The themes of oppression and gluttony in Ved Gupta’s work

Several decisive turns in his life have influenced Ved Gupta’s concepts and methodology. His work is largely grounded in his own stark experiences and subtle observations. The artist’s sculptures and paintings mock India’s social and economic hierarchies.

With his new show, entitled ‘Everybody Says We Are Fine…’ at New Delhi based Gallery Threshold, the artist contextualizes the proposition of ‘size’ in his art practice. The small format show displays miniature-sized works that concentrate on issues he has always been thematically concerned with, albeit exuding distinct quality of rendition as well as execution a smaller pictorial scale provides.

Not aiming for a departure from the theme of corruption, oppression and excesses caused by unchecked power, he looks to extend his narrative by adopting variation in style as well as agency of representation. His oeuvre seems to take a jaunt between various sizes. An explanatory note mentions:

“The miniature sized figures create an illusion of physical magnitude, while their execution remains fine and detailed as in a miniature painting. A four inch sculpture thus assumes the visual testimony of an eighteen inch one. The powerful and the corrupt have been portrayed by Ved Gupta as mutated or dwarfed caricatures, and the oppressed figure of the laborer is naked, elongated and idealized in his sensual beauty.”

His recent figures seem to be deprived of all visible characteristics - their faces rather flattened. Explaining his protagonists’ minimal modeling, the artist states, “However I may render the faces, the emphasis is on exposing the real disposition of my characters! Expression is central to the works and subjectivity is best brought out with minimal modeling. The incisive flat edges of the faces divulge the cunning nature of the characters.”

This ‘Small Format Show’ continues with the subjects holding erstwhile values as the artist plays with the proposition of ‘size’, building small renditions as naturalistically as in the larger works.