Arguably the most critical and definitive decade of Gaitonde’s career, the 1960s marked some of his most meaningful artistic achievements. Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni notes that it was during this period that “Gaitonde is gradually eschewing the accidental element in his work. The play of colour is always in control, with the vertebral forms serving as a disciplining factor. There is an evocative power in these paintings which operates on more than one level: there is a sense of atmosphere, there is an approximation of music and, what is most important, there is a throbbing mystery about the very process of viewing and responding as if one is sucked into some still centre of hitherto unknown experience” (Gaitonde, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, 1983, not paginated).

Emphasizing Gaitonde’s remarkable control over tone, light and structure, in 1965 Roy Craven observed that the artist “…knows what he wants and works with determination to achieve it. His paintings reflect this confidence in that their structure and coloration look just right. Not that they are overly calculated, or dry; they are not. The mark of a true artist is control, the ability to state concisely that which he wishes, but in doing so, not lose the spark of life which brought about the work’s creation. Gai’s works have that spark as well as the control, but they also live a life of their own which reaches out and involves the spectator” (“A Short Report on Contemporary Painting in India”, Art Journal, Vol. 24 No. 3, 1965, p. 229).

One of Gaitonde’s earliest non-objective ‘Untitled’ canvases, this painting from 1961 demonstrates the pairing of ‘spark’ and ‘control’ that Craven wrote about. Here, a few flecks of textured pigment punctuate a deep burgundy ground, seeming simultaneously at rest and in motion, crossing from one edge to the other. At once disturbing and resolving the image, each of these carefully built up and positioned areas of paint mirrors Gaitonde’s profound understanding of the properties and abilities of his medium, which to him was soon to become the sole vehicle of experience for the artist and viewer.

Arguably the most critical and definitive decade of Gaitonde’s career, the 1960s marked some of his most meaningful artistic achievements. Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni notes that it was during this period that “Gaitonde is gradually eschewing the accidental element in his work. The play of colour is always in control, with the vertebral forms serving as a disciplining factor. There is an evocative power in th