Important Notice

Since his first solo show at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay in 1951, Jehangir Sabavala`s career as an artist has evolved and flourished. Today, with more than fifty years of painting behind him, Sabavala does not pause to survey the past, but continues to push forward in his artistic quest to find lyricism and serenity in a seemingly irredeemable world. Sabavala`s biographer, Ranjit Hoskote dubs these recent canvases “occasions of light, picked out... Since his first solo show at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay in 1951, Jehangir Sabavala`s career as an artist has evolved and flourished. Today, with more than fifty years of painting behind him, Sabavala does not pause to survey the past, but continues to push forward in his artistic quest to find lyricism and serenity in a seemingly irredeemable world. Sabavala`s biographer, Ranjit Hoskote dubs these recent canvases “occasions of light, picked out and marked against the pervasive darkness of our times” (The Crucible of Painting: The Art of Jehangir Sabavala, Eminence Designs, 2005, p. 168).

The present lot, titled Citron Orb, is testament to this description. Here, using his characteristic intersecting planes of colour, Sabavala captures a moment of great beauty in a desert landscape. Instead of an arid or bleak scene, the artist focuses his viewers` attention on the resilience of life and loveliness, even in the most damning circumstances. Focused through the space between two sand dunes, the sunlight brilliantly illuminates the leaves of a tall palm. In the words of the artist, “A great orb rises or sets as you may wish to interpret it. The rims of the dunes are lit. But it is the palm tree with its green center, that holds the secret of life and rejuvenation – even in an arid world” (Jehangir Sabavala, Mumbai, May 2007).

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