MRINALINI MUKHERJEE | Untitled

Acquired directly from the artist in 1997

Small white lines are visible in the grooves and around the edges of the sculpture however these appear inherent to the firing process. Cuts and grooves in the leaves are deliberate and not a condition issue. Minor losses are present along the base. This sculpture is in very good condition, as viewed. Please note the illustration for this lot is incorrectly numbered as lot 91 on page 80 in the printed catalogue.
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.

These works are richly modelled examples of Mukherjee’s most important motif – nature. Throughout her career Mukherjee created multiple variations of flowers and plants in every medium she used. In each of her works she has captured the fluidity and contours of the form, with their conflicting thematic connotations of sexuality, vulnerability, and resilience. As Deepak Ananth states, 'The leading metaphor of Mukherjee's work comes from the organic life of plants. Improvising upon a motif or image that serves as her starting point the work's gradual unfolding itself becomes analogous to the stirring into maturation of a sapling. The resulting forms are instinct with the luxuriance of proliferating root, unfurling leaf, burgeoning flower.' (D. Ananth, ‘Mrinalini Mukherjee: The Knots are many but the thread is one', Art Asia Pacific, Vol 3, No 4, 1996) Mukherjee’s familiarity with the medium was not recent, as her post-diploma in mural design under K. G. Subramanyan at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Baroda in the 1970s would have familiarized her with the technique of using clay and earth as part of her oeuvre. It was in the mid 1990s when Mukherjee started working with ceramics. At first she is known to have experimented with papier mâché during a residency at the Sanskriti Kendra in 1995, but was dissatisfied by its lackluster quality when dry. “Also present were Dutch artists Rob Birza and Bastienne Kramer, who introduced her to the immediacy of clay and the terracotta medium. In 1996, thanks to a residency at the European Ceramics Work Centre, Hertogenbosch, Holland, Mukherjee began to acquaint herself with ceramics, gradually compelling the medium to extend its own limitations. "There they don’t discourage you from doing anything," she told me in an interview in her apartment in 2013. "You may want to do the impossible; they won’t tell you not to do it, they’ll tell you how to start." (https://www.tate.org.uk/tate-etc/issue-41-autumn-2017/lives-of-the-artists-mrinalini-mukherjee-rosalyn-dmello)

Clay and terracotta are not only basic crafts of India and ancient in their origin, but they also represent human creativity in unison with nature. For Mukherjee one might say ceramics, much like for master ceramicists of the earliest times, were a radical new conduit for her to demonstrate her inventiveness to design forms that are testament to her artistic genius.

Mukherjee’s ceramic works are rare and few. Mukherjee states in an interview that it was difficult for her to continue working in ceramic mainly because "facilities were not all there" and that it was "difficult and expensive to arrange" for pieces to be fired correctly, as kilns used for pottery were not always suitable to fire ceramics (S. Ghoshal, ‘Nature as Art: Mrinalini Mukherjee’, Livemint, 8 Nov 2013). As a result, Mukherjee started working with bronze in what was to become the final phase of her career.