Untitled

In the late 1950's, Gaitonde began exploring the possibilities that oil paint as a medium offered, an interest he has pursued throughout his career. He became interested in the creative process; of the formation of texture, the application of pigment, stripping it off, dissolving and overlaying; the evocation of light and balancing the compositional weight of the canvas through the subtle balancing of the image on the canvas, as if it were floating on water. "The painter is at the controls, he decides when the painting has arrived at its capacity to articulate. Like music, I know when it is at an end." (As told to Pria Karunakar, 'V.S. Gaitonde', Lalit Kala Contemporary 19 & 20, April and September 1975, p. 16)

This work painted in 1976 is typical of the period where large flat areas of color are punctuated with pools of light. Although they appear spontaneous, the forms are connected by a strong logic. This helps to resolve the tensions in space and dramatizes the interplay of light and texture.