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P
adamsee began painting his Metascape series in 1970,
coining the term "Metascape" to describe landscapes
stripped of all geographic specificity. The present
lot is part of his continuing exploration of the stillness and
structure of the landscape. In its composition, one can find the
underlying structure and careful construction which defines
Padamsee’s methodical way of observing the landscape. He
creates, through his favourite juxtapositions of cadmium and
orange, complemented by browns and blues, a landscape
that is at once real and surreal. Padamsee’s Metascapes “…
include both a truly detached and analytical approach and a
fascination for tautological rules. In the paintings the image
prods the exercise, form being distilled to reveal the core.
Curiously the endeavour is as old as it is modern: the artistic
pursuit of a philosophical intent.” (Mala Marwah,
Lalit Kala
Contemporary 23
, New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi, 1979, p. 36)
“I’m not interested in location or landscape. My general
theme is nature ‒ mountains, trees, water, the elements,
and obviously one is influenced by the environment, but
I’m not interested in painting Rajasthan or the desert of
whatever. When I paint a tree, a mountain, or a river, I am
really interested in ‘the river’, ‘the mountain’, ‘the tree’. The
paintings are neither abstract nor representational.” (Artist
quoted in Eunice D’Souza, “Akbar Padamsee’s Metascapes”,
The Economic Times
, 30 November 1975) The re‒imagined
landscape that results from Padamsee’s thus liberated
formalism is precisely as he articulates.
Akbar Padamsee,
Untitled
, 2004
Saffronart, New Delhi, 21 September 2017, lot 58
Sold for INR 2.16 crores ($342,857)
59
AKBAR PADAMSEE
(b. 1928)
Untitled
Signed and dated 'PADAMSEE 2002' (upper left)
2002
Acrylic on canvas
54 x 36 in (137 x 91.2 cm)
$ 156,250 ‒ 234,375
Rs 1,00,00,000 ‒ 1,50,00,000
PROVENANCE:
Acquired directly from the artist
EXHIBITED:
Group Exhibition
, Mumbai: Sakshi Salon,
6 ‒ 30 April 2017