Lot 114: Archeology - House of Spice

Baiju Parthan (B. 1956)
Archeology - House of Spice
signed and dated 'Baiju Parthan 2007' (lower right); signed, dated and titled 'Baiju Parthan 2007 ARCHEOLOGY - House of Spice' (on the reverse)
acrylic on canvas
48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm.)
Painted in 2007.

Baiju Parthan, a botanist by training, scrutinizes images from the surrounding media dissecting them and then reassembling into a complete painting with a scientific accuracy. He paradoxically utilizes mechanical means to create original works of art by composing his paintings on a computer screen. He gathers and rearranges elements culled from the internet until he finds a harmonious balance which he then translates to the canvas. Once a cartoonist with the Times of India Group Publications in Bombay, Parthan is also a scholar of comparative mythology and philosophy. These elements all greatly inform his work and his paintings posses a cohesive almost narrative quality despite their disparate origins.