Lot 20: Head

Ravinder Reddy (b. 1956)
Head
painted and gilded polyester-resin fibreglass
18¾ x 12 x 17½ in. (47.6 x 30.5 x 44.5 cm.)

Property of a Private Collection, Europe
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.
Exploring the co-existence of the traditional and the contemporary, Ravinder Reddy's brightly hued and outsized depictions of women are ruminations on sexual, religious and cultural identity. Reddy's visual cues emanate from the brilliant idols of Hindu and Buddhist temples in Nepal while the wide eyed expressions are influenced by the enamelled eyes of cultic images in Nathadwara or Mathura. However, he is equally adept at referencing artists from Fernando Botero to Jeff Koons. Even his choice of media reflect this dichotmy where the traditional elements of clay, plaster and gold leaf, give way to fibreglass and enamel paint.
Contemporising images of traditional Indian goddesses, the sculptures possess many of the characteristics of Pop Art, drawing attention away from their Hindu origins to focus on surface and decoration. Yet the artist cleverly imbues his sculptures with a sense of serenity as the brash faces remain docile and oddly domestic. Reddy's works address issues of femininity and beauty, suggesting both the societal pressure to look beautiful through makeup, clothing and hair styling, and yet maintain a reverence for and adherence to tradition.