Dripping Figure is an example of the experimental style of work that would come to define Ribeiro’s career. His use of acrylic paint, in particular the mixing of pigments with polyvinyl acetate, which he pioneered in the mid-1960s, allowed him to paint works that appear to be flowing off the canvas.

Here, the globular figure is rendered in oranges, greens and prinks, set against a dark, swirling background of deep blue and white, reminiscent of a starry sky. Ribeiro’s figures are usually painted head on, and in the 1960s he started to twist and contort his subjects into fantastical forms. His paintings are commonly inspired by scenes from his upbringing in Goa; ‘my first influences … were the churches and statuary of the Catholic church in Goa along with the symbolic ritual that went with it.” Katriana Hazell (ed.), Restless Ribeiro: An Indian Artist in Britain, exhibition catalogue, Asia House, London, 2013.