Singleton exhibited close to 300 works at the Royal Academy of Art,London. Among them were works depicting the legends of Tipu Sultan,who ruled Mysore in the latter half of 18th century. Now,the concluding auction in Osians Creative India Series includes an oil sketch by Singleton titled The Assault and Taking of Seringapatam,apart from featuring works from Goa,Cholamandal and South India. The sketch,made in 1800,was once part of Lord Wellesleys collection. The auction will also feature other antiques and prints on Tipu Sultan,artwork from Tanjore,Tamil Nadu and Kerala and works by a number of Modern masters (including DP Roychowdhury,FN Souza,K Ramanujam,J Sultan Ali,Laxma Goud and L Munuswamy) and contemporary artists (including Surendran Nair,Riyaz Komu and Vasudha Thozur). The opening preview of these works will be held on June 9 at Osians office in Mumbai,while the auction will be held at the Taj Mahal Palace,Colaba,Mumbai,on June 21. The Creative India Series began with an auction focussing on the art of Bengal,moved on to the old Punjab Hills region and Delhi followed by Bombay and Baroda.

Arty Overdrive

UNDER normal driving conditions,it takes little over an hour for one to reach Chandigarh from Kasauli. However,it took Delhi-based artist Manil Gupta,who works in collaboration with his brother,artist and photographer Rohit Gupta,well over two hours. The traffic was not to blame. Turning heads and arousing curiosity all through the journey was their latest artwork a painted car. Given the artwork on it,its no longer just an SUV but a travelling canvas and that,Manil Gupta admits,was pretty much the purpose. Titled The Holographic Love Machine,it took the brothers just over two weeks to finish the project. As is their signature style,the artwork is colourful,comic and quirky. Theres no theme or storyboard,just dozens of illustrations that seem to connect seamlessly. The iconography is sourced from the street and popular media such as graffiti,comics,packaging and animation. Often people feel intimidated when they enter an art gallery. With this,weve hit the road,brought down the walls, said Manil. He is yet to present his work in Delhi.