Reena Saini Kallat
(1973)
Untitled (Sword Swallower)
The present lot belongs to a suite of works created by Reena Saini Kallat in 2004-05. Collectively titled Sword Swallower, each is an assemblage of six panels arranged vertically on a wooden base, reminiscent of memorial columns. The first panel is a larger portrait of ordinary people - here, a schoolgirl - below which are a series of colourful visuals, structured almost like a comic strip, which "may be read as scans of a revealed...
The present lot belongs to a suite of works created by Reena Saini Kallat in 2004-05. Collectively titled Sword Swallower, each is an assemblage of six panels arranged vertically on a wooden base, reminiscent of memorial columns. The first panel is a larger portrait of ordinary people - here, a schoolgirl - below which are a series of colourful visuals, structured almost like a comic strip, which "may be read as scans of a revealed anatomy, the interior of a body racked by the demons of poverty, state oppression and religious discrimination... [The works] could also be seen as addressing the rampant trend towards demonising the other in every conflict at all levels, which forces us to perceive the world through screens of demonology." (Nancy Adajania, "Screens of Demonology," reenakallat.com, 2005, online) The demons, according to Adajania, appear to be caricatures and are inspired by the asuras in Kangra miniatures.
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Lot
20
of
47
CONTEMPORARY INDIAN ART: A SELECTION FROM THE AMAYA COLLECTION
Estimate
Rs 5,00,000 - 6,00,000
Winning Bid
Rs 5,17,500
ARTWORK DETAILS
Reena Saini Kallat Untitled (Sword Swallower)
2004
This work comparises six panels with top panel measuring 28 x 22 in (71.1 x 55.8 cm) and remaining panels measuring 7.75 x 22 in (19.7 x 55.8 cm)
EXHIBITEDBlack Flute , Mumbai: Gallery Chemould, 8 - 23 October 2004Black Flute (And Other Stories) , New Delhi: Nature Morte, 22 January - 1 February 2005India Express: Sacred and Popular Culture , Helsinki: Art Museum Tennis Palace, 2 March - 30 July 2006New Narratives: Contemporary Art from India , Chicago: Chicago Cultural Centre, 21 July - 23 September 2007; Salina: Salina Art Center, 5 January - 16 March 2008; New Brunswick: Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, 12 April - 31 July 2008Reena Saini Kallat , Mumbai: Gallery Chemould and New Delhi: Nature Morte, 2005 (illustrated) Reena Saini Kallat: Rainbow of Refuse, Mumbai and Singapore: Bodhi Art, 2006, p. 10 (installation view)India Express: Sacred and Popular Culture , Helsinki: Helsinki City Art Museum, 2006, p. 107 (illustrated)
Category: Painting
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