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ôThe throbbing multiplicity of life in its myriad hues is manifest in the large body of SinghÆs figurative works. At first it seems like an enchanted world where objects, humans, and vegetation are all imbued with a magical lifeàFruits, flowers, boats, and figures all achieve an equal significance in animated manifestations. They dissolve into one another, life metamorphosing into life, creating a magical symbiosisö (Yashodhara Dalmia, ôArpita... ôThe throbbing multiplicity of life in its myriad hues is manifest in the large body of SinghÆs figurative works. At first it seems like an enchanted world where objects, humans, and vegetation are all imbued with a magical lifeàFruits, flowers, boats, and figures all achieve an equal significance in animated manifestations. They dissolve into one another, life metamorphosing into life, creating a magical symbiosisö (Yashodhara Dalmia, ôArpita Singh: Of Mother Goddesses and Womenö, Expressions and Evocations: Contemporary Women Artists of India, Marg Publications, Mumbai, 1996, p. 70). <br><br> The present lot, one of SinghÆs earliest paintings, was exhibited at the artistÆs first solo show at the Kunika Chemould Gallery, New Delhi, in 1972. Straddling the thin line between the real and the surreal, actuality and fantasy, the artist paints a vivid domestic scene here, where family members share the frame with flora, fauna and furniture. In a setting that is neither interior nor exterior, and that distorts scale and perspective, these elements come together create a whimsical narrative that engages viewers by provoking them to imagine their lives and the relationships they share. <br><br> Speaking about her work from the early 1970s, Richard Bartholomew noted that SinghÆs paintings communicated a sense of ôàdisconcerting familiarity and of quiet which is the hallmark of surrealismàIn fact, the paraphernalia of her work û the imagery û is in æsuspenseÆ, strung and sprung, as it were, to change pace and sensation at the slightest emotive identification and response from the spectator. All this is reinforced with an impressive continuity and consistency of theme and imageryö (as quoted in Arpita Singh, Pundole Art Gallery exhibition catalogue, 1976, not paginated).

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