Art

In pictures: Rabin Mondal’s powerful King series set to be showcased at Art Dubai 2022

The series of eight paintings themed around the hubris of power, was painted by the artist a few decades before his demise

By My Kolkata Web Desk | Published 04.03.22, 06:44 PM

KING'S HAREM: The exploitation of authority Mondal alludes to, is best seen in the background of these paintings, which provide no hint of location, place or culture. The imagery of the 'naked king' speaks volume of the trauma faced by society, as much as being an allegorical narrative about the hardships of his own life

KING AS MANIPULATOR: 'Conveying great power and strength of artistic intent, Rabin Mondal’s art is a significant milestone in Indian modernism,' says Kishore Singh, senior VP, exhibitions and publications at DAG, who curated this retrospective

KING AND HIS ASSASSIN: The exhibit titled ‘The Tyranny of Power’ will also feature the preparatory drawings that the artist made ahead of the series, all from the DAG collection

KING BEING APPEASED: Mondal used the chequered floor tiles and closing-in walls to describe a sense of being choked, recreating a sense of doom, as potent as Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’

KING AFTER CORONATION: The explosive nature of Mondal’s work caught the attention of international curators when the series was showcased at the Shanghai Biennale in 2016

KING DETHRONED: 'The decision that the King Series must be allowed to remain intact is my way of showing respect for an artist who cared little about the world, even less about himself, but whose craft remained the most important thing in his life,' says Ashish Anand, MD and CEO of DAG

KING AS CHRIST: The Cubo-futuristic angularities of forms within the pictorial space arranged around them evolved into a series of paintings depicting human figures that struggle to live a hero’s life in a tragic world

ARRIVAL OF THE KING: ‘The Tyranny of Power’ accompanies a special catalogue and opens at Dubai Art on March 11, 2022

Tags: Art Rabin Mondal Artist