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Born in 1941, Rameshwar Broota began his artistic career as an academic portraitist, but soon turned to more stylized renderings of the figure to develop an idiom that has since evolved to remain attuned with his artistic vision. Deeply aware of and affected by socio-political developments, Broota`s primitive figuration explores pre-social existence, and the possibility of post-social man as a critique of economic and political corruption, and... Born in 1941, Rameshwar Broota began his artistic career as an academic portraitist, but soon turned to more stylized renderings of the figure to develop an idiom that has since evolved to remain attuned with his artistic vision. Deeply aware of and affected by socio-political developments, Broota`s primitive figuration explores pre-social existence, and the possibility of post-social man as a critique of economic and political corruption, and the excesses that cause it.

A new step in Broota`s ongoing search for the nature of truth, this series of existential canvases accelerated the process of paring his paintings of all that he deemed superfluous, including narrative and colour. In place of these elements, the artist concentrates on conveying the exact textural attributes of figures, objects and architectural elements, giving his works an almost sculpted presence. In the present lot, the artist juxtaposes the sagging flesh of an aging male torso with the rigid lines of a steel pipe and grill, underlining our vulnerabilities and the transient nature of our existence. Broota`s unique method is testament to his finish. Using a technique he discovered whilst correcting a damaged painting, Broota builds up translucent layers of grey, blue, brown, black, or metallic pigments on his surface. Then, using a razor blade, the artist painstakingly scratches away at these layers to literally unearth his image. “The chromatic nuances resulting from the scratching, in spite of their austerity, can be mesmerizing. Broota’s magical handling of myriad textures creates a brilliant impact. Broota achieves this through the variety of ways he wields the razor, sometimes to gouge out paint, at other times to employ linear strokes or fine cross-hatchings. The minute detail is a fascinating visual experience” (Ella Datta, “The Archaeology of Experience”, Rameshwar Broota, Vadehra Art Gallery exhibition catalogue, 2004-05, p. 21).

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