Bhupen Khakhar
(1934 - 2003)
His Last Days of Aids - He Remembered His Friends
Bhupen Khakhar's art was based on personal as well as political concerns, going against the grain of dominant artistic practices of his time. He often positioned himself as the subject in his paintings, and the present lot, titled His Last Days of Aids - He Remembered His Friends is self explanatory. The gaunt and sickly appearance of the central figure refers to the artist's own illnesses, to which he ultimately succumbed. "Toward the...
Bhupen Khakhar's art was based on personal as well as political concerns, going against the grain of dominant artistic practices of his time. He often positioned himself as the subject in his paintings, and the present lot, titled His Last Days of Aids - He Remembered His Friends is self explanatory. The gaunt and sickly appearance of the central figure refers to the artist's own illnesses, to which he ultimately succumbed. "Toward the end of his career as he fought against prostate cancer he painted human bodies that were violated by disease, war and violence, interspersed with the experiences of tender, fearless calm." (Shivaji K Panikkar, "An Art Historian's Appreciation," bhupenkhakharcollection.com, online) During his last moments on the death-bed, old friends and lovers reappear, creating a hallucinatory, memoir-like scene in which he revisits his life. These "spaces filled with figures, meticulous descriptions, bright colours and a complex spatial arrangement," (Enrique Juncosa, "The Integrative Art of Bhupen Khakhar," Timothy Hyman, Enrique Juncosa et al., Bhupen Khakhar: A Retrospective, Mumbai: NGMA and The Fine Art Resource, 2003, p. 12) are typical of his style, which was based on vignettes within a narrative structure. Khakhar was also influenced by Buddhist culture and imagery which he encountered on a visit to Sri Lanka. His works thereafter often incorporated Buddhist imagery, and the central figure in this lot may allude to the image of the emaciated Buddha overcoming the suffering of the human body to attain salvation.
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Lot
47
of
119
SUMMER ONLINE AUCTION
6-7 JUNE 2017
Estimate
Rs 60,00,000 - 80,00,000
$93,750 - 125,000
ARTWORK DETAILS
Bhupen Khakhar
His Last Days of Aids - He Remembered His Friends
Signed twice and dated in Gujarati and inscribed 'his last days of Aids - he remembered his friends' (lower centre)
1998
Watercolour on paper
42.75 x 49 in (108.4 x 124.5 cm)
PROVENANCE: Acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, Vadodara
EXHIBITED:Remembering Bhupen , Vadodara: Sarjan Art Gallery, 8 - 29 August 2015 PUBLISHED:Remembering Bhupen , Vadodara: Sarjan Art Gallery, 2015 (illustrated, unpaginated)
Category: Painting
Style: Figurative
ARTWORK SIZE:
Height of Figure: 6'