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Adi M. Davierwalla — featured artwork

Introduction

Adi M. Davierwalla was a self-taught sculptor whose practice contributed significantly to the development of post-independence Indian sculpture. Trained as a metallurgist, Davierwalla brought technical knowledge and industrial materiality into his work, frequently using metals, wood, and modern alloys. Emerging in the 1950s and 1960s, his sculptures demonstrate a formal preoccupation with balance, tension, and minimal geometric arrangement. He avoided figurative representation in favor of symbolic abstraction, often drawing from Parsi cosmology, modern physics, and architecture. Rather than monumental public works, Davierwalla’s practice was largely studio-based, producing introspective forms that explored time, transience, and metaphysical structure. Though relatively underrepresented in institutional narratives during his lifetime, his oeuvre offers a critical intersection between science and art, matter and spirit. His contribution highlights a lesser-documented trajectory in Indian modernism of artists engaging material intelligence and abstraction outside dominant academic or nationalist frameworks.

Zodiac sign
Pisces
Age
53
Place of Birth
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Place of Death
Pune, Maharashtra, India
State Country of Birth
Maharashtra, India
State Country of Death
Maharashtra, India

Exhibitions

  1. 1950

    1. Bombay Art Society, Mumbai, India
  2. 1955

    1. Bombay Art Society, Mumbai, India
  3. 1956

    1. Mumbai, India
  4. 1958

    1. Mumbai, India
  5. 1960

    1. Mumbai, India
  6. 1962

    1. Mumbai, India
  7. 1963

    1. Sao Paulo Biennale, Sao Paulo, Brazil
  8. 1964

    1. Mumbai, India
  9. 1965

    1. Mumbai, India
    2. National Exhibition, Rabindra Bhavan, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
  10. 1966

    1. Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
  11. 1969

    1. travelling exhibition of International Education, USA; Organized by the Coray Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland
  12. 1971

    1. A. M. Davierwalla, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, India
  13. 1975

    1. 3rd Triennale India, Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi, India
  14. 1976

    1. Retrospective
  15. 1979

  16. 1984

    1. National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
    2. Ethnographic Museum, Stockholm, Sweden
  17. 1985

    1. Art Heritage, New Delhi, India
    2. Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai, India
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Alkazi, Ebrahim (Editor). Art Heritage, 1978-1979 | Journal

Alkazi, Ebrahim (Editor). Art Heritage, 1978-1979 | Journal

Chronicled Highlights 71964 – 2004

Adi M. Davierwalla — Bombay, Maharashtra, India.

1964
Public Auction HighSculpture
Saffronart · Modern Indian Art: Summer Online AuctionOnline · 07 June 2007

In 2007, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Mother And Child (1964), offered in the Modern Indian Art: Summer Online Auction by Saffronart, which concluded on 07 June 2007 at Online, achieving a sale price of ₹35,65,000 ($87,743). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Davierwalla, A.M. (Artist). Mother And Child, 1964 | Sculpture
Selling price
INR35,65,000
78% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 15,00,000 – 20,00,000
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
69.5 in (177 cm)
Lot
114 · Sa.Onl/07.06.07
1966
Public Auction HighSculpture
Christie's · South Asian Modern and Contemporary ArtNew York · 13 September 2017

In 2017, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Galaxy (1966), offered in the South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art by Christie's, which concluded on 13 September 2017 at New York, achieving a sale price of ₹1,19,96,587.5 ($187,500). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Davierwalla, A.M. (Artist). Galaxy, 1966 | Sculpture
Selling price
INR1,19,96,588
213% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 25,59,272 – 38,38,908
Medium
Welded steel, brass and glass
Dimensions
40 × 30 × 15 in (102 × 76 × 38 cm)
Signature
Indistinctly signed, dated and inscribed 'BHABHA' (l.c.)
Lot
416 · Ch.NeY/13.09.17
Provenance
Formerly in the collection of Bal Chhabda Thence by descent Acquired from the above by the present owner
1967
Literary ReferenceSculpture
Pundole · The Sculpture SaleOnline · 15 February 2024

The figurative pieces already suggest an instinctive understanding of anatomical stylisation – of trying to separate the components of a human figure and then proceeding to emphasise their essential role through exaggeration, distortion and harmonious synchronisation. With experience, spurred on by trial and error, Davierwalla probed deeper along these lines and responded to the secret language of geometry, of gravitational pulls, or the dynamic counterpoint between mass and space.

