Untitled

Laxman Shrestha's canvases exude a sense of serenity and spirituality. Born a Nepalese aristocrat, Shrestha turned to many schools of thought to seek answers and spiritual fulfilment. Himself falling destitute Shrestha's artistic career became a perennial search for answers, initially finding refuge in the Western existentialists. This blue abstracted forest echoes with the muted meditative solace he found when he subsequently turned to Buddhism. With every viewing of the canvas, forms bubble beneath the layers of paint that build up the subtle surface as we search for our own answers in his composition.

The current painting is being offered to benefit the Jehangir Nicholson foundation. Jehangir Nicholson (1915-2001) was a trained chartered accountant who started collecting in 1968, soon becoming one of the pioneering patrons of modern art in India. In 1976, Nicholson founded a museum for his collection at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Bombay. He became a significant figure in Bombay society, even spending a year in the post of Sheriff of Bombay in 1978. He would go on to sit on the advisory board of the newly opened National Gallery of Modern Art.