SAYED HAIDER RAZA | Untitled

Galleri Koloritten, Stavanger, Norway
Private Norwegian Collection
Christie's New York, 20 March 2008, lot 118  

This work will be included in the forthcoming publication S.H Raza: Catalogue Raisonné - Volume II by Anne Macklin

There is wear and scattered losses along the edges. Nicks and holes in the work appear to be inherent to the surface of the board and have been painted over by the artist. 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.
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.

Sayed Haider Raza co-founded the Progressive Artists’ Group to further explore the precepts of modernism which was not encouraged in art schools at the time.  In the 1940s, he had already successfully deployed light and color in his works to convey the way in which the landscapes resonated around him. He moved to France in 1950 and was moved by the  post-impressionists; Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne and Paul Gaugin. He started to use more oil-based pigments and his work became more about the mood that color evoked. In 1962, Raza moved to America to teach at Berkley were he came into contact with many American painters; Sam Francis, Jackson Pollok and Mark Rothko. These artists employed Abstract Expressionism and Raza began to paint with abstract narratives and a deeper sense of spatial recession. The abstract landscapes painted in the 1970s and early 1980s were influenced by the medley of styles he had encountered in both Paris and Berkeley. Drawings elements from the French countryside where he resided, along with his childhood memories of India, these works mark a very important transitional phase in his career.  This untitled painting from 1981 was created on the cusp of Raza’s progression towards formal geometric compositions dominated by their color and shape.  He started to use more earthy tones rather than his earlier brightly painted compositions, as evidenced here.  “For black was the mother of all colors and the one from which all others were born. It was also the void from which sprang the manifest universe [...] Some of the most haunting works of this period are those which evoke the night [...] where the liminal sheaths of black are illuminated by sparks of white light [...] As with Mark Rothko, black is one of the richest colors in Raza’s palette and signifies a state of fulsomeness. However, for both painters, colors plumb the depths and are not simply used for their own sake.” (Y. Dalmia, ‘The Subliminal World of Raza’, A Life in Art: S.H. Raza, Art Alive, New Delhi, 2007, p. 197) The thin translucent veneers of acrylic paint used in this lot are not only about space, pigment and line; they convey the artists’ feeling, giving the viewer an insight on how the artist produced his work.  The use of the quick-drying acrylic paint also allows for freer and more expressive brushstrokes.

This work has illustrious provenance and was previously sold by Galleri Koloritten, Stavanger, Norway. Raza held his first exhibition in Norway at this gallery in 1974 and then continued to exhibit there for over a decade as he became very close with the owner and her family.