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Lot Essay
Atul Dodiya's allegorical collages fuse fragments of art historical masterpieces with moments of pop culture, current events and his own autobiography. Regarded as one of the leading artists of his generation, Dodiya has become a widely recognized figurehead in South Asian contemporary art influencing many of the country's burgeoning younger artists. Born in and still residing in Mumbai, the culture and history of India plays an important role in shaping the barrage of images which inform his works. Beginning his career with a straightforward and cleverly deadpan realist style, Dodiya moved away from the literal in the mid-90's towards the fragmented and multilayered techniques which now dominate his oeuvre. Immensely conscious of history, his works reflect his impressive knowledge about both current events and ancient religions and he quotes freely from the recesses of both Western and Indian art traditions. Capitalizing on the post-modern tendency towards ironic juxtaposition, Dodiya manages to use the vocabulary of western contemporary in creating a unique and potent pictorial language. According to art historian Thomas McEvilley, "even as [Dodiya's] work attempts to bring Indian art into a closer embrace with western post-Modernist art, he also wants to bring contemporary Indian art closer to its Hindu roots, through re-adjustment and reproaches to cultural and mythological figures such as Gandhi, Siva and Kali." (Atul Dodiya: Cracks in Mondrian, Bose Pacia Modern, March 3 - April 16, 2005 New York.)
An excellent example of the straightforward style which defined his oeuvre in the 1980s and first brought him critical acclaim, this work by Dodiya is the first of an important series featuring a stark interior and a single central figure. Taking cues from the 2-dimensional candy colored pop of David Hockney, July depicts a typical incident in Indian life during the summer months or monsoon season, the convergence of wildlife and domestic life. The room pictured is in Santiniketan, West Bengal, and is the home of Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel-Prize winner, poet and philosopher, and Tagores portrait hangs on the wall behind the figure. In this simple scene, Dodiya create a strange camaraderie between the trespassing turtle and the man, whose likeness closely resembles that of the artist. However, ironically the presence of the turtle seems to highlight both the loneliness of the scene and the loneliness of the man himself.
An excellent example of the straightforward style which defined his oeuvre in the 1980s and first brought him critical acclaim, this work by Dodiya is the first of an important series featuring a stark interior and a single central figure. Taking cues from the 2-dimensional candy colored pop of David Hockney, July depicts a typical incident in Indian life during the summer months or monsoon season, the convergence of wildlife and domestic life. The room pictured is in Santiniketan, West Bengal, and is the home of Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel-Prize winner, poet and philosopher, and Tagores portrait hangs on the wall behind the figure. In this simple scene, Dodiya create a strange camaraderie between the trespassing turtle and the man, whose likeness closely resembles that of the artist. However, ironically the presence of the turtle seems to highlight both the loneliness of the scene and the loneliness of the man himself.