S H Raza
(1922 - 2016)
Kundalini
Raza's art was his chosen medium for expressing the spiritual life. He rooted his quest for metaphysical truths in the study of religious texts and literature. When he turned from gestural abstraction towards geometry in the late 70s, he claimed to have been reborn as an artist. The circle, which has, through the ages held a place of reverence in ancient cultures around the world, became a focal point of Raza's art. "Raza's paintings explore,...
Raza's art was his chosen medium for expressing the spiritual life. He rooted his quest for metaphysical truths in the study of religious texts and literature. When he turned from gestural abstraction towards geometry in the late 70s, he claimed to have been reborn as an artist. The circle, which has, through the ages held a place of reverence in ancient cultures around the world, became a focal point of Raza's art. "Raza's paintings explore, through the definition of a few chosen signs of the circle, the square and the triangle, a sense of the infinite." (Geeti Sen, Bindu: Space and Time in Raza's Vision, New Delhi: Media Transasia Ltd, 1997, p. 110)Kundalini , in Sanskrit, means "the coiled one." The concept is often depicted as a curled serpent lying at the base of the spine, representing the life force that animates all human beings. As each chakra associated with a different part of the body is awakened, the human being reaches a higher level of awareness. Referring to this concept of spiritual enlightenment, Raza has often been quoted to have said, "The bindu awakened a latent energy inside me." In the present lot, the bindu - the predominant motif in Raza's paintings - forms the origin point of the kundalini . Concentric circles radiating from the central bindu are formed by a pair of interlocking serpents, or nagas , which are potent symbols of energy in various mythologies. They are here incorporated into the circle to depict the cosmos which contains within it, the energy responsible for the continuous cycle of beginning and end.
Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in:
this auction
|
entire site
Lot
49
of
78
EVENING SALE | MUMBAI, LIVE
16 FEBRUARY 2017
Estimate
Rs 3,00,00,000 - 5,00,00,000
$454,550 - 757,580
Winning Bid
Rs 2,40,00,000
$363,636
(Inclusive of Buyer's Premium)
ARTWORK DETAILS
S H Raza
Kundalini
Signed and dated 'RAZA 2000' (lower centre); signed, dated and inscribed 'RAZA / 2000 / "KUNDALINI"' and inscribed again in Devnagari (on the reverse)
2000
Acrylic on canvas
59 x 59 in (150 x 150 cm)
PROVENANCE: Property from a Distinguished Private Collection, Mumbai
EXHIBITED:Ashtha Nayak: The Living legends of Indian Contemporary Art , Mumbai: Tao Art Gallery, 21 January - 28 February 2001Modern Indian Art: 12 Contemporary Painters , New York: Saffronart and Pundole Art Gallery, 12-16 May 2001 PUBLISHED: Ian Findlay-Brown ed., Modern Indian Art: 12 Contemporary Painters , New York: Saffronart, 2001 (illustrated)
Category: Painting
Style: Abstract
ARTWORK SIZE:
Height of Figure: 6'