Sohan Qadri: In Search of Transcendence
We are pleased to present a selection of paintings by Sohan Qadri (b. 1932, India 鈥� d. 2011, Canada), one of the only internationally acclaimed artists deeply engaged with spirituality. Qadri abandoned representation early on in his long career, incorporating Tantric symbolism and philosophy into his vibrantly colored minimalist paper works.
Sundaram Tagore met Sohan Qadri in 1997 and has represented him internationally for nearly thirty years. When Sundaram Tagore Gallery opened in SoHo in 2000, Qadri was among the first of a select group of master artists Sundaram added to his roster. All were outside the dominant Western art-historical canon, but were in Sundaram鈥檚 estimation groundbreaking and working with a universal visual language that crossed geographic borders. He believed then, as he does now, that it was imperative to bring such cross-cultural work to a wide audience.
Since then, the gallery has organized more than fifty exhibitions of Qadri鈥檚 work across the United States, Europe and Asia, including Qadri鈥檚 first shows in New York (2004) and Hong Kong (2008). The gallery also organized exhibition collaborations with cultural organizations including Tibet House in New York (2003) and the Venice Biennale (2015).
Sundaram has placed Qadri鈥檚 work in the British Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Rubin Museum and Royal Ontario Museum, among others. Additionally, the gallery has produced numerous publications of Qadri鈥檚 work featuring scholarly essays by art historian Partha Mitter, critic Donald Kuspit and museum curator Tushara Bindu Gude. In 2011, Sundaram Tagore Gallery collaborated with the noted Italian fine-art publisher Skira Editore to produce Sohan Qadri: The Seer, a monograph with more than eighty color plates of Qadri鈥檚 canvas and paper works from the 1960s to 2011. It remains the definitive published record of his life and work.
Qadri, who spent much of his working life in Copenhagen, grew up in northern India, where he was exposed to Sufism, Hinduism and Sikhism on his family鈥檚 farm. He was particularly inspired by Vajryana or Tantric Buddhism, which emphasizes the notion of sunyata or emptiness.
In 1965, Qadri left India and began a series of travels that took him to East Africa, North America, Paris, Zurich and ultimately, Denmark. 鈥淚 did not want to confine myself to one place, nation and community,鈥� he told Times of India in a 2002 interview. 鈥淢y approach to life has been universal, and so is my art.鈥�
Although he began his career in the 1950s painting in oil on canvas, Qadri, in search of a process that would enable artmaking while in a meditative state, found his spiritual medium in paper. He covered sheets of heavy, bespoke paper with structural effects by soaking them in liquid and carving them in several stages while applying inks and dyes. In the process, he transformed the paper from a flat surface into an almost textile-like three-dimensional medium. The repetition of careful incisions was an integral part of his yoga practice.
鈥淪ohan was a dear friend and it has been my honor to represent him for three decades,鈥� says Sundaram Tagore. 鈥淚 have never failed to be moved by the gravity of his work, which was so minimal yet so rich. He imbued it with his spiritual beliefs. He was a painter, poet and Tantric yogi, and without a doubt, one of the world鈥檚 preeminent spiritual artists.鈥�
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We are pleased to present a selection of paintings by Sohan Qadri (b. 1932, India 鈥� d. 2011, Canada), one of the only internationally acclaimed artists deeply engaged with spirituality. Qadri abandoned representation early on in his long career, incorporating Tantric symbolism and philosophy into his vibrantly colored minimalist paper works.
Sundaram Tagore met Sohan Qadri in 1997 and has represented him internationally for nearly thirty years. When Sundaram Tagore Gallery opened in SoHo in 2000, Qadri was among the first of a select group of master artists Sundaram added to his roster. All were outside the dominant Western art-historical canon, but were in Sundaram鈥檚 estimation groundbreaking and working with a universal visual language that crossed geographic borders. He believed then, as he does now, that it was imperative to bring such cross-cultural work to a wide audience.
Since then, the gallery has organized more than fifty exhibitions of Qadri鈥檚 work across the United States, Europe and Asia, including Qadri鈥檚 first shows in New York (2004) and Hong Kong (2008). The gallery also organized exhibition collaborations with cultural organizations including Tibet House in New York (2003) and the Venice Biennale (2015).
Sundaram has placed Qadri鈥檚 work in the British Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Rubin Museum and Royal Ontario Museum, among others. Additionally, the gallery has produced numerous publications of Qadri鈥檚 work featuring scholarly essays by art historian Partha Mitter, critic Donald Kuspit and museum curator Tushara Bindu Gude. In 2011, Sundaram Tagore Gallery collaborated with the noted Italian fine-art publisher Skira Editore to produce Sohan Qadri: The Seer, a monograph with more than eighty color plates of Qadri鈥檚 canvas and paper works from the 1960s to 2011. It remains the definitive published record of his life and work.
Qadri, who spent much of his working life in Copenhagen, grew up in northern India, where he was exposed to Sufism, Hinduism and Sikhism on his family鈥檚 farm. He was particularly inspired by Vajryana or Tantric Buddhism, which emphasizes the notion of sunyata or emptiness.
In 1965, Qadri left India and began a series of travels that took him to East Africa, North America, Paris, Zurich and ultimately, Denmark. 鈥淚 did not want to confine myself to one place, nation and community,鈥� he told Times of India in a 2002 interview. 鈥淢y approach to life has been universal, and so is my art.鈥�
Although he began his career in the 1950s painting in oil on canvas, Qadri, in search of a process that would enable artmaking while in a meditative state, found his spiritual medium in paper. He covered sheets of heavy, bespoke paper with structural effects by soaking them in liquid and carving them in several stages while applying inks and dyes. In the process, he transformed the paper from a flat surface into an almost textile-like three-dimensional medium. The repetition of careful incisions was an integral part of his yoga practice.
鈥淪ohan was a dear friend and it has been my honor to represent him for three decades,鈥� says Sundaram Tagore. 鈥淚 have never failed to be moved by the gravity of his work, which was so minimal yet so rich. He imbued it with his spiritual beliefs. He was a painter, poet and Tantric yogi, and without a doubt, one of the world鈥檚 preeminent spiritual artists.鈥�
Artists on show
