Important Notice

"As you grow, you realise the need to minimalise and weed out the unnecessary. Focus becomes all important."- MANJIT BAWA

Manjit Bawa's art, like the artist himself, was a complex amalgamation of influences that were both vast and eclectic. Bawa drew inspiration from Mughal, Rajput and Pahari miniatures, combined with his knowledge of silk-screen printing, which is observed in the uniform tones of his paintings. Bawa's art spoke... "As you grow, you realise the need to minimalise and weed out the unnecessary. Focus becomes all important."- MANJIT BAWA

Manjit Bawa's art, like the artist himself, was a complex amalgamation of influences that were both vast and eclectic. Bawa drew inspiration from Mughal, Rajput and Pahari miniatures, combined with his knowledge of silk-screen printing, which is observed in the uniform tones of his paintings. Bawa's art spoke volumes about his preference for figurative over abstract art, steering clear of movements prevalent at the time, determined to forge a path and develop a style that was unapologetically his own. His pliant figures, along with his vibrant colour palette, served as a testament to his Indianness, an act of rebellion against the sombre tones of British art that was taught at the time.

"Manjit's figure is at once an assertion of a tradition and its negation. It hardly owes anything to the realism of the West and its expressionistic aftermath... There is a certain bonelessness, a pneumatic quality to Manjit's figure which echoes both folk Pahari painting and the tantric frescoes of Himalayan Buddhism." (J Swaminathan, "Dogs Too Keep Night Watch," S Kalidas, Bhavna Bawa et al, Manjit Bawa: Let's Paint the Sky Red, New Delhi: Vadehra Art Gallery, 2011, p. 36)

Bawa's oeuvre is one that is deeply rooted in poetry and philosophy, as he often turned to Indian mythology, Sufi philosophy, and Sikh oral traditions for inspiration. His curiosity surrounding spiritual mysticism bestowed a transcendental quality to his works, wherein his subjects often appear floating on flat, vibrant colour backgrounds, with solemn stares, gazing into the unknown. While Bawa's process leads him to be detached from the outside world, it's the fluid nature of his art that allows the viewer to stay tethered to the canvas, wherein the artist captures delicate emotions through masterful strokes. "Manjit's art was not so much narrative as it was tersely idiomatic. Short staccato phrases pregnant with as many possibilities as the reader could read into them... Yet, with just the right gesture or a twist of the rubbery body his magical paintings could encapsulate whole Puranic legends and folk tales with a subversive sense of humour." (S Kalidas, Let's Paint the Sky Red: Manjit Bawa, New Delhi: Vadehra Art Gallery, 2011, p. 19)

Many of these elements can be seen in the present lot, where a tranquil, saintly figure drifts in a deep indigo background. As is characteristic of Bawa's work, the figure in question is suspended from time and space. However, it's Bawa's signature rendering of colour and free-flowing curves that give the figure an identity of sorts in Bawa's own artistic landscape.

"As far as the figures are concerned, they are figments and fragments of my dream world. The split figures that remain suspended in space ... convey my innermost emotions. Our life is about being suspended in spatial areas, it's about creatures split up." (Artist quoted in "Manjit Bawa in Conversation with Ina Puri," Bhav Bhaav Bhavya: Frames of Eternity, Mumbai: Sakshi Gallery and Synergy Art Foundation Ltd.; Kolkata: Impresario; New Delhi: Gallery Espace, 1999, p. 6)

With hands bound together and an expression that conveys a sense of gaiety, the figure emanates a numinous aura, defining feature of Bawa's opus.

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