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Pilloo Pochkhanawala — featured artwork

Introduction

Date of Birth
01 Apr 1923
Zodiac sign
Aries
Date of Death
1985
Age
61
Place of Birth
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Place of Death
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Spouse(s)
Rattan pochkhanawala
Children
Daughter meher
State Country of Birth
Maharashtra, India
State Country of Death
Maharashtra, India

Exhibitions

  1. 1955

    1. Mumbai, India
  2. 1957

    1. Mumbai, India
  3. 1961

    1. Mumbai, India
  4. 1962

    1. 28 ft. sculpture commissioned by the Natural Gas Co., Mumbai, India
  5. 1963

    1. Sculpture sent as India's entry to Commonwealth Art Today, London, U.K.
  6. 1965

    1. Mumbai, India
    2. New Delhi, India
  7. 1967

    1. Sculpture exhibited in Belgrade, Bangkok, and Tokyo, Japan
  8. 1968

    1. Exhibited at the First Triennale–India, New Delhi, India
    2. New Delhi, India
  9. 1969

    1. Sculpture exhibited as India's entry at the São Paulo Biennale
  10. 1970

    1. Invited to England by the British Council to meet their leading sculptors
    2. Participated in the Contemporary Art Exhibition at the Ashoka Gallery, New Delhi, India
    3. 30 ft. open-air sculpture in the city square executed for the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking of the Bombay Municipal Corporation
  11. 1971

    1. Sculpture exhibited as India's entry at the São Paulo Biennale
  12. 1972

    1. Large bronze sculpture commissioned by Ceat Tyres of India
  13. 1973

    1. Mumbai, India
  14. 1974

    1. Sculpture exhibited as India's entry at the Asiatic Biennale of Outdoor Sculpture at Middelheim, Belgium
    2. Gallery Chemould, Prescott Road, Mumbai, India
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Pochkhanawala, Pilloo (Artist). Sculptures, 1973 | Solo Exhibition Catalogue | 00882569

Pochkhanawala, Pilloo (Artist). Sculptures, 1973 | Solo Exhibition Catalogue | 00882569

Chronicled Highlights 71955 – 1997

Pilloo Pochkhanawala was born in 1923 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India.

1955
Public Auction HighSculpture
Sotheby's · Modern and Contemporary South Asian ArtLondon · 29 September 2020

In 2020, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Untitled (1955), offered in the Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art by Sotheby's, which concluded on 29 September 2020 at London, achieving a sale price of ₹77,78,075.76 ($105,319.63). 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.

Pochkhanawala, Pilloo (Artist). Untitled, c.1950s | Sculpture
Selling price
INR77,78,076
36% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 37,98,816 – 56,98,224
Medium
Teakwood
Dimensions
62 × 16.1 × 13 in (158 × 41 × 33 cm)
Lot
6 · So.Lon/29.09.20
1973
Literary ReferencePainting
DeRivaz & Ives · Indian Modern ArtOnline · 04 February 2023

Today pollution is a major hazard in industrialized society and ecologists are seriously concerned at the ruthless rate at which man is destroying his environment. In India this pollution is in the form of ugliness and a sterility towards beauty, which is changing the pattern of life. Throughout the centuries, art has been closely integrated into the pattern of Indian life. Art is not an embellishment, it is a way of life. Routine is a deadening thing and an urge to respond to creative activity is a very strong one and if suppressed over a long period must lead to psychological imbalance. Man is born with two strong urges, survival and procreation and art stems from the urge to create. When I say art, I do not mean entertainment or escapism, I mean that object, or activity which stirs, stimulates, disturbs or refreshes the emotion of man. I do not think that there is any humanbeing who is so self-contained that he can live, in harmony, without the stimulus of Art.

