Atul Dodiya - 20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale London Thursday, June 27, 2019 | Phillips

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale

London Auction 28 June 2019

  • Provenance

    Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Exhibited

    New Delhi, Lalit Kala Akademi Galleries, Against All Odds: A Contemporary Response to the Historiography of Archiving, Collecting & Museums in India, January 2011

  • Literature

    Thomas McEvilley, Enrique Juncosa, Nancy Adajania and Ranjit Hoskote, Atul Dodiya, Munich, 2013, pp. 320-321 (illustrated, p. 320)

  • Catalogue Essay

    From India to Venice
    A Selection of Works by Indian Artists from an Esteemed European Collection

    The following selection of works by artists living and working in India are linked by a mutual theme of exploration into the changing environment in which they are created and the influence of both Eastern and Western culture. Housed in an esteemed European collection, this year Atul Dodiya's and Shilpa Gupta's work has been selected to represent India at the country's second ever appearance on the Western stage of the Venice Biennale.

    Krishna Swallowing Forest Fire depicts the story of the god Krishna extinguishing a forest fire by swallowing the flames. Intensely cognisant of history, Dodiya entwines stylistic and iconographic characteristics from the East and West, unifying classical myth and political history to fuse fragments of Western art historical masterpieces in a new interpretation. 'In Indian miniature paintings there are many beautiful images of adventures of Lord Krishna as a saviour from the series 'Bhagwat Puran'. Here in my painting Krishna is swallowing forest fire. At the edge of each flame I have placed the museum magnets of great works of art, which I have been collecting from the various western museums. I often convey my interest in the history of art, juxtaposing the references from the diverse sources and try to give a new meaning to an existing image in my work. In this work, it could be me devouring great masterpieces, so in that sense it's also a self-portrait. I enjoy the amalgamation of diverse time and situation in a single picture plane and often feel that the past no longer remains past and reveals itself in the present. The present easily moves and goes back in time. I am fascinated by the idea of mingling time, life and art and it appears empathetically in my work.' - Atul Dodiya (May 2019).

Property From An Esteemed European Collection

200

Atul Dodiya

Krishna Swallowing Forest Fire

stamped with the title 'KRISHNA SWALLOWING FOREST FIRE' on artist's plaque on central bar; further signed, titled and dated 'ATUL DODIYA "KRISHNA SWOLLING FOREST FIRE" - 2009-2010 ATUL '10' on the reverse
oil, auto-body solder and museum magnets on oxidised mild steel on two mild steel stands
overall 208.7 x 183 x 30.5 cm (82 1/8 x 72 x 12 in.)
Executed in 2009-10.

Estimate
£35,000 - 55,000 ‡

Contact Specialist

Tamila Kerimova

Director, Specialist
Head of Day Sale
44 20 7318 4065

tkerimova@phillips.com

20th Century & Contemporary Art Day Sale

London Auction 28 June 2019