Lot 1319
  • 1319

Avinash Chandra (1931 - 1991)

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Avinash Chandra
  • Untitled
  • Oil on board
  • 36 by 60 in. (91 by 152.5 cm.)
  • Painted circa 1960s

Provenance

Property from the estate of Avinash Chandra, Osborne Samuel, London

Acquired from the above

Condition

Small pins have been hammered into the board to attach it to the stretcher, which are visible around the edges of the work and have associated paint loss. There are minor flecks of paint loss particularly in areas of impasto and small surface accretions only visible on close inspection.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

'His life was art, his work was art and his pleasure was art' (Valerie Murray-Chandra, Avinash Chandra, A Retrospective, London, 2006, p. 5.)

Chandra is known for his abstracted yet sexualized representations of the female body although he began his career painting Indian landscapes and townscapes. He was the youngest ever artist to be offered an exhibition by the Progressive Artist's Group, and was eventually awarded first prize at the Lalit Kala Akademi in 1955.When he moved permanently from New Delhi to London in 1956, he continued to develop works around the theme of landscapes and townscapes with rounded hills and whirling suns for another decade. Chandra had his first British one-man exhibition at the Imperial Institute in 1957 and it was well received. In 1962, the BBC produced a television documentary titled ‘Art of Avinash Chandra’ that brought the artist further recognition. By the middle of the 1960s Chandra’s work had become increasingly focused on the female form, and he went on to produce many oils and drawings in coloured inks with interlocking abstract figures teeming with sexual imagery. In 1964, Chandra was commissioned to make a fibre-glass mural for the Indian Tea Centre in London and a glass mural for The Chappell Music Publishing Company in 1966. Chandra was the first Indian British artist to be featured at the Tate Gallery in London when they purchased his painting ‘Hills of Gold’. In 1965, Chandra was awarded a John D. Rockefeller Fund Fellowship and in 1967 he moved to New York where he held several exhibitions on the East coast until his return to London in 1973.

In the case of this painting, his work references Post Impressionism, by flattening the picture planes and emphasizing the materiality of paint. This work is richly layered, with the careful use of colour that lends the painting an air of intensity. 'His are "symbolic presences", however a personal symbolism that is open and non-particular' (Mohini Tandon in the Hindustan Times, cited in Dr Rachel Garfield, Avinash Chandra, A Retrospective, London, 2006, p. 12.) This work is a wonderful example of Chandra's brilliant use of symbolism and colour.