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Lot 92

 

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Lots 92, 93 and 94 are part of Kriti Arora's Road Builders series, inspired by a trip to her ancestral home in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2004, when she came across a group of Bihari road builders. "My mother and I were driving to Chutumail, where the last India- Pakistan war took place. At the Zhojilla pass between 14,000 to 18,000 feet we saw these men and were not sure whether they were army or militants. As we drove close we... Lots 92, 93 and 94 are part of Kriti Arora's Road Builders series, inspired by a trip to her ancestral home in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2004, when she came across a group of Bihari road builders. "My mother and I were driving to Chutumail, where the last India- Pakistan war took place. At the Zhojilla pass between 14,000 to 18,000 feet we saw these men and were not sure whether they were army or militants. As we drove close we realized they were Bihari road builders. These men covered in tar working at high altitude surrounded by a barren landscape was such a striking image that I felt compelled to capture their emotions..." (Artist quoted on paletteartgallery.com, online)

In these works, Arora sculpts the figures of these men, as well as their tools and equipment, in fibreglass, further encased in tar. By using the very material involved in their laborious job to highlight and reconstruct their plight, Arora seeks to cleverly and poignantly confront the state of their poverty and marginalisation in a literal fashion. Her "figures are intentionally ambiguous, reflecting her own initial uncertainty about the nature of these figures as she first saw them on the pass. Their clothing has a military slant yet their despondent faces and emaciated features suggest a deeper uncertainty and isolation. Yet as road builders they create the social arteries by which the region can survive and potentially prosper, as such they are symbols of a new future. The road builders are therefore metaphorical creatures. Dressed in warm, sometimes voluminous jackets and coats, they combine forlornness, darkness with a sense of detachment... they are valedictory creatures straddling two ambivalent universes. Hallucinations of horror and yet brave fighters, who are helping create linkages, building bridges in this strife-torn country and also, helping build a bridge between the instinctive chaos that marks so much of our lives." (Robin Dean, paletteartgallery.com, online)

"In the art world, his name is already written in stone. To some he is the greatest thing that ever happened to contemporary art." - COLIN GLEADELL

Of the many achievements that Charles Saatchi is known for, perhaps the most notable include his considerable influence in the world of contemporary art and his famous art collection. From transforming the British art scene to setting up the internationally renowned Saatchi Gallery, which has housed the likes of Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Damien Hirst and innumerable masters, Saatchi's impact on the art market is undeniable.

The Baghdad-born collector emigrated to London with his family at a young age, and his childhood years were spent obsessed with American pop culture. His first encounter with art - a Jackson Pollock painting at the MoMA in New York - was "life changing." (Quoted in Deborah Solomon, "The Collector," The New York Times, 26 September 1999, online) At 18, Saatchi joined an advertising firm as a copywriter, and eventually started his own advertising agency with his brother in 1970, which grew to be one of the largest advertising companies globally by 1986.

In the meantime, Saatchi had already begun his foray into art collecting, purchasing his first piece of art - a drawing by Sol LeWitt - in his early 20s. By 1985, he had opened Saatchi Gallery in a converted paint factory, transformed by architect Max Gordon into "30,000 square feet of dazzling whiteness tucked behind imposing gray gates on Boundary Road." (Solomon, online) Its inaugural exhibition featured works by Donald Judd, Brice Marden, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol, from Saatchi's own collection.

In the 1990s, Saatchi's interest shifted from American minimalism to British art, and he curated the first exhibition of the Young British Artist collective at the Saatchi Gallery in 1992. It is a well-established fact that Saatchi's patronage of the YBAs, which included artists Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas and Tracey Emin, was instrumental in their development and recognition, catapulting their careers into international markets. "Saatchi had put London on the map as a rival to contemporary art hubs such as Berlin, Paris and New York, and changed the face of the country's cultural scene at a time when modern art in Britain was limited to the exclusive enjoyment of a select few." (Laura French, "The Story of Charles Saatchi," European CEO, 11 March 2015, online)

In 2010 - after three major exhibitions, including The Revolution Continues: New Art from China and Unveiled: New Art from the Middle East, at the Saatchi Gallery's new premises at the Duke of York's Headquarters in London - the gallery turned its focus to India, hosting The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today. Featuring 26 contemporary South Asian artists, this international exhibition showcased both emerging and established artists, including Jitish Kallat, Reena Saini Kallat, L N Tallur, Sakshi Gupta, Atul Dodiya, Tushar Joag, and many more. One of the largest of its kind, this exhibition arrived on the heels of a global recession, addressing concerns about the cultural and economic complexities of 21st century India.

The same year, Saatchi announced that he was donating the Saatchi Gallery and over 200 works of art to the British public. Since then, it has been one of the most visited art museums in the world with over 1.5 million visitors, according to a 2014 survey compiled by The Art Newspaper.

The present lot was part of The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today.

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