Important Notice

“I have always lived in my own image and not an image others have of me. Once you learn to change, no other consideration can stop you.” - SATISH GUJRAL

A consummate draughtsman, painter, sculptor, architect and writer, Satish Gujral’s artistic career has spanned more than six decades and several media and genres. Often described as a true ‘renaissance artist’, his art “remains an embodiment of reinvention, evolution and continual... “I have always lived in my own image and not an image others have of me. Once you learn to change, no other consideration can stop you.” - SATISH GUJRAL

A consummate draughtsman, painter, sculptor, architect and writer, Satish Gujral’s artistic career has spanned more than six decades and several media and genres. Often described as a true ‘renaissance artist’, his art “remains an embodiment of reinvention, evolution and continual striving for newer vocabularies and forms to represent his deeply felt aesthetic stimuli.” (Seema Bawa, “Energy of the Sublime: Performance, Rituals and Unmasking Cultural Memories,” Ode to the Monumental, Mumbai: Saffronart, 2014, p. 65)

Gujral was focussed on creating his own unique aesthetic full of Indian symbology throughout his career even when Western ideals were affecting and influencing Indian art. Due to this, texture and colour became as important as the subject itself, as can be noted in the present lot which was part of one of the last phases of his evolution as an artist. Here, “he delves into and invents a language whose elements are the harness, animal and rider that combine in various modes... The visuals exude an aura of festive fervour and of pleasure...” (Bawa, p. 65)

In the present untitled work by Gujral, one notices the manner in which “the horse is delineated through a metallic harness with scarlet silken flowing reins held in one hand. The other hand holds a large ring with a part of the harness clipped to it, suggesting control and manipulation of the animal/prop by human agency... Despite the over–festive air, there is a menacing aura about the fragmented horse.” (Bawa, p. 71) This, in turn, adds to the sense of dynamic movement that is vital and deeply layered in the work.

Gujral is also known for using paint to create layers of a structure that is deeply embedded in his paintings. “The paintings are marked by a rich textured surface, which are integral to the image itself. This is a result of his use of self–made and specially treated canvas and acrylic paints. For him, the canvas is not a dead body to be bought readymade, but a living organism that gives the painting its inherent character. On this surface he applies four or five layers of colour that impart nuanced tonalities of light and shade on the one hand and give his work the impression of being illuminated from within on the other.” (Bawa, p. 78) Due to this, there is a sense of balance created in his works, particularly in the present lot, that brings forth a “composition, replete with activity and yet calm and unhurried.” (Bawa, p. 71)

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