Pochkhanawala, Pilloo (Artist). Untitled, 1973 | Painting
Selling price
INR9,52,000
Below low estimate
Estimate
INR 12,00,000 – 18,00,000
Rate per sq in
INR 1,343
Medium
Pen & ink on paper board
Dimensions
23.2 × 30.5 in (59 × 78 cm)
Lot
18 · De.Onl/04.02.23
1974
Public Auction HighSculpture
Sotheby's · Modern and Contemporary South Asian ArtLondon · 26 October 2021

In 2021, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Atomic Couple (1974), offered in the Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art by Sotheby's, which concluded on 26 October 2021 at London, achieving a sale price of ₹2,86,72,653.24 ($381,708.11). 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.

Pochkhanawala, Pilloo (Artist). Atomic Couple, c.1974 | Sculpture
Selling price
INR2,86,72,653
454% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 31,03,101 – 51,71,835
Medium
Scrap metal and stones
Dimensions
40.9 × 25.6 × 16 in (104 × 65 × 41 cm)
Lot
70 · So.Lon/26.10.21
1981
Public Auction HighSculpture
Saffronart · Evening SaleNew Delhi · 12 September 2019

In 2019, the artist achieved a new high in the auction market with the sale of Assassination (1981), offered in the Evening Sale by Saffronart, which concluded on 12 September 2019 at New Delhi, achieving a sale price of ₹50,40,000 ($70,986). 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.

Pochkhanawala, Pilloo (Artist). Assassination, 1981 | Sculpture
Selling price
INR50,40,000
460% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 7,00,000 – 9,00,000
Medium
Cement, metal and painted fibreglass
Dimensions
31.5 × 19.1 × 16.9 in (80 × 49 × 43 cm)
Lot
30 · Sa.Del/12.09.19
1983
Literary ReferenceSculpture
Pundole · The Sculpture SaleOnline · 15 February 2024

I have almost a pagan worship for the elements. This may probably be an unconscious surrender to our Zoroastrian religion where the dominant factor in our Temple has been the Fire, which has held me fascinated from childhood. Many years later this has terminated in my metal sculptures, ‘Sun-Blast’, ‘Flame’ and others...Texture can evoke every subtle nuance of human emotions and I have used it lavishly in my Metal-Scapes. All the scars, scratches and corroded surfaces on my aluminium sculpture act as my personal signature.

Pochkhanawala, Pilloo (Artist). Cloud Burst, 1983 | Sculpture
Selling price
INR3,50,00,000
400% above high estimate
Estimate
INR 50,00,000 – 70,00,000
Medium
Aluminium alloy
Dimensions
92.2 in (234 cm)
Lot
15 · Pu.Onl/15.02.24
1984
Retrospective ExhibitionSolo Exhibition Catalogue
Pilloo Pochkhanawala · Pilloo PochkhanawalaGallery Chemould

In 1984, Pilloo Pochkhanawala A Retrospective 1952 -1984 marked a major milestone in the exhibition history of Pilloo Pochkhanawala, offering a retrospective survey of the artist's artistic production

Pochkhanawala, Pilloo (Artist). Pilloo Pochkhanawala, 1984 | Solo Exhibition Catalogue | 00882571
1997
Image 1/2
First Auction Appearance | BOOK.AUCSculpture
HEART · The Intuitive-Logic II: Modern & Contemporary Indian Paintings, Drawings, Graphics, Sculpture & TapestryMumbai · 15 November 1997

On 15 November 1997, made their debut in the Indian public auction market when Seascape I was presented as Lot in The Intuitive-Logic II: Modern & Contemporary Indian Paintings, Drawings, Graphics, Sculpture & Tapestry, conducted by HEART in Mumbai, India. This auction marked the artist's first recorded appearance in the public auction market, establishing the earliest chapter of their auction history.

Pochkhanawala, Pilloo (Artist). Seascape I, 1973 | Sculpture
Selling price
INR1,00,000
Below low estimate
Estimate
INR 1,50,000 – 1,85,000
Medium
Aluminum Alloy
Dimensions
10.2 × 30.3 × 7.1 in (26 × 77 × 18 cm)
Lot
153 · He.Mum/15.11.97

Economics of Art

Research Centre

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