SOHAN QADRI (1932 - 2011)

Property of a Bangalore based collector

Sohan Qadri was born in 1932 Punjab, India. As a young boy he was strongly influenced by two ascetics and changed his surname from Singh to Qadri after one of the ascetics. His interest in spirituality and meditation were deeply rooted and he worked in diverse fields including that of a Yoga Guru before finally taking actively to painting and poetry. His works reverberate in the silence that is engulfed within form and space. There is an intangible and not material connotation to his works requiring one to experience the work rather than to capture it. There is a subtle multiplicity and division of form. In his works there is a fine balance between form and space giving a glimpse into the sound of his inner voice. Sohan Qadri’s intention in creating a sensitive relation between material and astral levels is rendered very aptly on his canvas. His thought process flows from his verses onto his canvas. According to Dr. Mulk Raj Anand his works have "rhythmic expression in colour energies".

His works have a monochromatic surface with his inner voice crystallized into a form. The molecular stillness of the forms over the surface comes as the reflection of a Yogi. He shows oneness in multitude yet leaving one alone.

This work titled 'Invocation' is a prelude to the verses of the poet that Sohan Qadri is –
"Let things happen in silence and awareness.
Do not ask me to think intellectual jugglery – a hindrance, else I will stand in between you and me.
For, knowing is not becoming and becoming is not being.
The silence within the sound rises above matter becoming 'one' yet remains a part of others".