Page 234 - AstaGuru Masters Legacy April 2024
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J Swaminathan’s                                                                            Large Scale Works





                                                              ~        Significant works sold      in  past auctions                                                 ~










                                                                                                                                                                                                  Swaminathan’s  paintings  are  an  alternative
                                                                                                                                                                                                  pictorial space that combine purely
                                                                                                                                                                                                  conceptual  landscapes  with  bright  colour
                                                                                                                                                                                                  fields with oft recurring mountains, stretches
                                                                                                                                                                                                  of water, trees, diagonally levitating stones
                                                                                                                                                                                                  and archetypal bird form. In his paintings of
                                                                                                                                                                                                  the ‘90’s, the eminent artist broke away from
                                                                                                                                                                                                  his earlier well ordered colour and geometry,
                                                                                                                                                                                                  going back to retrieve the pristine freshness
                                                                                                                                                                                                  of symbols as used in tribal art, applying the
                                                                                                                                                                                                  pigments with his fingers. He pondered about
                                                                                                                                                                                                  the way of life and translated his experiences
                                                                                                                                                                                                  onto the canvas. Although riding on an
                                                                                                                                                                                                  astute theme his paintings are simplistic and
                                                                                                                                                                                                  captivating. The ambiguous imagery and
                                                                                                                                                                                                  emerging hues chronicle the thrust of light in
                                                                                                                                                                                                  comparison to the darkness.
                     UNTITLED                                        UNTITLED                                                             UNTITLED
                     65.4 x 65.4 in (166 x 166 cm)                   67.7 x 67.7 in (172 x 172 cm)                                        65 x 65 in (122 x 167.5 cm)
                     Oil on canvas, 1992 (PRESENTED LOT)             Oil on canvas, 1993                                                  Mixed media on canvas, 1992





















                     THE ALTAR (TRIPTYCH)                                                                                                 UNTITLED                                        UNTITLED
                     60 x 180 in (152.4 x 457.2 cm)                                                                                       50 x 69 in (126.7 x 175 cm)                     57.4 x 89 in (146 x 226.1 cm)
                     Oil on canvas, 1998                                                                                                  Oil on canvas, 1993                             Oil on canvas, 1991
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