Osian's Auction Catalogue Indian Modern and Contemporary Art | January 2008

180 144 Bal Chhabda (b.1923) Untitled Signed in English ‘Bal’ on verso Oil on canvas, c .1978 50.0 x 74.0 in (127.0 x 188.0 cm) INR 1,200,000 – 1,500,000 USD 30,000 – 37,500 “ Chhabda takes his images to the brink of abstraction without giving up the memory of representation. As such, though he is primarily an abstract painter, recognisable elements do emerge in the work. So even as his frame of reference encompasses the angular verticality of steepled churches or the horizontality of an undulating female figure as in Untitled work, circa 1978, at its heart appears to be the rationale for the investigation of an idealised abstract form.” Kamala Kapoor (May, 2004), rpt. Manifestations II . Delhi: DAG, 2004. pp.71-2.