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ARPITA SINGH

Arpita Singh - Artists - Talwar Gallery

Untitled, 1975  Ink, pastel and graphite on paper  13″ x 17″ (detail)

Arpita Singh has long been celebrated for the large, figurative paintings - vibrantly colorful and iconographically dense, these works gesture towards mythology and folklore, while drawing on the expressiveness of the line and textures evolved and developed during her seminal period of 1973-82. Singular in their allusion to contemporary Indian life, Singh’s works forge a unique visual vocabulary and narrative sensibility that have had major influence on the generations of artists who have followed her.

The 1973-82 period with predominantly abstract compositions on paper, principally reliant on line and primarily monochromatic—lay the formal foundations of Singh’s oeuvre and create an aesthetic bridge to her later and better known works. It reveals both a serious curiosity about line, depth and space, and a playful improvisation—a willingness to suspend certainty in the search for new. These tendencies continue into and indeed sustain Singh’s till today.

“Images in which the comic and the tragic seem interchangeable, are characteristic of work that has made Ms. Singh one of the best-known contemporary artists in India. They are also evidence of an art gradually darkening in tone and lightening in form, a rewarding way to go in this remarkable painter's hands.”

The New York Times

Arpita Singh - Artists - Talwar Gallery

Arpita Singh was born in 1937 in West Bengal, India, and moved with her family to Delhi in 1946, where she has since lived and worked. She attended School of Art, Delhi Polytechnic, and after graduating, she worked as a textile designer at the Weaver’s Service Centre, part of the Handloom Board of India. Her work has been featured in exhibitions around the world, including Pompidou Centre, Paris; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan; Museo Nacional de Centro Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain; Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston, MA; Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi; Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan; Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA; Asia Society, New York; Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), Sydney; Rose Art Museum, Waltham, MA; Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi; National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai & New Delhi.In 2019 a retrospective of Singh’s works was on view at The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi.

Currently her works are on view in “Another Energy” at Mori Art Museum, 13th Gwangju Biennale and “Elles font l’abstraction” at Centre Pompidou, Paris and travel to Guggenheim Bilbao Museum.

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
If you come this way, 2021 
Oil on canvas 
36” x 60” 

If you come this way, 2021 
Oil on canvas 
36” x 60” 

Untitled, 1980

Pastel and poster paint on paper

27 3/4″ x 19 3/4″

Untitled, 1980

Pastel and poster paint on paper

27 3/4″ x 19 3/4″

Untitled, 1980

Ink, pastel and poster paint on paper

22 1/2" x 14 3/4"

Untitled, 1980

Ink, pastel and poster paint on paper

22 1/2" x 14 3/4"

Untitled, 1980

Pastel and poster paint on paper

29 1/2" x 22 1/2"

Untitled, 1980

Pastel and poster paint on paper

29 1/2" x 22 1/2"

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

22 1/4” x 17”

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

22 1/4” x 17”

Untitled, 1980
Poster paint on paper

15" x 11 3/4"

Untitled, 1980
Poster paint on paper

15" x 11 3/4"

Untitled, 1976

Ink on paper

13 3/4" x 19 1/2"

Untitled, 1976

Ink on paper

13 3/4" x 19 1/2"

Untitled, 1977

Ink, pastel and poster paint on paper

18 3/4″ x 24 3/4″

Untitled, 1977

Ink, pastel and poster paint on paper

18 3/4″ x 24 3/4″

Untitled, 1976

Ink on paper

18 3/4″ x 24 3/4″

Untitled, 1976

Ink on paper

18 3/4″ x 24 3/4″

Untitled, 1981

Ink and watercolor on paper

27 3/4” x 19 3/4”

Untitled, 1981

Ink and watercolor on paper

27 3/4” x 19 3/4”

Untitled, 1981

Poster paint on paper

26 3/4″ x 32 3/4″

Untitled, 1981

Poster paint on paper

26 3/4″ x 32 3/4″

Untitled, 1980

Ink and poster paint on paper

15 3/4″ x 21 3/4″

Untitled, 1980

Ink and poster paint on paper

15 3/4″ x 21 3/4″

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

17 1/2″ x 21 1/2″

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

17 1/2″ x 21 1/2″

Untitled, 1978

Ink on paper

13 3/4" x 19 1/2"

Untitled, 1978

Ink on paper

13 3/4" x 19 1/2"

