Important Notice

“Composition is the art of arranging in a decorative manner the diverse elements at the painter’s command to express his feelings.” - K H ARA

Ara turned towards still life and object painting around the late 1940s, with a particular focus on flower and vase studies, as seen in the present lot. “Flowers enthralled Ara so much, he painted them throughout his career…It is almost as if this were a scene from a theatrical production... “Composition is the art of arranging in a decorative manner the diverse elements at the painter’s command to express his feelings.” - K H ARA

Ara turned towards still life and object painting around the late 1940s, with a particular focus on flower and vase studies, as seen in the present lot. “Flowers enthralled Ara so much, he painted them throughout his career…It is almost as if this were a scene from a theatrical production with the flower vase emerging…in full spotlight.” (Kishore Singh ed., “K H Ara,” Continuum: Progressive Artists’ Group, New Delhi: DAG, 2011, p. 186)

Ara creates a sense of drama in the present lot by contrasting the bright white flowers against a deliberately rough and textured background in an attempt to show the paint almost overflowing from one object to another, ultimately unifying the entire composition. “Ara’s achievement lay in fusing a raw sensuality with a calculated structuring, thereby revitalizing the entire still life genre. He constantly experimented with paint to acquire what he describes as the ‘honest expression of form.’ There is a rough, uneven, jagged look to all his still life paintings, with minimal attention to details, which distinguishes his work from others.” (Yashodhara Dalmia, “The Stillness of Life: Krishnaji Howlaji Ara,” The Making of Modern Indian Art: The Progressives, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 134)

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