Osian's Auction Catalogue The Masterpieces and Museum Quality Series | October 2004

132 OSIAN ’ s–CONNOISSEURS OF ART 92 J. SWAMINATHAN [ 1928-1994/ b . Sanjauli, Himach- al Pradesh] Untitled Oil on canvas, c.1963 81.0 x 91.9 cm (31.9 x 36.2 in) Rs. 600,000 – 700,000 $ 12,950 – 15,100 £ 7,100 – 8,275 93 J. SWAMINATHAN [1928-1994/ b . Sanjauli, Himach- al Pradesh] Mountain & Bird Series Oil on canvas, c.1975 94.0 x 74.0 cm (37.0 x 29.1 in) Rs. 1,500,000 – 2,000,000 $ 32,400 – 43,200 £ 17,750 – 23,675 ‘In this phase he shifted his atten- tion to Indian folk and tribal culture, especially to such images and symbols that have magical implications… From the sixties he made repeated use of symbols derived from Indian mythol- ogy, like the signs of OM and swastika, the lotus, the lingam and the snake, and the palm- imprint…” The triangle and the rectangle and the circle as colour, I find, are windows on the Avyaktam, the unmanifested,”… During this phase the disposition of the shapes in a diagrammatic form, their colour and deline- ation was, definitely such as to suggest the influence of Tantrik yantras as well.’ – Geeta Kapur, rpt. in Contemporary Indian Art- ists, New Delhi; Vikas Publishing House 1978; pp198-201 ‘For about two decades, Swami- nathan played with the mental logarithm of the mountain- bird variables, structuring and destructuring the edgeless textuality in which was inscribed the metaphysical motif of the absolute referent of magnitude – the mountain. The gifted colourist that he is, Swaminathan managed to keep our attention focused on what he called colour geometry of space.’ – K.B.Goel, rpt. in J.Swaminathan: Exhibition of Paintings 1993 ExC.