SYED HAIDER RAZA (1922-2016)

"In 1948 Raza returned from his visit to Kashmir, inspired to paint but also to venture into new directions in pictorial space. He had in mind the advice given to him by Cartier Bresson, to 'build' and construct pictures. [...] When he paints a landscape it is an Island in the mind, isolated from nature, peopled with trees, with glorious colours that reflect the abstract qualities of Indian miniatures. Houses are constructed like cubes, viewed from an aerial perspective which renders the Island like a paradise. [...] These are no longer landscapes, 'studies from nature' which render it in perspective and with the illusion of tangible reality. These are pure forms and colours, abstracting from nature, recreating land and water and trees in their own autonomous spaces - in the mind." (G. Sen, Mindscapes Early Works by S. H. Raza 1945-50, New Delhi, 2001, p. 34)