Untitled

The naked body appeared frequently in V. Nageshkar’s work, most of which developed in Europe, where he used hallucinogenic colours to report on apartheid and gender discrimination. It is this that marks this mid-career painting in which a life model poses in what one is tempted to assume is Nageshkar’s studio. The artist lays out the female body for the viewer to see in the same way he might himself, from a domineering position, while she trades her youth for male desire from a position below. The artist himself is nearly eliminated from the painting to retain the focus on the model.