PRESS RELEASE
Jehangir Sabavala
Ricorso
Recent Works
January 15 – February 7, 2009
Opening Reception Thursday, January 15, 6-8 pm
New York, NY, December 17, 2008 – Aicon Gallery New York is pleased to present a
solo show of recent works by one of India's great modern masters, Jehangir Sabavala. The
exhibition, which travels to Aicon's New York gallery from an earlier showing at Aicon Gallery in
London, presents a selection of works created over the last two years by the celebrated painter,
demonstrating the arc of his career from the early 1950s until now. While rooted in the Indian
modernist tradition, Sabavala's recent work reveals new themes and muses, and provides insight
into his influence on the current generation of artists.
Rising to prominence in the 1950s, Sabavala was one of the first Indian artists to become widely
known outside the subcontinent, and in 1954, his work was included in the Venice Biennale, an
honor rarely bestowed on Asian artists at that time. Along with M.F. Husain and the late F.N.
Souza, Sabavala was part of a pioneering group of artists who explored modernist painting
techniques. By the mid-1960s, inspired by the altered perspectives and plays on light in both
Impressionist and Cubist art, he had developed a distinct style that utilized geometric wedges of
transparent paint to build up forms in landscapes, figurative work, and more recently, city scenes.
Preferring to work in veiled, muted tones rather than pure colors, Sabavala'a work expresses the
artist's affinity to nature and classical influences. Wedges of color overlap to give his canvases an
illusionary sense of depth that also reveals his mastery of texture on the painted surface. Far from
sentimental, Sabavala's paintings express the magnitude and raw beauty of nature and
humankind's insignificance in comparison to it.
In recent work, the figure has emerged as a prominent element. Among the works on view at
Aicon Gallery is In the Casbah, 2007, a large oil painting depicting three women, shapeless and
anonymous in cloaks and veils, who stand in the foreground of a narrow city streetscape.
Geometric planes of soft earth tones project and recede, suggesting both the solidity of the figures
as well as evoking movement and natural light.
About Jehangir Sabavala
Born in 1922 in Mumbai, Jehangir Sabavala studied at some of the most prominent art colleges
throughout the world, including in the Heatherley School of Art in London, the Academie Andre
Lhote in Paris, and the J.J. School of Art in Mumbai. Starting with his first solo show over sixty
years ago, Sabavala has presented his work in numerous one-man exhibitions, salons, and
biennials throughout India and abroad, including the Triennale in India, the Masters of India Art
Show in Mumbai, as well as the Venice Biennale, 1954. Three monographs have been published
on his work, and, in 1994, the film Colours of Absence, a film on his life, won the National Award.
He has been recognized with several distinctions including the prestigious Padma Shri, given by
the Government of India in 1977. Jehangir Sabavala currently lives and works in Mumbai.
Show in Mumbai, as well as the Venice Biennale, 1954. Three monographs have been published
on his work, and, in 1994, the film Colours of Absence, a film on his life, won the National Award.
He has been recognized with several distinctions including the prestigious Padma Shri, given by
the Government of India in 1977. Jehangir Sabavala currently lives and works in Mumbai.
Upcoming Exhibitions at Aicon Gallery New York
Survey of Indian Contemporary Art, February 19 – March 31, 2009
Anandajit Ray, April 2 – May 9, 2009
For more information on Aicon Gallery New York, please visit www.aicongallery.com orcontact Sureyya Wille at sureyya@aicongallery.com or (212) 725-6092.
Media Contact
For more information, images or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Andy Cushman or Elizabeth Reina
Blue Medium, Inc
T: 212-675-1800
F: 212-675-1855
E: andy@bluemedium.com
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