Page 187 - Manifest September 2024

Lot No. 106

AKBAR PADAMSEE

1928-2020
UNTITLED
35.5 x 23.5 in (90.2 x 59.7 cm)
Oil on canvas
2004
Signed & Dated: Top Left
` 20,00,000 - 30,00,000 | $ 24,390 - 36,585
Provenance: Property from an international collection

Padamsee’s distinct style of portraiture
evolved throughout his artistic career. What
started as sculptural forms in the 1950s
with dark outlines soon grew to be solitary,
melancholic figures that often merged
with their backgrounds. His subjects were
ponderous, monumental figures, aiding in
Padamsee’s exploration of space within
which they existed. Prominent in his portrait
oeuvre were female figures such as the
presented lot. Although these portraits
lend a certain vulnerability to the subject,
the figures seem to remain distant and
unbothered by others’ gaze. The utilisation of
the rich red and orange tones, synonymous
with Padamsee’s metascapes, too lends the
portrait a sombreness and mystery.