Important Notice

Lot 39

 

Quick Zoom

K G Subramanyan delved into a variety of styles and mediums, and his oeuvre extends from painting and printmaking to murals and sculpture. His keen observation and inculcation of diverse influences - which include Persian and Indian miniatures, the work of Henri Matisse, Japanese woodcuts, Kalighat pats, glass painting and classical and folk traditions of India - served more as points of departure than direct inspirations. The careful... K G Subramanyan delved into a variety of styles and mediums, and his oeuvre extends from painting and printmaking to murals and sculpture. His keen observation and inculcation of diverse influences - which include Persian and Indian miniatures, the work of Henri Matisse, Japanese woodcuts, Kalighat pats, glass painting and classical and folk traditions of India - served more as points of departure than direct inspirations. The careful colouration and narrative elements in his paintings, "so magnificently visceral and sensuously visual, celebrate both life and art. They combine the gravity of creation with the pleasure of play." (R Siva Kumar, "K. G. Subramanyan: In Retrospect," K. G. Subramanyan: A Retrospective, New Delhi: National Gallery of Modern Art, 2003, p. 10)

The present lot, like many of Subramanyan's paintings, is structured in panels or a grid, reminiscent of tapestries or murals, with their interconnected storylines. It portrays a variety of human emotions and interactions, from admiration and discussion to critique and bafflement. "...the grid also fragments the picture, and turns it into a compressed surface. A frame within a frame, it breaks the picture into several details, serves as a geometric counterpoint to the organic contours of objects, and keeps the images suspended between a whole and a collage of parts." (R Siva Kumar, pp. 48-49)

Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in: this auction  |  entire site