Lot 72: ARPITA SINGH (B. 1937)

ARPITA SINGH (B. 1937)
The Ritual
signed and dated 'ARPITA SINGH 89' (upper right) and inscribed 'ARPITA SINGH 'THE RITUAL' NOT FOR SALE' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
66 x 60 1/8 in. (167.6 x 152.8 cm)
Painted in 1989

Christie's Hong Kong, 28 April 2002, lot 98
Sotheby's New York, 22 March 2007, lot 105

At the time this painting was created, Arpita Singh was preoccupied with the notion of human sacrifice in primitive societies. The artist's characteristic imagery has been adapted to communicate an impression of the primordial, seen both in the burly, lumbering figures as well as her specific choice of utensils and objects.
Sometimes I use lines from some favourite poem which has become identified with a painting. Sometimes the numbers and letters symbolize the quotidian to me. But even more than that I love scripts - especially foreign scripts - scripts that I cannot read. I feel that some magic is going to be there. It is the same with all the vratas - the special rituals observed by women in Bengal for the welfare of their families, world prosperity and other female aspirations. There is something so beautiful, magical and mysterious in them.
(In conversation with Srimati Lal, Arpita Singh, exhibition catalogue, New Delhi, 1992)