G R Iranna straddles that space between modern and contemporary art. Originally hailing from a farming family in Karnataka, his yearning to be an art teacher led him to study first at the Fine Art College in Gulbarga and then at the College of Art in Delhi. Here he earned a Master's degree in painting and went on to marry his artist wife Pooja, whose peerless painterly lineage makes eminent artists Shobha Broota and Rameshwar Broota his in-laws. However, he has a distinct identity as a master in his own right, experimenting with sculpture and tarpaulin paintings and even earning the prestigious Charles Wallace Scholarship.

While Iranna is well-known for a body of work that draws from the figurative, this piece in particular is a study in abstraction. The colours of the 1999 oil on canvas are deep and vivid, plunging one into a powerful contemplation of the abstract forms that dot the canvas. His strong attention to detail in depicting these forms becomes eminently evident as does his introspective way of working, the latter which is tangible in the work, throwing one into a state of silent meditation.