L13500

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Lot 28
  • 28

Bhupen Khakhar

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
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Description

  • Bhupen Khakhar
  • Air, Steam and Speed
  • Signed and dated in Gujarati upper right and inscribed 'Bhupen Khakhar / 18 / 1957 govt. / Servants Society / Nizampura / BARODA - 2' on reverse
  • Oil on canvas
  • 86 by 86 cm. (33 ¾ by 33 ¾ in.)
  • Painted in 1972

Provenance

Acquired from Mr. Alan Ross, London circa 1979

Condition

There is very minor craquelure towards lower edge of the painting. This work is in good condition, as viewed.
"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

Born in Mumbai into a middle-class Gujarati family, Bhupen Khakhar trained as an accountant but moved to Baroda in 1962, where he chose a new career path as a writer and an artist. Largely self-taught, Khakhar was encouraged by his friend Gulammohammed Sheikh and later became a key figure at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Baroda. The Baroda school's primary focus became figurative art with a strong emphasis on narrative. Khakhar and his peers organised the landmark exhibition Place for People that travelled to Delhi and Bombay in 1981. The exhibition marked the move away from the Modernism associated with the Progressives and a development of an Indian Post-Modernist aesthetic that was centred on the representation of the human figure within a local context. Khakhar chose to portray ironic depictions of social types and in doing so, mocked the tastes and aspirations of the Indian middle-class. Khakhar continually pushed the boundaries of subject matter, often touching on topics that were controversial and taboo.

Khakhar's sources were derived from autobiographical references, Indian miniatures, Company School paintings, picchavais and images from popular culture. Like a number of his Baroda contemporaries, Khakhar often used multiple narrative episodes across a single picture plane. This particular compositional technique was inspired by Khakhar’s study of Italian Renaissance painting. In Air, Steam and Speed Khakhar has divided the composition into vignettes that echo the borders of Shrinathji picchavais and the reverse of Early Renaissance altarpieces such as Duccio’s Maesta. Air, Steam and Speed is a rare and accomplished example of Khakhar's early painting style with its candy coloured palette and tighter brushstrokes. The series of vignettes which contrast industry, technology and leisure are reflected in Khakhar's ironic title of the work.

Khakhar was one of the first artists from India to be celebrated in the West with major museum exhibitions and retrospectives at the Tate in Britain as well as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sophia, Madrid. In the late 1970s, after exhibiting domestically and abroad in biennales and group exhibitions, Khakhar was offered a teaching fellowship at Bath Academy of Art. During his stay in Britain, Khakhar became acquainted with leading figures in the British Pop art movement such as David Hockney and Sir Howard Hodgkin. It was the latter who helped Khakhar organise solo exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Bristol, the Anthony Stokes & Hester van Royen Gallery in 1979.