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Ratheesh T., Kiss (Clear Pond) (detail), 2016. Oil on canvas, 72 × 84 inches (182.9 × 213.4 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Gift of Blake Byrne, T'57; 2019.2.1. © Ratheesh T. Courtesy of Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.
Ratheesh T., Kiss (Clear Pond) (detail), 2016. Oil on canvas, 72 × 84 inches (182.9 × 213.4 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Gift of Blake Byrne, T'57; 2019.2.1. © Ratheesh T. Courtesy of Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.

Among several notable paintings to enter the collection is an oil on canvas by India-born artist Ratheesh T., who draws inspiration from the people and landscape of his home in Trivandrum, India. The artist imbues a real location with an imaginative, dream-like quality in Kiss (Clear Pond) (2016), which shows a tender moment between the artist and his daughter as they embrace beside a pond outside the artist’s studio. The inverted reflection in the pond, the surface of the water and nearby vegetation intermingle to create an elusive sense of space and perspective. The gift came from the late Blake Byrne (T’57), who purchased it for the museum shortly before he died in Los Angeles on March 23, 2019, at the age of 83.

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