Rashid Rana
(1968)
House of Cards
"In this age of uncertainty, we have lost the privilege of having only one world view. Now every image, idea and truth (may it be ancient or modern) encompasses its opposite within itself. Thus, we live in a state of duality. This internal conflict translates into my work, on a formal level, as well as having geographical, historical and political connotations." - RASHID RANA Rashid Rana has often been called an "artist's artist."...
"In this age of uncertainty, we have lost the privilege of having only one world view. Now every image, idea and truth (may it be ancient or modern) encompasses its opposite within itself. Thus, we live in a state of duality. This internal conflict translates into my work, on a formal level, as well as having geographical, historical and political connotations." - RASHID RANA Rashid Rana has often been called an "artist's artist." (Rajesh Punj, "Rashid Rana," Asian Art Newspaper, March 2012, online) By taking apart canonical works of art at a molecular level and reconceptualising them through various mediums, he transforms them into self?referential instruments of radical art deconstructing politics, culture, and the media. Using techniques of digital manipulation, Rana destabilises cultural representations and makes the audience confront their own preconceived notions. Working primarily within a postcolonial context, the Pakistani artist's works interrogate South Asian politics of identity. He often achieves this by clever juxtaposition, most evident in his photomosaic works where large images, upon closer inspection, reveal themselves to be composed of numerous smaller images. This is noted in House of Cards - a sculpture composed of flat digital prints put together, with the four sides resting on each other. As a result, it appears "from a distance as slightly blurred, low-resolution renditions of banalities: landscapes, film posters or press photographs. Drawing near, one realizes that the large and visible 'pixels' are themselves smaller photographs, which magically assemble to compose the larger image. To step near, and away, and near again, to see dark and light photographs becoming the pupil or the highlight in somebody's eye, is to experience marvellous visual complexity." (Quddus Mirza, Adnan Manani, Kavita Singh et al., Rashid Rana, Mumbai: Chatterjee & Lal and Chemould Prescott Road, 2010, p. 25) Rana's "software-generated composite photomontages that hang on the wall or digitally drape three- dimensional objects" primarily reflect on notions of dualities and multiple perspectives. (Christopher Mooney, "Rashid Rana," ArtReview, 17 December 2014, online) His images experiment with notions of Gestalt while revealing multiple worldviews both formally and conceptually, and, at times, serving as a commentary on contemporary geopolitics. "In works that suggest a simultaneous exploration of media and identity bound by a political edge, Rashid Rana satirizes pop culture, transforms symbols of traditional Muslim daily life, and re?interprets elements of art and cultural history." (Beth Citron, "Rashid Rana," Initial Access: Frank Cohen Collection, 25 September 2018, online) As a result, the difference or separation between flat and round or between reality and its two-dimensional representation ceases to exist in the present lot, making it a highly accomplished example of Rana's ongoing focus with the grid or matrix that remains an overarching theme in his oeuvre.
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Lot
109
of
109
SUMMER ONLINE AUCTION
22-23 JUNE 2022
Estimate
$50,000 - 70,000
Rs 38,50,000 - 53,90,000
USD payment only.
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ARTWORK DETAILS
Rashid Rana
House of Cards
2010 - 2011
UV print on aluminium and stainless steel
Height: 48 in (121.9 cm) Width: 48 in (121.9 cm) Depth: 48 in (121.9 cm)
First from a limited edition of three
PROVENANCE Acquired from Chatterjee and Lal, Mumbai Property of a Gentleman, Singapore
EXHIBITEDApposite / Opposite , Mumbai: Chatterjee and Lal, 10 April - 16 June 2012 (another from the edition)
Category: Sculpture
Style: Abstract