Important Notice

A STORY OF FRIENDSHIP AND ADMIRATION
AN ARTISTIC EXCHANGE BETWEEN AKBAR PADAMSEE AND ADI DAVIERWALLA

In the 1960s, Akbar Padamsee and his fellow artist Adi Davierwalla - both among the first few Indian artists to be awarded fellowships by the Rockefeller Foundation in New York - each expressed a wish to acquire art by the other. They decided to exchange an artwork, which was a hallmark of artists from the Progressive... A STORY OF FRIENDSHIP AND ADMIRATION
AN ARTISTIC EXCHANGE BETWEEN AKBAR PADAMSEE AND ADI DAVIERWALLA

In the 1960s, Akbar Padamsee and his fellow artist Adi Davierwalla - both among the first few Indian artists to be awarded fellowships by the Rockefeller Foundation in New York - each expressed a wish to acquire art by the other. They decided to exchange an artwork, which was a hallmark of artists from the Progressive Artists' Group and their contemporaries, as a gesture of support and mutual admiration to encourage artistic expression.

Davierwalla selected an enigmatic 1962 oil on canvas painting by Padamsee (lot 32), which depicts the portrait of a woman set against a gestural landscape. When he came across this painting in later years, Padamsee seemed inexplicably drawn to it as it held a special significance for the artist. In exchange for this painting, Padamsee chose a beautiful 14-inch 1961 bronze sculpture by Davierwalla titled Fleurs du Mal (lot 33). Both artists cherished these works, which stayed in their respective collections for much of their lives, and represent a special connection of friendship and respect between two great artists.

"It seems to me that it is not possible to ever exhaust all possibilities of imaging the human head, each similar and yet so dissimilar. My ardent search is for a look, a gaze, an expression, a stance and a placement." - AKBAR PADAMSEE

Akbar Padamsee explored figuration throughout his artistic career, from classical forms in his early works to subtle, melancholic portraits in later years. Although his style and technique evolved, his attitude towards the genre remained constant. Skilfully bringing the emotions and thoughts of his subjects to the surface, he maintained an integrity that layers his works with complexity and meaning. Often solitary and rarely identifiable, the faces in his portraits are nonetheless real, exhibiting and evoking emotions that define the human experience. "I draw my figures and forms from the world that I know intimately, but viewers also find there is a sense of detachment or alienation in them. My figures are not heroic creatures, nor are they angst-ridden, shattered beings. They exist, and on their flesh and bones is stamped the experience of living." (Artist quoted in an interview with Paromita Chakrabarti, The Indian Express, 20 September 2015, online)

In the 1950s and 60s, Padamsee travelled from India to Europe and back, encountering diverse terrains and people. His landscapes of these years are not depictions of particular places - "rather than an intent to describe the natural world per se, the artist's object was the total conceptual and metaphysical ken of his visual environment, with his paintings impressing an immediate perceptual experience that relied on expression and sensation rather than realist recognition." (Beth Citron, "Akbar Padamsee's Artistic Landscape of the '60s," Bhanumati Padamsee and Annapurna Garimella eds., Akbar Padamsee: Work in Language, Mumbai: Marg Publications and Pundole Art Gallery, 2010, p. 195) During this period, the female forms he painted evolved from what he terms the elemental to the "physical," followed by larger works with less defined forms in the late 1950s. By this time, he had garnered international attention as an artist, participating in the Venice Biennale in 1953, and the Tokyo Biennale and Sao Paulo Biennale in 1959. In 1960, a year after he moved from Paris to Mumbai, he created a series of monochromatic grey paintings that would firmly establish him as one of India's modern masters. Among these paintings was Grey Nude, 1960, where he introduced the figure into the genre of landscape using the medium of grey plastic emulsion.

