Bhupen Khakhar, Untitled (Casting the Net), Circa 1994: The Friday Find

20 - 26 February 2026

  • This week we are looking at a ceramic work by Bhupen Khakhar. There's a very good text taken from Vadehra Gallery's 1997 exhibition where Bhupen is interviewed on his ceramics practice. Side note, I've also just taken up pottery classes, so that's possibly influenced this week's choice…

     

    - Charles Moore, 19 February 2026

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  • 'I never imagined I would be doing ceramics; I really got involved in it in 1994 when I was in...

    "I never imagined I would be doing ceramics; I really got involved in it in 1994 when I was in Holland. It was actually prompted by my Bombay-based friend Haridas, who was very ill and had told me, " Next time you go to Europe I would like to go with you," It was a wish I was very keen to fulfil. So when the opportunity came, soon after, to go on a four month fellowship (May - August, 1994), to the European Ceramic Centre at Hertogenbosch, some 40 kms south of Rotterdam, in Holland, I grabbed it and made arrangements for my friend to travel with me."

  • "I had never worked with ceramics before… My initial work at the Ceramic Centre was very bad. Everything looked like the small dummy bags used in war for target practice. Within fifteen days I destroyed all of it. It was then that I started my ceramic portrait series, specifically the blue portraits.

     

    "What I really like about the medium is the element of surprise. The real excitement, for me, starts from the point you start applying glaze colour. After being licked by the flames, what emerges is never what you expected. It is a kind of 'difference' which you cannot really anticipate. It is an experience somewhat like working in the dark. All sorts of accidents happen and you discover it is a medium in which you, the 'artist as creator', does not have much control… So it is a medium in which one need not take instant decisions. Doing figurative work in ceramics excites me greatly." 

    Bhupen Khakhar, interviewed by Sadanand Menon, taken from Vadehra Art Gallery's exhibition catalogue, Bhupen Khakhar, Ceramics and Watercolour, December 1996 - January 1997

  • After Khakhar came out in the 1980s he painted a series of iconic works, including 'You Can't Please All' - the title of the Tate Modern's review show in 2016. These paintings were among the first in India to delve into themes of relationships between men and societal taboos around homosexuality, occasionally featuring fisherman and coastal scenes as their subjects.  One such example Fishermen in Goa (1985) was shown at the 2024 Venice Bienniale -  an example of the fetishisation of the sexualised male body through gesture and metaphors.
    Fishermen in Goa, Venice Biennale 2024 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Fishermen in Goa (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Ratnagiri (detail) (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Fishermen (1989) (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Fishman (1987) (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Casting the Net (Circa 1994) (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

    Fishermen in Goa, Venice Biennale 2024

  • Casting the Net (1995) shows a figure on the right throwing a silvery fishing net against a dark blue background. Opposite the fisherman sits another figure, holding a book, set against an orange background, possibly on an island, or a figure from a reverie?  The subject of this work is enigmatic, but beautifully executed.

     

    Further reading:

    A fantastic resource on the work of Bhupen Khakhar is the website of Brian Weinstein. Well worth getting lost in for an afternoon...

     

    There are also several films on youtube, including 'Messages from Bhupen Khakhar' which is absolutely worth watching.


    The gallery hasn't handled too many works by Bhupen over the years. The most significant show being the 2013 exhibition of works on paper from the collection of Anthony Stokes. We do however carry several of the artist's prints and on occasion have oils and works on paper available. 

     

    As always, best to contact the gallery to discuss your requirements.

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  • Bhupen Khakhar, Untitled (Casting the Net), Circa 1994

    Bhupen Khakhar

    Untitled (Casting the Net), Circa 1994

    Fact Sheet:

    Bhupen Khakhar 1934-2003

    Untitled (Casting the Net), Circa 1994

    Signed in Gujarati lower right

    Glazed ceramic

    Diameter: 47 cm (18.5 in)
    Depth: 3 in (7.5 cm)

     

    Provenance:

    Private Collection, The Netherlands;
    Saffronart, 8 - 9 June, 2016, lot 34;

    Private US Collection

     

    Exhibited:

    London, Grosvenor Gallery, South Asian Modern Art 2023, 8-30 June, No.48, (illustrated in the exhibition catalogue)
    London, Phillips X & Grosvenor Gallery, Crossing Borders: Modern Art from South Asia, 10 - 31 July 2025, (illustrated in the exhibition catalogue)

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