- 149
Avinash Chandra
Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Avinash Chandra
- Lover's Tryst
- Signed and dated 'Avinash 85' lower left and further titled and inscribed 'ARTIST. LOVER'S TRYST / TITLE. / SIZE. 48" x 80" / YEAR. 1985 / LONDON.' on reverse
- Oil on canvas
- 48 x 80 in. (122 .1 x 203.1 cm.)
- Painted in 1985
Provenance
Acquired from Patricia Judith Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida circa late 1980s
Catalogue Note
Avinash Chandra is known for his abstracted yet organic representations of the female body although he began his career painting landscapes and townscapes. He was the youngest ever artist to be offered an exhibition by the Progressive Artists' Group, and was eventually awarded first prize at the Lalit Kala Akademi in 1955. He also began studying philosophy, particularly looking at Indian spiritual beliefs.
Chandra had his first British solo exhibition at the Imperial Institute in 1957, which was incredibly well received. In 1962, the BBC produced a television documentary titled ‘Art of Avinash Chandra’ that brought the artist further acclaim, and he was also the first Indian British artist to be featured at the Tate Gallery in London when they purchased his painting Hills of Gold, 1964.
'There is an ambiguity to all of his imagery that can be understood through a layering of psychological import: at first glance they are one thing and on closer inspection, or at a different glance they are something else. They are often at once structures and figures, full of energy and static, anthropomorphic and human.' (Exhibition Catalogue, Avinash Chandra: A Retrospective, Osborne Samuel, Berkeley Square Gallery, 2006, p. 11)
Painted in 1985, when the artist had returned to London, Chandra’s work at this time had become increasingly focused on nature and gardenscapes, particularly influenced by his travels to Jamaica. It seems in this period he was rejoicing in discovering sexuality within spirituality, whereas in the 1960s, he was concerned with the reverse. This vibrant painting, composed of rounded and abstract shapes on a horizontal picture plane, celebrates the springtime. The enigmatic forms conjure a view of flowers and foliage that retain an organic anthropomorphic and sensual quality. Due to Chandra’s capricious yet vivacious color palette, the shapes appear to dance rhythmically, celebrating a season that arouses a sense of fertility and rebirth.
Chandra had his first British solo exhibition at the Imperial Institute in 1957, which was incredibly well received. In 1962, the BBC produced a television documentary titled ‘Art of Avinash Chandra’ that brought the artist further acclaim, and he was also the first Indian British artist to be featured at the Tate Gallery in London when they purchased his painting Hills of Gold, 1964.
'There is an ambiguity to all of his imagery that can be understood through a layering of psychological import: at first glance they are one thing and on closer inspection, or at a different glance they are something else. They are often at once structures and figures, full of energy and static, anthropomorphic and human.' (Exhibition Catalogue, Avinash Chandra: A Retrospective, Osborne Samuel, Berkeley Square Gallery, 2006, p. 11)
Painted in 1985, when the artist had returned to London, Chandra’s work at this time had become increasingly focused on nature and gardenscapes, particularly influenced by his travels to Jamaica. It seems in this period he was rejoicing in discovering sexuality within spirituality, whereas in the 1960s, he was concerned with the reverse. This vibrant painting, composed of rounded and abstract shapes on a horizontal picture plane, celebrates the springtime. The enigmatic forms conjure a view of flowers and foliage that retain an organic anthropomorphic and sensual quality. Due to Chandra’s capricious yet vivacious color palette, the shapes appear to dance rhythmically, celebrating a season that arouses a sense of fertility and rebirth.