Important Notice

Meticulously constructing her canvases out of thick layers of oil paint, which she then manipulates to expose a diversity of subjects and motifs, Arpita Singh unites subject and process to bestow her works with several strata of meaning. Frequently drawing on the public and private lives of women in her work, ôMemories and mappings of dislocations and discoveries, of nostalgia and pain, of excitement and anxiety have surged through her images.... Meticulously constructing her canvases out of thick layers of oil paint, which she then manipulates to expose a diversity of subjects and motifs, Arpita Singh unites subject and process to bestow her works with several strata of meaning. Frequently drawing on the public and private lives of women in her work, ôMemories and mappings of dislocations and discoveries, of nostalgia and pain, of excitement and anxiety have surged through her images. But Arpita Singh also responds to other dynamics in the world, to the interface between time and space, between history and present context. In fact, she absorbs the complexities of the world and represents them in her own distinctive way through the sensuous use of paint and brush, signaling joy, wonder, menace and melancholy in an intricate kaleidoscope of human emotionsö (Ella Datta, ôOf History, Context and Locationö, Arpita Singh: Picture Postcard 2003-2006, Vadehra Art Gallery exhibition catalogue, New Delhi, 2006, p. 1). <br><br> In the present lot, the corpulent figure of a middle-aged woman sits amidst an array of teapots, watering cans and other objects, the detritus of the domestic sphere. Painting her in bright vermillion, however, Singh elevates this figure from the banality of the everyday, weaving a sense of the magical into the mundane. Here, the heaving woman is a goddess, strong and wise, presiding over her world. At the same time, Singh hints at the womanÆs past, her memories and her youth through the flowers she clutches close to her body and the lithe nude that floats overhead. <br><br> Adding a layer of complexity to SinghÆs female subjects, Yashodhara Dalmia notes, ôThe monumental woman who is strong though no longer iconic emerges in her paintings. Her looming presence is a reminder of the archaic mother goddess who with her ancient wisdom ruled the world. The ancient woman is recalled by Singh, for only she with her feminine multiplicity can counter the aggression of the present. She stands for an essential creative principle which has to be safeguarded and preservedö (ôArpita Singh: Of Mother Goddesses and Womenö, Expressions and Evocations: Contemporary Women Artists of India, Marg Publications, Mumbai, 1996, p. 80).

Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in: this auction  |  entire site