Important Notice

“I thought painting was like war with the canvas, only later I realised it was not so, that one has to surrender, to start speaking, so that there is a dialogue. This I only understood later.”
– PRABHAKAR BARWE

Prabhakar Barwe was occupied with exploring the nuances of form and space over his artistic career spanning three decades. “A playful relationship exists between form and space. Indeed, what is form in one context becomes... “I thought painting was like war with the canvas, only later I realised it was not so, that one has to surrender, to start speaking, so that there is a dialogue. This I only understood later.”
– PRABHAKAR BARWE

Prabhakar Barwe was occupied with exploring the nuances of form and space over his artistic career spanning three decades. “A playful relationship exists between form and space. Indeed, what is form in one context becomes space in another and vice versa. The boundaries of space are the form; and the existence and feeling within form is space. Form and space are so interlinked that it is difficult to talk of them separately. “ (artist quoted in The Blank Canvas, Mumbai: Bodhana Arts and Research Foundation, 2013, p. 45)

As evident in the present lot, Barwe’s distinctive imagery is based on placing seemingly random objects on an undefined background. Restrained and meditative, these symbols often appear to float in space. Whether a cloudy sky, a leaf, a clock, or a box - these objects, when juxtaposed against each other or their background, subvert their mundane, functional role, and form new configurations. Removed from their original context, the pictorial language presented by these scattered forms and boundless spaces takes on new meaning for each individual viewer. “The fluid relationship between an object, an idea, and its translation into an image became a ‘meta-level’ concern. The works begin to take on a gentle lyricism.” (Amrita Jhaveri, A Guide to 101 Modern & Contemporary Indian Artists, Mumbai: India Book House, 2005, pp. 14-15)

The 1960s were a period of much experimentation for Barwe. “In 1961, Barwe moved to Benares to provide design direction to traditional weavers at the Weavers’ Service Centre. Here, he was influenced by Tantric philosophy, incorporating its imagery into his art: the twin triangles, the elliptical form suggesting an open seed, and small spherical entities - standard symbols of Tantra - were brought together in simple but inventive ways.” (Jhaveri, p. 14)

Additionally, he explored “elements of Pop Art and Indian folk art in this period. Barwe worked on collages using broken glass, and experimented with the format of playing cards… Eclectic motifs and symbols are suspended in space, and the viewer is expected to make the relevant connections between them.” (Jhaveri, p. 14) These preoccupations are evident in the present lot which features an artificial eye pasted on canvas amidst several floating shapes, inviting the viewer to interpret the larger image as per their own understanding.

Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in: this auction  |  entire site