Lot 104

 

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“In my painting everything originates from the real to give an impression of somewhere and nowhere.” - SAKTI BURMAN

Sakti Burman’s iconic marbled effect, which can be seen in the present lot, was arrived at on accident while the artist was working. Recalling the chance discovery he says, “One day, late in the evening, as I was working at home, a drop of water fell on a passage of thick wash... Instantly the pigment layer broke into... “In my painting everything originates from the real to give an impression of somewhere and nowhere.” - SAKTI BURMAN

Sakti Burman’s iconic marbled effect, which can be seen in the present lot, was arrived at on accident while the artist was working. Recalling the chance discovery he says, “One day, late in the evening, as I was working at home, a drop of water fell on a passage of thick wash... Instantly the pigment layer broke into hundreds of tiny particles creating a surface of marvellous iridescent texture.” (The artist quoted in Kishore Singh, “All Aboard the Ark of Sakti Burman’s Dreamworld”, Sakti Burman: The Wonder of It All, Mumbai: Pundole Art Gallery and Chennai: Apparao Galleries, 2012, p. 50) From this, Burman developed a new textural technique, creating drama by placing his figures “against a speckled, and intensely colourful, dappled background, which is like a stamp - lakshana, if one so likes - of his work” in the words of art historian B N Goswamy. (B N Goswamy, “The Wonder of it All”, Sakti Burman: The Wonder of It All , Mumbai: Pundole Art Gallery and Chennai: Apparao Galleries, 2012, p. 7)

Figuration is central to Sakti Burman’s oeuvre. His canvases are filled with human and animal forms in infinite iterations much like his lively, peopled childhood home. Explaining why he finds it important to centre his work on the human figure, the artist says, “I made several attempts to give up figurative forms but the impulse to continue painting figures, to focus on humans, their feelings, their myths and legends, proved too strong.” (The artist quoted in Singh, p. 62)

Burman draws his inspiration from real life, keeping up a continuous sketching practice that he compares to note-taking. He says of this practice, “At the airport I make sketches of the fliers who arrive hours before the flights or of the tired transit passengers taking a rest or fast asleep on the couches or leisurely gossipping with fellow travellers or idly reading books or newspapers. These sketches are like notes I make while I am travelling or sitting in a cafe.” (The artist quoted in Singh, p. 51) Memories of his childhood are a very strong influence on Burman. Characters and moods observed at a formative age appear in his compositions frequently. Recollections of spirited revelry in celebratory processions often show up in his compositions as dancing figures, much like the joyous child in the present lot. Burman elucidates how nostalgia shapes his work, “My childhood memories are always there, mixed up with the realities of the day. In creative art, the role of memory is a recognized fact. But in my case, that of a painter working in a foreign city a vast distance away from his native milieu, memory is doubly potent in sustaining creative life.” (The artist quoted in “Roots Into A Splendid Crown”, Manasij Majumder, Sakti Burman: Dreamer on the Ark, Mumbai: Pundole Art Gallery, 2001, p. 49)

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