
Priya Singh
Head of Department
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Head of Department

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Provenance
Property from a private collection, UK.
Acquired from Sothebys, Contemporary Indian and South Asian Paintings, 17th June 1998, lot 210.
Rao's Untitled (Two Monkeys) is a striking example of the artist's poetic engagement with nature and symbolism. In this evocative work, two monkeys are seen climbing a central vertical form that suggests both a pillar and a tree, blurring the boundaries between architecture and the organic. The tree's white branches and leaves extend delicately outward, their fragility heightened by the soft smatterings of orange, red and yellow that punctuate the composition like blossoms or falling petals. Set against a luminous blue backdrop, the scene takes on an ethereal, dreamlike quality that is both serene and introspective. The monkeys, animated yet contemplative, suggest playful curiosity, a theme that recurs in Rao's work as a metaphor for human emotion and instinct. Her masterful use of colour and line, combined with a painterly restraint, gives the composition an almost meditative rhythm.