Osian's Auction Catalogue Select Masterpieces of Indian Modern and Contemporary Art | June 2009

49 18 Atul Dodiya (b.1959) Roadside with Temple Oil on canvas, 1988 Signed in English ‘ATUL’ on verso 46.9 x 71.1 in (119.4 x 180.8 cm) Inscribed in English ‘ATUL DODIYA, ROADSIDE WITH TEMPLE, 122CM x 181CM, OIL, 1988’ on verso Condition Preservation work has been carried out in 2009 by Osian’s Conservation Department, Mumbai INR 6,400,000 – 8,000,000 USD 133,330 – 166,670 Exhibition Reference ‘Atul Dodiya’, Gallery Chemould, Bombay, 1989 This work is from his (Atul Dodiya’s) first solo exhibition of nine oil paintings held in 1989 at Gallery Chemould, Bombay. Largely inspired by David Hockney, his works primarily are rendered in the photo-realistic mode. It was in the late 1980s when Atul formally started experimenting with the landscapes of semi-urban India. Says Dodiya ‘‘Realism has always been more recognizable”. With the power of pure colour and form Dodiya has proved that a monumental picturesque is a process of seeing and thinking. Atul Dodiya has autographed the canvas with the first two letters of his name, which appear as a signboard in the distance. The view on the canvas is from a street in Gondal (a small town near Rajkot, Gujarat) and also the artist’s hometown. “The single most compelling thing in Atul Dodiya’s recent work is the degree of tension held within each painting. The exhibition comes across to the viewer as something of a force…Having touched the work at some of its core, one may now sit back to enjoy the rich variety in the depiction. The visual wit which shows only the tip of a red hydrant reflected in a grey monsoon puddle; or the colourful drips on the sides of a canvas-in-the-making…The unity of tension identifies them as belonging to the inner world of one artist, erupting from out the richness of an empty room.” – Gieve Patel, rpt. in Atul Dodiya , ExC, Gallery Chemould, 1989.