Lot 83: JITEN THUKRAL AND SUMIR TAGRA

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE DUTCH COLLECTION B. 1976; B. 1979 SOMNIUM GENERO-MUSC-A Signed, dated and inscribed ' Jiten Thukral Sumir Tagra / THUKRAL & TAGRA / TITLE : SOMNIUM GENERO - musc - a / MEDIUM : ACRYLIC, OIL ON CANVAS / DATED : FEB 2008 / SIZE : 6 x 12 - 6 x 6 + 6 x 6 DIPTYCH' on reverse Acrylic on canvas 182.7 by 182.9 cm. (72 by 72 in.); 183.2 by 182.8 cm. (72 1/8 by 72 in.) Painted in 2008

Nature Morte, Delhi

Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra attended art colleges at a time when foreign media, technology and culture started to infiltrate the Indian economy, influencing their artistic direction. Thukral and Tagra’s collaborative work comprises a wide variety of media including painting, sculpture, installation, video, graphic and product design, websites, music and fashion. Their subject matter is drawn from contemporary life, and is inspired as much by fashion and advertising as by art history. They are among the new generation of young Indian artists who defy easy classification. The current work, painted in 2008, brings together a number of these themes to present a large billboard styled diptych. Indicative of the ‘Somnium Genero’ series, the colour palette is fluorescent, bright and vivid. In a self-referential manner, they have also placed themselves onto the canvas, in their signature video-game avatars. Using various overt and subtle clues, Thukral and Tagra are mischievously commenting on consumerism and the downfall of rapid growth. The presence of shiny gadgets, lamps and an aeroplane are a nod to the progression of technology and commoditization. The foliage and flowers that frame these objects could allude to the opulence and affluence abundant in New Delhi and especially Gurgaon, the area in which they live. The environment around them serves as the inspiration for this work, and the painting is housed with symbols of wealth and status, while remaining aspirational to everyone else with desires for a better life.