Mohan Samant

‘I have long suspected that Mohan Samant was the missing link in the evolutionary nature of contemporary art in India… a dislocated, but never disoriented, pioneer.’

(R. Hoskote, Mohan Samant Paintings, Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad, 2013, p. 15)

Mohan Samant is known for an incredibly diverse body of work. He derived inspiration from a wide variety of sources – including the cave paintings of Lascaux and Pre-Columbian ceramics – and has boldly experimented with mixed media, incorporating acrylic, oil, wire and sand on his canvases. Ranjit Hoskote notes that 'Unlike many other artists of his generation in India, Samant did not believe the medium to be sacrosanct. Mastery over the medium meant, to him, the power to cross, graft, and reconfigure it in such a way that an artwork could transcend its formal limitations while extending its conceptual premises.' (Hoskote, Mohan Samant Paintings, p. 16)

In the current lot, curious figures emerge from churchlike alcoves. The richly textural characters almost appear to have been carved in relief, adding a further saintly quality. This intriguing mixed media painting powerfully exhibits the visionary freedom with which Samant approached his work.