The present lot features a figure, placed slightly off-centre, dominating the canvas. Juxtaposed against layered planes and swatches of red, brown and grey, the composition makes Padamsee's interests in form and structure evident. "Lone figures have allowed him the possibility for exploring the formal and existential meaning of space and the location of the human in it. Singular males or females appear to work on the canvas like architecture does to populate and perhaps acculturate a terrain. That is why his portraits... endow a monumentality and ponderousness to the figures." (Padamsee and Garimella eds., p. 90)

Literary critic and journalist Sham Lal wrote of this period, "It is always the composition of planes and colours which give form to what Padamsee has to say. This becomes all the more clear in his paintings of 1961 and 1962 It is not only the richer design of these paintings but their more mellow use of colour which distinguishes them from Padamsee's earlier work." (Shamlal, "Akbar Padamsee," Padamsee, Sadanga Series on Modern and Contemporary Indian Art, Mumbai: Vakils & Sons Pvt. Ltd., 1964, p. 8)

The present lot is an outstanding example of Padamsee's investigations into the role and interplay of form, light, colour and texture, which are not only stylistic choices, but contribute to the painting's mood and meaning. More conceptual than the artist's works from the previous decade, the paintings of this period also employ a limited palette, continuing from the grey works. Here, the solitary female figure, painted with vibrant brushstrokes, faces the viewer. Writing about similar works, Homi Bhabha said that although the eyes do not look back, "...this illusive, enigmatic look is what gives the work its presence... the look here, is not the kind that makes the spectator feel immediately identified. It invites and at the same time elides his look, so it is more like a gaze." ("Figure and Shadow: Conversations on the Illusive Art of Akbar Padamsee," Padamsee and Garimella eds., p. 46)

Padamsee believed that portrayals of lone figures are charged with expression, even more so in paintings where only the face is situated within spaces glimmering with infinite possibilities. In works such as the present lot, the artist sought to reveal the innermost thoughts, emotions and complexities of his subjects with reverence, recognising the universality of human emotions beneath the surface. According to Ranjit Hoskote, "Padamsee has almost always treated portraiture as a pretext, approaching it only to leave it behind. His aim is to allude to the human face in the border zone between likeness and presence Thus, the face marks the site of many encounters and identifications for Padamsee... In gazing at these apparently remote figures, we confront our own predicaments, are returned to the loom of time." ("The Ricochet of the Line," Akbar Padamsee: Drawings, Watercolours, Photographs, Mumbai: Pundole Art Gallery, 2004, pp. 4-5)

THE SAFFRONART FOUNDATION

In 2020, as we look back on two decades of Saffronart - having created a transformation in the way we get access to, learn about and acquire art - we find ourselves at the crossroads of our collective future. Rather than celebrating past accomplishments of creating a successful virtual business, we must navigate the path that lies ahead, one that is paved with uncertainty for all of us, but particularly for those marginalised by the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its cascading fall-out.

Although there are economic challenges, now is the time to garner resources and develop a platform to help those in need. Keeping this in mind, we have decided to expand the resources and efforts of the Saffronart Foundation, a non-profit organisation which was set up as the result of a project at the Aspen Institute over a decade ago. The foundation has since funded initiatives rooted in the arts to support a range of efforts - education and food sustenance for children in community education centres in a Mumbai slum; food, medicines, and clothing for those in need during natural disasters across India; and educational programmes in marginalised communities. In addition, the foundation has supported artistic endeavours that have the ability to bring people together and bridge socio-political divides, such as the Kochi Biennale, the pavilion at the Venice Biennale spearheaded by the Gujral foundation, and much more.

Entering this new decade, our commitment to and belief in the impact of art is stronger than ever. The Saffronart Foundation is focused on supporting projects at the intersection of culture and social change, where artistic skill serves as an enabler to educate, raise awareness, and garner resources to enhance living conditions and empower disadvantaged communities. We also envision a society in which art flourishes - where people have access to creative expression and artmaking; there is sustainable economic development for art and craft communities; and using art to urge people to live in peaceful co-existence.

Parting with art is never easy for collectors. The works that we have acquired so thoughtfully and lived with for years become a part of our story and journey. However, we know that we are fortunate to be able to contribute. The proceeds from the sale of this painting will support the philanthropic efforts of the Saffronart Foundation, bringing us one step closer to doing our part towards positive change.

- MINAL AND DINESH VAZIRANI

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