Important Notice

Bhupen Khakhar's paintings were often autobiographical in nature, and he frequently placed himself as the subject of his works. In the late 1980s and early '90s, Khakhar suffered from cataracts, which led him to paint with a loose, blurry style of brushwork as a result of his deteriorating eyesight. He made works similar to the present lot, where the central figure was bombarded by a flurry of floating or piercing forms. This even included a... Bhupen Khakhar's paintings were often autobiographical in nature, and he frequently placed himself as the subject of his works. In the late 1980s and early '90s, Khakhar suffered from cataracts, which led him to paint with a loose, blurry style of brushwork as a result of his deteriorating eyesight. He made works similar to the present lot, where the central figure was bombarded by a flurry of floating or piercing forms. This even included a poignant self?portrait depicting the figure's eyes riddled with several tiny arrows.

During this later phase of his career, Khakhar's images became simplified and reduced, as seen in the present lot. "Translucent, unmixed colors - air blues, pinks, greens and yellows, sometimes against a blaze of untouched white background - appear brushed on in one shot, without overlays or revisions, and the forms seem free to situate themselves in the world without anxiety, without gravity, in an instant of momentous clarity." (Kamala Kapoor, "A Subversive Rasa," Timothy Hyman, Enrique Juncosa, Adil Jussawala et al, Bhupen Khakhar: A Retrospective, Mumbai: National Gallery of Modern Art, The Estate of the Artist and The Fine Art Resource, 2003, p. 18)

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