Lot 285: Chittrovanu Mazumdar

Merry Go Round
Singed and dated: C. MAZUMDAR. 91
Oil on canvas
85 x 61 3/4 in. (216 x 156 cm.)

Calcutta artist Chittrovanu Mazumdar treats the conventions of modernism not as constrictive theories but as stylistic options, employing abstraction, figuration, the macabre and the jovial all in a single work. The consequences of his approach, while often unconventional, are captivating in their raw and ironic beauty and the faces of the figures in this piece, contort and grimace much like those in the challenging artwork of Francis Bacon. Mazumdar compounds the vicious nature of his animals by drawing his subject matter from the lighthearted world of children. Thus, in Merry Go Round, his fanged and snarling creatures assume the role of grotesque and resurrected children's toys, giving the painting a disquieting yet darkly humorous feel.