Unknown Artist
122 x 122 cm; 48 x 48 in
The materiality of the canvas becomes of paramount importance while the juxtaposition of the ?level? surface of the canvas with the thread bare and jagged markings create a fresh and exciting textural surface. A restrictive palette be it white, cream, yellow or amber, van dyke and sienna works with the natural color of the raw canvas to fashion a surface that does not distract, but rather serves to focus attention on the surface qualities and articulates much of the artist?s sense of design and sensitivity to detail. Squares, triangles and rectangles rub shoulders unerringly with the more delicate drawings and tracings of the block prints of Bagru. Bits of thread fall across the surface linking the variegated surfaces while adding to the rich textural surface. His art practice would be difficult to define or bracket, it encompasses and combines everything from painting to assemblage and installation. Layers are created, suggested and revealed, a perfect foil of the two and three-dimensionals. Uma Nair, Surendra Pal Joshi, Gallerie Nvya, New Delhi, 2006