Manjunath Kamath
Indian, born 1972
Almost There
INV-2378
Manjunath Kamath
Indian, born 19722016
Almost There
Manjunath Kamath Indian, born 1972 →21st Centurypaintingasian art
Date
2016
Medium
Gouache on silk
Dimensions
213.4 × 213.4 cm (84 × 84 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by the Friends of Indian and Islamic Art of The Art Institute of Chicago
Inspired by the traditions of Indian and particularly Buddhist painting, Manjunath Kamath here depicts a whorl of fire with its center hollowed out. A closer look reveals
fragments of deities, flailing horse hooves and hindquarters, clouds, and sections of a Buddhist mandala. The hollowed center refers both to the concept of emptiness (shunyata), an important strand of Indian philosophical thought, and at the same time to the golden womb (hiranyagarbha)—the beginning of the universe and infinity itself.
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