Important Notice

Khakhar's late entry into the art world did not, in any way, render his works aesthetically or culturally less significant than his already-established contemporaries. Self-training perhaps worked in his favour; his incorporation of bright colours for portraying what he construed to be "the poor taste and bleak existence" (Amrita Jhaveri, A Guide to 101 Modern & Contemporary Indian Artists, Mumbai: India Book House Pvt. Ltd., 2005, p44) of the... Khakhar's late entry into the art world did not, in any way, render his works aesthetically or culturally less significant than his already-established contemporaries. Self-training perhaps worked in his favour; his incorporation of bright colours for portraying what he construed to be "the poor taste and bleak existence" (Amrita Jhaveri, A Guide to 101 Modern & Contemporary Indian Artists, Mumbai: India Book House Pvt. Ltd., 2005, p44) of the people he chose to represent gave his works a unique touch.

In the 80s, Khakhar began addressing homosexuality in his art. Though this work is undated, the two men portrayed here show physical proximity, albeit attempting to keep things clandestine. The blurring of facial expressions of the man on the right, and the hood thrown over the man on the left, as well as his left arm disappearing below (and out of) the frame, clearly indicate this. For Khakhar's art, "The most striking change was that his art became explicitly confessional, as often as not including self-portrayal...and frequently naked...But in this and subsequent pictures, the self is always juxtaposed to the world; the self interrogates, and is interrogated by, the world." (Timothy Hyman, "Sexuality and the Self", Bhupen Khakhar, Mumbai: Chemould Publications and Arts, 1998, p68)

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