Davierwalla, A.M. (Artist). Untitled, 1967 | Sculpture
Selling price
INR1,20,00,000
300% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 20,00,000 – 30,00,000
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
15.7 in (40 cm)
Lot
22 · Pu.Onl/15.02.24
1968
Public Auction HighSculpture
Pundole · The Fine Art SaleMumbai · 23 February 2023

In 2023, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Crystal and Gold: A Monument to a Memory (1968), offered in the The Fine Art Sale by Pundole, which concluded on 23 February 2023 at Mumbai, achieving a sale price of ₹6,50,00,000 ($785,563.04). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Davierwalla, A.M. (Artist). Crystal and Gold: A Monument to a Memory, 1968 | Sculpture
Selling price
INR6,50,00,000
829% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 50,00,000 – 70,00,000
Medium
Steel, brass, quartz crystal
Dimensions
77.8 in (198 cm)
Lot
8 · Pu.Mum/23.02.23
1968
Literary ReferenceSculpture
DeRivaz & Ives · Modern Indian Fine Arts & Artefacts: And Related Rare Books & CataloguesOnline · 09 December 2023

It is significant that, although completely self-trained, he did not follow the contemporary fashion of sculpting in plaster and preparing a mold for the final bronze product but took to carving directly in wood, stone and marble. This brought him face to face with the essential nature of a sculptor’s work, an exploration of form in solid material informed by an empathy with the character of the latter, an understanding of organic structure and the scope it offered for an interplay of mass (including socalled empty space), volume and line.

Davierwalla, A.M. (Artist). Untitled, 1968 | Sculpture
Selling price
INR62,72,000
Within estimate
Estimate
INR 60,00,000 – 90,00,000
Medium
Stained wood
Dimensions
49.1 × 7.9 × 7.7 in (125 × 20 × 20 cm)
Lot
30 · De.Onl/09.12.23
Provenance
Previously acquired by Mumbai-based collector from Pundole's auction titled 'Property from the Estate of the Late Dr. Jamshed J. Bhabha', 13th October 2011 (Lot 914)
1972
Public Auction HighSculpture
Pundole · The Fine Art Sale: Including Works from the Collection of Roshan Sabavala and Emanuel SchlesingerMumbai · 03 November 2015

In 2015, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Couple (1972), offered in the The Fine Art Sale: Including Works from the Collection of Roshan Sabavala and Emanuel Schlesinger by Pundole, which concluded on 03 November 2015 at Mumbai, achieving a sale price of ₹42,00,000 ($58,251.78). This record marked a defining moment in the artist's market history, reflecting both the significance of the artwork and its reception within the broader art world.

Davierwalla, A.M. (Artist). Couple, 1972 | Sculpture
Selling price
INR42,00,000
425% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 6,00,000 – 8,00,000
Medium
Bronze, Edition 2/6
Dimensions
12 in (31 cm)
Lot
73 · Pu.Mum/03.11.15
Provenance
Collection of Roshan Sabavala and Emanuel Schlesinger, Mumbai
2004
Image 1/2
First Auction Appearance | BOOK.AUCSculpture
Osian's · The Masterpieces & Museum Quality Series: Indian Contemporary Art – Books, Paintings & SculptureNew Delhi · 15 October 2004

On 15 October 2004, A.M. Davierwalla made their debut in the Indian public auction market when Untitled was presented as Lot 57 in The Masterpieces & Museum Quality Series: Indian Contemporary Art – Books, Paintings & Sculpture, conducted by Osian's in New Delhi, India. This auction marked the artist's first recorded appearance in the public auction market, establishing the earliest chapter of their auction history.

Davierwalla, A.M. (Artist). Untitled, n.d. | Sculpture
Selling price
INR1,38,058
Below low estimate
Estimate
INR 2,00,000 – 3,00,000
Medium
Metal and mixed media
Lot
57 · Os.Del/15.10.04

Economics of Art

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