Important Notice

The present lot, one of the last works Bhupen Khakhar painted before his death in 2003, is deeply influenced by the Buddhist imagery and culture he encountered on an artists' trip to Sri Lanka earlier that year, and also, perhaps, by his eventual coming to terms with the cancer he was suffering from. "Toward the end of his career as he fought against prostate cancer he painted human bodies that were violated by disease, war and violence,... The present lot, one of the last works Bhupen Khakhar painted before his death in 2003, is deeply influenced by the Buddhist imagery and culture he encountered on an artists' trip to Sri Lanka earlier that year, and also, perhaps, by his eventual coming to terms with the cancer he was suffering from. "Toward the end of his career as he fought against prostate cancer he painted human bodies that were violated by disease, war and violence, interspersed with the experiences of tender, fearless calm. Painting such as Beauty is Skin Deep Only (2001), Bullet Shot in the Stomach (2001) and others such as Grey Buddha (2003) and Golden Curtain (2003) point to an oscillation between violation of the body and a meditative calmness" (Shivaji K. Panikker, "An Art Historian's Appreciation", Bhupen Khakhar, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi).

Exhibited in Khakhar's last solo exhibition held at Sarjan Gallery, in his adopted hometown of Vadodara, this watercolour "...revealed a more philosophical, meditative and tranquil vision, inspired by a two-week workshop with other artist friends at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Buddhist motifs of inward-looking 'avalokiteswaras' or a quiet 'flight of the soul' populate these canvases, resplendent in luminous red and gold, marking a dramatic shift from his almost 40 years of quizzical interrogation of human frailties, while challenging the demands of sexual austerity" (Sadanand Menon, "You Can't Please All", The Hindu, 14 September, 2003).

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