Untitled, 1981

Watercolor on paper

15" x 10 1/2"

Untitled, 1981

Watercolor on paper

15" x 10 1/2"

Untitled, 1975

Ink, pastel and graphite on paper

13" x 17"

Untitled, 1975

Ink, pastel and graphite on paper

13" x 17"

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

21 1/2" x 27 1/4"

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

21 1/2" x 27 1/4"

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

10 3/4" x 14 3/4"

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

10 3/4" x 14 3/4"

Untitled, 1979

Watercolor and pastel on paper

19 3/4” x 27 3/4”

Untitled, 1979

Watercolor and pastel on paper

19 3/4” x 27 3/4”

Untitled, 1981

Watercolor and poster paint on paper

19 1/2” x 15 1/2”

Untitled, 1981

Watercolor and poster paint on paper

19 1/2” x 15 1/2”

Untitled, 1980

Ink and poster paint on paper

9 3/4" x 6 3/4"

Untitled, 1980

Ink and poster paint on paper

9 3/4" x 6 3/4"

If you come this way, 2021 
Oil on canvas 
36” x 60” 

If you come this way, 2021 
Oil on canvas 
36” x 60” 

Untitled, 1980

Pastel and poster paint on paper

27 3/4″ x 19 3/4″

Untitled, 1980

Pastel and poster paint on paper

27 3/4″ x 19 3/4″

Untitled, 1980

Ink, pastel and poster paint on paper

22 1/2" x 14 3/4"

Untitled, 1980

Ink, pastel and poster paint on paper

22 1/2" x 14 3/4"

Untitled, 1980

Pastel and poster paint on paper

29 1/2" x 22 1/2"

Untitled, 1980

Pastel and poster paint on paper

29 1/2" x 22 1/2"

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

22 1/4” x 17”

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

22 1/4” x 17”

Untitled, 1980
Poster paint on paper

15" x 11 3/4"

Untitled, 1980
Poster paint on paper

15" x 11 3/4"

Untitled, 1976

Ink on paper

13 3/4" x 19 1/2"

Untitled, 1976

Ink on paper

13 3/4" x 19 1/2"

Untitled, 1977

Ink, pastel and poster paint on paper

18 3/4″ x 24 3/4″

Untitled, 1977

Ink, pastel and poster paint on paper

18 3/4″ x 24 3/4″

Untitled, 1976

Ink on paper

18 3/4″ x 24 3/4″

Untitled, 1976

Ink on paper

18 3/4″ x 24 3/4″

Untitled, 1981

Ink and watercolor on paper

27 3/4” x 19 3/4”

Untitled, 1981

Ink and watercolor on paper

27 3/4” x 19 3/4”

Untitled, 1981

Poster paint on paper

26 3/4″ x 32 3/4″

Untitled, 1981

Poster paint on paper

26 3/4″ x 32 3/4″

Untitled, 1980

Ink and poster paint on paper

15 3/4″ x 21 3/4″

Untitled, 1980

Ink and poster paint on paper

15 3/4″ x 21 3/4″

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

17 1/2″ x 21 1/2″

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

17 1/2″ x 21 1/2″

Untitled, 1978

Ink on paper

13 3/4" x 19 1/2"

Untitled, 1978

Ink on paper

13 3/4" x 19 1/2"

Untitled, 1981

Watercolor on paper

15" x 10 1/2"

Untitled, 1981

Watercolor on paper

15" x 10 1/2"

Untitled, 1975

Ink, pastel and graphite on paper

13" x 17"

Untitled, 1975

Ink, pastel and graphite on paper

13" x 17"

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

21 1/2" x 27 1/4"

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

21 1/2" x 27 1/4"

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

10 3/4" x 14 3/4"

Untitled, 1980

Poster paint on paper

10 3/4" x 14 3/4"

Untitled, 1979

Watercolor and pastel on paper

19 3/4” x 27 3/4”

Untitled, 1979

Watercolor and pastel on paper

19 3/4” x 27 3/4”

Untitled, 1981

Watercolor and poster paint on paper

19 1/2” x 15 1/2”

Untitled, 1981

Watercolor and poster paint on paper

19 1/2” x 15 1/2”

Untitled, 1980

Ink and poster paint on paper

9 3/4" x 6 3/4"

Untitled, 1980

Ink and poster paint on paper

9 3/4" x 6 3/4"