Lot 31: ARPITA SINGH

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTOR B. 1937 THREAT Signed and dated 'ARPITA SINGH / 91' lower right Oil on canvasboard 92.1 by 92.1 cm. (36 ¼ by 36 ¼ in.) Painted in 1991

New Delhi, Lalit Kala Akademi Gallery, Ways Of Resistance, 2002

Christie's New York, 17 September, 2003, lot 184

In contrast to Arpita Singh’s other humorous, yet often subversive works, this painting is a stark representation of fear and confusion in the face of an advancing threat. Inspired by, and as a reaction to the rise of communalism within India and the Gulf War in 1991, the scene depicts three women, united by grief, watched by unaffected uniform-clad oppressors. Whilst some of her works are known for featuring intentional and descriptive borders that complete the painting, Threat contains no such imagery, instead incorporating the prone figures and ephemeral soldiers as semi-margins to the canvas. This creates the idea of an intangibly framed scene with a constantly shifting and flowing narrative, reflective of the emotional upheaval that all those affected by dissidence experience. As commented on by Nilima Sheikh the painting has a "pictorially active edge" which signifies how "the process of completion is usually in itself incomplete." (N. Sheikh, Arpita Singh, Oils and Watercolours, New Delhi, Vadehra Art Gallery, 1994)