“Give Me Freedom” (2007) is a museum-level painting by internationally acclaimed Contemporary Indian artist, G.R. Iranna (India, B. 1970). This large-scale work is a major example of the artist's self-contained, "pastiche-style” ritualistic spaces based on notions of birth, death, life and transcendence. Victory as well as the victimization of mankind are central themes in Iranna’s visual vocabulary. This is poignantly and powerfully illustrated in "Give Me Freedom" by two surreal vignettes; one of a blind-folded young girl playing piano while a massive tiger sleeps at her feet, the other is of a Spanish bull-fighter in the midst of defeating a charging bull. Both narratives are thematically and spatially isolated from one another, as are the mapped islands which Iranna floats through the composition. The artist harmoniously connects these disparate visual elements by grounding the painting in a luminous golden background. "Give Me Freedom” was featured as a major example of Iranna's very best paintings from his entire oeuvre, in the recent July-August 2012 exhibition: "ALONE/ TOGETHER: Riyas Komu and G.R. Iranna" at Aicon Gallery, New York, U.S. This work measures 66 x 90 inches (approx 167.6 cm x 228.6 cm), is unframed and in excellent condition. Note:This Sale marks the first time this painting has been offered at an international auction and comes to artnet Auctions from a top Private Collection, Connecticut, US.

G.R. Iranna (India, B. 1970) received his formal training as an artist-in-residence in 1999-2000 at Wimbledon School of Art, London, his M.F.A. in Painting in 1994 from College of Art, New Delhi in 1994, and his B.F.A. in Painting in 1992 from College of Visual Art, Gulbarga. The artist lives and works in New Dehli, India. Recent Museum exhibitions include in 2011 "Inde", Centre Pompidou, Paris, France, "Contemporary Art from India", Helsinki Art Museum – The Tennis Palace, Helsinki, Finland in 2011, The San Jose Museum of Art, US California in 2010, and the "Culture Popular India", Madrid Museum, Spain in 2009, among many others. Iranna's paintings are held by the top Museum and Private permanent Collections world-wide including:
The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.
Seattle Art Museum, USA.
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore.
The David Robert Collection, London, U.K.
The Herwitz Collection, U.S.A.
The Kiran Nadar Collection.
The Rajshee Pathi Collection.