Mona Rai

Acquired directly from the artist, 2006

London, Gallery Maya, The Enshrined Relic, 21 November - 18 December 2006

R. Karode, The Enshrined Relic, Gallery Maya, London, 2006, illustration p. 13

'Mona Rai's luminous constructions tease and tweak the viewer's sensibilities by their instant shimmer and gloss. While viewers seek a narrative to anchor their emotion, in Mona, it is the ambiguity of the subject that enriches the encounter. [...] the swirling constellations in the long horizontal canvas, conjure up mystical visions of the cosmos, where the delicate white linings create an informal geometry. Often her canvases are soaked in a dazzling blackness; she defeats the fatalism though by adding raw touches of stark white, silver and glitter...'

- Roobina Karode

R. Karode, The Enshrined Relic, Gallery Maya, London, 2006, unpaginated

Born in 1947 in Delhi, Mona Rai received an MA in Psychology at the University of Delhi and studied art at Triveni Kala Sangam, Delhi. Rai works in a variety of media to explore abstract, enigmatic themes. From the 1970s, Rai has exhibited in a number of group and solo shows. In 2006, her work was presented in an exhibition titled The Enshrined Relic, curated by Roobina Karode, which included the current lot. Executed in 2004, To Boto, My Darling reveals a dark, textural surface, evocative of the night sky. The canvas incorporates the stitching which is seen throughout Rai's oeuvre.

'In the 70s, Mona began to stitch and unstitch papers; the fascination was always towards moving in and out of the surface to break the monotony of the flat surface... The dramatic alliance between surface and structure was a perpetual attraction, be it textiles, sculpture or painting. The elaborate Indian crafts tradition of embroidery, weaving, and inlay were indeed precious sources for Mona, who loved the possibilities of intuitive and close working with the material.' (R. Karode, The Enshrined Relic, Gallery Maya, London, 2006, unpaginated)