Signed in Hindi and dated '17' (lower left)
Further signed, titled, dated and inscribed 'Manu Parekh '17 / Moonlight - Temples at Banaras / 2017 / 4' x 8' - (48" x 96") / Acrylic on canvas (on the reverse)

Manu Parekh's Banaras is an abstracted essence - his personal response to the particular iconography. As an artist, his sensitivities lie on the sense of the place and the underlying forces that govern and transform it. He depicts the striking colors that define the city, the cycle of life and death while alluding to the throng of people that passed by its sacred walls. In his work, the river Ganga, mighty and revered, serves as the defining feature of the holy place.

Characteristically, Parekh evokes the essence of the place, its soul and spirit, in a few spontaneously expressionistic brushstrokes; but in his work, the autonomy of color and form do not go hand and hand. "The form of an object, its contours and surface composition such as a boat or a building remain true to natural reality, although often extravagantly distorted. There is a structured, often monochromatic framework onto which he juxtaposes complementary contrast of strong color." (Peter Osborne, Painting Banaras, Manu Parekh: New Paintings, Exhibition catalogue, Berkeley Square Gallery, July 2007, unpaginated)