid movement in his sculptures that he evoked to express emotional quality. The dynamic nature of his sculptures, shod of nationalistic or stylistic encumbrances, pared the medium–bronze, vitrified terracotta, marble, mahogany–to a sparse but nevertheless dynamic form.

"And yet he alluded to cultural myths in his work, a literary reference to his erudition and knowledge to be sure, allowing him to turn to the fantasy offered by legends upon which he based so much of his repertoire. The easy camaraderie he built between the occidental and the oriental came from this ability to bridge cultures without the benefit of geographies. That the mythical could shed the fantastical to be rendered realistically is to the particular credit of Chintamoni Kar."

Kishore Singh