Important Notice

Lot 28

The early 1960`s were seminal years for Souza, who, having made his breakthrough in the London art and literary world a few years before, had finally found the global success and recognition that was long his due. Following several exhibitions in Europe and the Americas, Souza opened a solo show of his work in Bombay in 1963 after a decade`s hiatus from the city. The show elicited critical acclaim and sparked a headline in the Times of India... The early 1960`s were seminal years for Souza, who, having made his breakthrough in the London art and literary world a few years before, had finally found the global success and recognition that was long his due. Following several exhibitions in Europe and the Americas, Souza opened a solo show of his work in Bombay in 1963 after a decade`s hiatus from the city. The show elicited critical acclaim and sparked a headline in the Times of India that boldly stated `Indian painting will never be the same again`. At the same time, Souza had one of his essays, “Nirvana of a Maggot”, published in the magazine Encounter, and published a book of essays and drawings titled Words and Lines shortly after. In recognition of these accomplishments, Edwin Mullins published a monograph on the artist in 1962, marking Souza`s place amongst the most important modern artists of the time.

This distorted nude from 1965 clearly displays the dualities that informed Souza`s unique body of work and guarantees his place in the annals of Modern and Post-War Art. As Mullins explains, “It is [the] built-in conflict in Souza`s work which supplies its restless, fighting quality and what I have called its `dedicated vulgarity`. It is as if each painting were both an act of hate and an act of love… Escapism and catharsis. The surface…becomes a battleground on which are fought out the fears and passions of one man`s experience. On the dark side: the holocaust, horror of the flesh, bodies distorted by fall-out or thalidomide, the weight of sin and evil, sexual longing and despair, a sense of the ludicrous and the disgusting. Against this: the wonderment, the celebration of the flesh and of fulfillment, a delight with the naked grace of a woman`s body…and awe at the proximity and terrible power of God” (F. N. Souza: The Human and the Divine Predicament, Grosvenor Gallery Exhibition Catalogue, 1964, unpaginated).

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