Provenance: Dr. Gulshan Suchdev, Copenhagen / Spain. Acquired directly from the artist.

“I never lack inspiration. There is always a blank canvas, and there is always me, standing before it, waiting to be swallowed.”

At the final auction of the year, we are pleased to present a rare and beautiful collection of both paintings and paperworks by the Indian-born artist Sohan Qadri. The pieces come from the collection of Dr. Gulshan Suchdev, who resides in Denmark for a number of years, where he runs a dental clinic.

In the 1970s, he is introduced to the artist at the Indian Embassy - a meeting that proves to be, perhaps through a karmic twist of fate, more than a simple encounter: it turns out the two once attended the same school in Punjab. This moment marks the beginning of Dr. Suchdev’s art collection, but also the beginning of a lifelong friendship between the two men.

Abstraction and Transcendence For Sohan Qadri, painting is far more than a physical object - it is an act that emerges from a state of deep meditation. “For me, painting a picture is more of a ritual - it goes a little beyond just painting. It’s a way of awakening the forces hidden in the emptiness of the canvas,” he says in 1975.

In this way, the boundary between the inner space of the painting and the outer world of the viewer begins to dissolve. Experiencing the art is not about interpretation, but about seeing - about dissolving, emptying out, disappearing. Subtle hues, textures, and repetition become part of the work’s spiritual energy and pulse.

India’s Palette and Scandinavian Simplicity Qadri’s visual language draws inspiration from yogic practices, forming a unique hybrid of tantric symbolism and late modernist minimalism. His works radiate with vibrant, often lush colors - burnt orange, Sindoori red, peacock blue, burgundy, ochre - while the abstract surfaces are governed by a strict, Scandinavian sense of structure.

Though Qadri lives and works for most of his life in Copenhagen, he is born in Punjab in 1932 and raised as both a Hindu and a Sikh. From a young age, he experiences a powerful spiritual awakening that becomes the foundation for his life and art. He is particularly inspired by Vajrayana, Tantric Buddhism, which emphasizes the concept of shunyata understood as emptiness, or the absence of a fixed, unchanging essence in all forms of existence.

In 1965, Qadri leaves India and embarks on a journey that takes him through East Africa, North America, Paris, Zürich, and ultimately Denmark. “I didn’t want to limit myself to one place, one nation, one society. My approach to life has been universal—and so is my art,” he reflects in a 2002 interview with The Times of India.

Colour and Form Qadri’s early artistic practice is rooted in vivid oil paintings, defined by their striking use of contrast and bold color - qualities clearly visible in several works from the 1970s included in this collection. In time, he transitions to paper as his primary medium, a move that ultimately defines his signature style.

Both his canvases and paperworks take on a three-dimensional quality—the former through built-up layers, the latter through incisions and carvings. A hallmark of Qadri’s style is the two-layered composition: behind, an almost monochrome surface; in front, textured ridges of thick pigment that push forward, breaking the surface’s stillness and inviting direct encounter.

During his lifetime, Sohan Qadri exhibits widely in both solo and group shows across the globe. His works are represented in several private and public collections, including the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi.