The Rebel and the Raconteur

Christie’s maiden sale in Mumbai, last year, scored the highest price for an artwork ever sold in India. As the auction house readies for round two this month, we smuggle out two of our favourite pieces from their treasure, and bring you the story behind the masters and the masterpieces.

Christie’s overwhelming debut in Mumbai set new benchmarks in the way the world perceived and purchased Indian art. Now, the London-based auction house is back with its second edition, to be held on December 11 at The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai. The sale will feature masterpieces by the doyens of Indian art, including Tyeb Mehta, Jehangir Sabavala and Bhupen Khakhar.

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Alongside these, a separate section of contemporary works by artists like Subodh Gupta, Rashid Rana, Mithu Sen, Thukral and Tagra, Nilima Sheikh and Bharti Kher will be offered to benefit the Khoj International Artists Association, a globally recognised Delhi-based artist residency.

The sale will comprise 80 lots, including Sabavala’s 1974 celebrated work “The Green Cape” estimated between ₹1,20,00,000-1,80,00,000. “Girl in Love”, an early work by Mehta from 1957, is estimated between ₹70,00,000-90,00,000, and Bhupen Khakhar’s “Untitled” reverse painting on glass from the 1970s is estimated between ₹40,00,000-60,00,000.

Bombay rebel, the late Bhupen Khakhar and Delhi girl Nilima Sheikh, who can be credited with putting Vadodara on the world map, are both expected to be the star sellers at the auction. One, a pure rebel with paintings that reflect his rebellious life meticulously. The other a pure dreamer, who etches out beautiful stories.

Bhupen Khakhar: Provocatively Rebellious

Bombay-born Bhupen, who later called Vadodara his home, is best known for his radical views, his exploration and expression of his own homosexuality in his paintings, and his signature gimmicks—like taking self-interviews. “How does the railway budget affect your paintings?” this is just one of several absurd questions posed by the artist to himself, which invited equally humorous, startling and absurd responses by the artist, himself.

According to an auctioneer, the artist is remembered as an iconoclast and a maverick, a man who never did what was expected, and who was open about his views on everything—from social sectarianism to his own sexuality, all of which are reflected in his works.

Homosexuality, then considered a dirty secret that was almost never discussed in India, found expression in some of Bhupen’s works like “You Can’t Please All” and “Two Men in Benares”. “He is possibly the most provocative painter in contemporary Indian art,” remarks writer and painter Timothy Hyman, the artist’s biographer (Bhupen Khakhar, 1998).

Talking about Bhupen’s wide range of works, Bhavna Kakar, who is the editor of Take on Art magazine and director, Latitude Gallery, says that the Indian environment as a whole is Bhupen’s visual field in which the play of specific cultural forces takes special forms. She adds, “Whatever Bhupen depicts has a wide range of significant allusiveness. It does not exploit Indian charm or quaintness. Instead, he attempts to emphasise a relationship between the artist and the things he sees around him, which I consider vital.”

The prices for Bhupen’s artworks have been heading north since his death in 2003.

The masterpiece: The untitled oil on canvas, painted by the artist way back in 1999, which shows an image in a man’s heart, is estimated to go for anywhere between ₹35,00,000- 50,00,000 at the upcoming auction. expertise lies in intricate, complex scroll paintings that combine poetry with excerpts from literature, and references from miniatures, wall paintings, and fascinating folktales. The Delhi-born artist, who is trained in Western-style oil painting, has successfully captured the rich history and tumultuous past and present of Kashmir in her paintings, and shown it to the world at her numerous exhibitions.

Married to artist Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, Nilima has also done illustrations for children’s books, apart from painting sets and creating backdrops for dramas.

The masterpiece: The mediums Nilima combines and the stories she etches on her creations, make each one of her pieces one of a kind. Her artwork titled “Sarhad” comprises of Sanganer paper pasted on linen and is expected to fetch ₹15,00,000-20,00,000 at the sale.

From the December 2014 issue of L’Officiel India.