Page 98 - Manifest September 2024

Lot No. 52

MANJIT BAWA

1941-2008
UNTITLED
36 x 36 in (91.4 x 91.4 cm)
Oil on canvas
1999
Signed & Dated: Verso
` 3,00,00,000 - 4,00,00,000
$ 365,854 - 487,805
Provenance: Property from a collection based
in Mumbai. Artwork was acquired by the present
owner directly from the artist

Manjit Bawa, born in 1941 in Dhuri, Punjab, was
one of India’s most celebrated modernist artists.
He started his education in Fine Art at the College
of Art in New Delhi and later furthered his studies
in serigraphy at the London School of Printing.
From 1967 to 1971, Bawa worked as a printmaker
in London, a period during which he also held his
debut solo exhibitions in London and Spain. He
later joined the printmaking department at Bharat
Bhavan in Bhopal, following an invitation from his
fellow artist Jagdish Swaminathan. His background
in serigraphy and printmaking greatly influenced his
future painting style.
Bawa received international acclaim for his
extraordinary ability to use colour and his creation of
otherworldly, floating forms. His art drew on diverse
influences, including mythology, Rajput miniature
paintings, music, and literature, leading him to create
a distinctive visual language. Although his works
were mostly figurative, the subjects often took up
minimal space amid broad areas of unusual colour,
giving his pieces a tranquil, almost spiritual quality.