“There has to be a certain freshness and newness in one’s art, otherwise it’s pointless to pursue it. To be different means doing something you have never done before.” - MANJIT BAWA

Manjit Bawa’s work often depicts gods, men, women and animals, in a style that almost feels foreign to the Indian art landscape. Void of detail, Bawa’s art steers clear of texture, with his sole focus being placed on subtle shading and delicate tonal... “There has to be a certain freshness and newness in one’s art, otherwise it’s pointless to pursue it. To be different means doing something you have never done before.” - MANJIT BAWA

Manjit Bawa’s work often depicts gods, men, women and animals, in a style that almost feels foreign to the Indian art landscape. Void of detail, Bawa’s art steers clear of texture, with his sole focus being placed on subtle shading and delicate tonal contrasts that deliver depth to his canvases. Bawa doesn’t concern himself with developing a narrative around his subjects, rather, he places strenuous effort on achieving his version of a perfect form, one that’s pliant in shape and spirited in colour.

As the critic Ranjit Hoskote describes them, “each form, animal and human, rejoices in its plasticity and libidinal energy, its gymnastic ability to defy the strictures of the anatomist. The rounded contours of each toy- like figure speak of its prana. The life-breath that gives it a vital buoyancy, allowing it to occupy rather than be trapped in those flat, glowing, single-colour fields of red, yellow, green or blue that are Bawa’s hallmark device” (Manjit Bawa – Modern Miniatures, Recent Paintings, New York: Bose Pacia, 2000).

A combination of the aforementioned characteristics, along with Bawa’s artistic vocabulary, causes his canvases to radiate a dreamlike aura, bordering on the abstract. With his subject immersed in a field of vivid colour, Bawa’s works create a surreal atmosphere where time itself seems suspended.

“I have learnt the art of detachment. When I paint, I work in complete isolation and the world ceases to exist then. In my own life too there have been times so painful that I would have gone under had I not withdrawn to my inner space. When I paint, the canvas becomes the focal point and I hate to be distracted. It is like I am in dialogue with the work, struggling to make it come alive” (Exhibition of Paintings: Manjit Bawa, London: Maya Gallery, in collaboration with Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, 2005).

The present lot, a portrait of a woman, showcases Bawa’s subject pensively staring off-canvas. Set against a vibrant green background, there is no indication of place or scale, making her timeless in her musing. As with many of his works, the artist’s deep fascination with asymmetrical relationships and non-verbal communication comes to the forefront. His paintings are embroiled in a visual vocabulary, where characters are often removed from space, time and context, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.

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