Page 109 - Eye of the beholder

There is scarcely any other artist in the field of Indian modern and contemporary art whose canvases are so monotonous in their theme yet so refreshing in their appeal as Prabha’s are.
Throughout her career that spanned a good 30 years or so, Prabha kept revisiting Indian tribal women as a repetitive theme. Her style and color palette is also predictable - the figures mostly appear in an elongated form against a monochromatic background or against a dominant color.
I first became acquainted with Prabha’s works during my time in TIFR, where two works adorned the walls of the main lobby. With the boom in the Indian art market in the early 2000s, her market demand caught up, though prices have grown at a more modest pace compared to some other artists.
Prabha’s works enjoy a wide appreciator’s base because of the unique way in which she combines decorative elements with academic works in her works, as is clearly apparent in this work.
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