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lot 27

lot 27

V. S. Gaitonde

Untitled

lithograph on paper (set of 2)
11.5 x 8.5 in. (29.2 x 21.6 cm.) each
executed in 2000

Winning Bid: $ 8,500

Estimate: US$ 7,000 - 10,000

Lot Closed

Lot Details

Each signed in Devanagari (lower right)
Each numbered '5/25' (lower left)
Each bearing Bodhi Art label (on back of the frame)
Edition 5 of 25

PROVENANCE
Saffronart, Mumbai
Bodhi Art, Singapore
Acquired from the above by the present owner

EXHIBITED
V. S. Gaitonde: Works from Private Collections, Saffronart, 21 January - 4 February 2011, New Delhi

LOT ESSAY
Never prolific, V.S. Gaitonde is known to have made very few works a year, given that the overall process of conceptualizing a work was a lengthy one for him. "This emphasis on the creative process the artist's masterful handling of color, structure, texture, and light and his intuitive understanding of how these forces come together to alter one's perception are a testament to his unwavering commitment to his craft. Gaitonde's profound understanding of the properties and capacities of his chosen medium sets his work apart not only as deeply contemplative and refined objects but as containers of an avid, voracious worldview, spanning the traditions of nonobjective painting and Indian miniatures, Zen Buddhism and East Asian hanging scrolls and ink paintings." (Sandhini Poddar, V.S. Gaitonde: Painting as Process, Painting as Life, Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2014, p. 30-31)

After suffering from severe injuries in an accident in 1984, Gaitonde was unable to cope with painting large canvases. He consequently turned to the smaller format of works on paper. These consist of non-mimetic calligraphic and hieroglyphic markings made with spontaneous gestures and rhythmic movements. These works unveil Gaitonde's understanding of the silences of Zen as well as the dynamics of Tantra and later form an important part of his overall oeuvre.

V. S. Gaitonde

(1924 - 2001)
V. S. Gaitonde was born in Nagpur, Maharashtra. He received his Diploma in Painting from the Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai, and was awarded the J. D. Rockefeller III Fund Fellowship in 1964. He was also awarded the first prize at the Young Asian Artists’ Exhibition, Tokyo, in 1957. Solo exhibitions of Gaitonde’s work include a forthcoming retrospective at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, in 2014; ‘V. S. Gaitonde Works from Private Collections’ at Saffronart, New Delhi, in 2011; ‘An Abstract Vision’ at Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 1997; and at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 1996. He has also had exhibitions in New York in 1959 and 1963, and was invited to participate in the ‘Festival of India’ at the Royal Academy of Art, London, and in Japan in 1988. Gaitonde’s work has been featured in several group shows, including ‘Roots in the Air, Branches Below Modern & Contemporary Art from India’ at the San Jose Museum of Art, 2011; ‘The Progressives & Associates’ and ‘Progressive to Altemodern’ at Grosvenor Galley, London, in 2010 and 2009 respectively; and Saffronart and Pundole Art Gallery, New York in 2001. His work is represented in several Indian and foreign collections including those of the Musuem of Modern Art, New York. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1971. Gaitonde passed away in August 2001.