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NOVEMBER 2016 | THE TIES THAT BIND
53
JAGDISH SWAMINATHAN
(1928 - 1994)
Untitled (Bird Mountain Series)
Signed and dated 'J.Swaminathan '85'
(on the reverse)
1985
Oil on canvas
25 x 25 in (63.2 x 63.2 cm)
$ 53,035 - 68,185
Rs 35,00,000 - 45,00,000
PROVENANCE:
Property of a Distinguished Lady, Mumbai
“The introduction of representational
forms in the context of colour geometry
gave birth to psycho-symbolic
connotations. Thus a mountain, a tree,
a flower, a bird, a stone were not just
objects or parts of a landscape but
were manifestations of the universal.’’
J SWAMINATHAN
Swaminathan devoted nearly two decades to his
seminal “Bird, Mountain, and Tree” series, which
features these elements from nature placed with
deliberation in expanses of pure colour. In the present
lot, a bird floats atop a centrally placed mountain.
A band of orange at the bottom and top of the
luminous yellow canvas creates a dual horizon line.
The composition evokes both, magic and simplicity,
borne of a meditative interpretation of symbolism
and metaphor.
In 1962, Swaminathan led the creation of Group
1890 which was dedicated to rejecting “vulgar
naturalism” and European modernism. Their aim
was to draw inspiration from the natural world and
to “see phenomena in their virginal states.” (Jagdish
Swaminathan, quoted in Yashodhara Dalmia
ed.,
Indian Contemporary Art: Post Independence,
New
Delhi: Vadehra Art Gallery, 1997, p. 298) The artists
in this group were in search of true forms that found
their roots in the primeval. “Swaminathan’s artistic
ambition was to establish a continuum between
folk, tribal, and urban contemporary art. Questioning
the notion that Modernism developed from an
encounter with the West, he sought to redefine
contemporary practice by taking into account the
philosophical underpinnings of Indian Art. A truly
Indian art could only develop, he felt, by overcoming
the divide between art and craft.” (Amrita Jhaveri,
A
Guide to 101 Modern and Contemporary Indian Artists
,
Mumbai: India Book House Pvt. Ltd., 2005, p. 93)