Lot 52: Untitled

GULAM MOHAMMED SHEIKH (B. 1937)
Untitled
signed and dated in Gujrati 'Gulam Mohammed Sheikh '69' (lower right)
gouache on paper
17¾ x 14¾ in. (45 x 37.5 cm.)
Painted in 1969

Sheikh was instrumental in initiating the Narrative-Figurative tendency in contemporary Indian art. This mystical landscape, with its organic forms and vibrant psychedelic colors, is informed by a consciousness of the surreal in the seemingly mundane. Upon closer inspection one notices miniaturized faces and winged human and mythical forms within the painting. The kneeling figure in the foreground is that of an ascetic, who seems to be in dialogue with the foliage around him while two smaller figures are seated to the lower right. This painting is a collage where the smaller composition within in a vibrant, colorful framework.