Lot 61: JITISH KALLAT

JITISH KALLAT B.1974 SUFFIX (HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL) - 3 Titled 'SUFFIX (herbaceous perennial) - 3' upper left and inscribed '2006-07 JITISH KALLAT SUFFIX (HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL) - 3' on reverse Acrylic and glitter on canvas, painted fibreglass (chicken feet) 236.2 by 162.5 by 25.4 cm. (93 by 64 by 10 in.)

Bodhi Art, 2007

From the dynamic streets of Mumbai, Jitish Kallat has emerged as one of the most original artists of his generation. Shortly after graduating from the prestigious Sir J. J. School of Art where many of India's visionary Progressive Artist's Group members such as Tyeb Mehta, F. N. Souza and M. F. Husain studied, Kallat started to exhibit his works at prominent galleries and exhibition spaces.

Rendered with a stylised drawing that absorbs elements of realism caricature, graffiti and pop art, Kallat's large scale canvases tend to be semi-autobiographical but hint at more universal themes. His works appear to be pictorial quests that seek to answer the riddles of contemporary urban India. Elements of Indian culture including films, political posters and large advertising billboards are used as material in his work and are resurrected as a visual collage, from which he paints his canvases.

'Mr. Kallat's work has affinities with many elements in Indian culture, from film and political posters to the contemporary paintings of Atul Dodiya. The tart palette slightly resembles Andy Warhol's, and the grainy, low-resolution visual texture smacks of digital imagery, though Mr. Kallat's pictures are too personal to qualify as Pop and are executed almost entirely by hand...' (Holland Cotter, Jitish Kallat, Private Limited, "Art in Review," November 12th, 1999)

In this work, human faces are morphed into the petals of the three flowers, seeming innocuous from afar, but faintly threatening up close. In doing so, Kallat is encouraging a new visual enviroment for the glaring issues of child labour, poverty and corruption that remain prevalent in India today.

In 2005, Kallat had a significant breakthrough in his art when he began to utilize gargoyles to prop his paintings against the wall. This idea has now manifested itself into the sculptures of chicken feet that hold up this canvas.