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

62 OSIAN ’ s–CONNOISSEURS OF ART 34 Arpana CAUR [ b .1954, New Delhi] Prakriti S/d in English l.r. Oil on canvas, 1999-2000 Diameter 167 cm (65.7 in ) Rs. 325,000 – 400,000 $ 7,000 – 8,650 £ 3,850 – 4,725 35 Vasundhara T. BROOTA [ b .1955 Calcutta, West Bengal] Untitled S/d in English, l.r. Mixed media on paper, 2004 150.5 x 104.5 cm (59.3 x 41.1 in) Rs. 275,000 – 350,000 $ 5,950 – 7,550 £ 3,250 – 4,150 ‘A palimpsest of symbolism overlays virtually all her images. The feminine as archetype represents the forces of nature, death and regeneration, toil and the implosions of social violence that threaten a fragile social order…. Arpana has gradually moved from the subject of the oppressive city… to a longing for an idealized calm. Increasingly, all sensuous pleasure is seemingly sacrificed as the feminine figure seeks resolution in a oneness with nature. She herself becomes emblematic of regenerative forces.’ – Gayatri Sinha, rpt. in Contemporary Indian: Art Other Realities. Mumbai: Marg Publications 2002; p68. ‘In my earlier works the figure was my starting point and the main element. I made my works large because I wanted my figure to be life-size, to have a presence of their own – to dictate the space. Now the ground has opened up and taken over and it is no longer fully within my control! Now I begin with the wall – the ground surface, fascinated by using silver leaf and the possibilities of other metallic colours.’ – Vasundhara Tewari Broota, rpt. in Vasundhara Tewari Broota: Recent Paintings 2000 to 2002 Shridharini Gallery 2003 ExC; p9.