Friday, July 20, 2012

A celebrated artist's intrinsic inspirations

According to celebrated artist Subodh Gupta, art language essentially remains the same across the globe, which lets him ‘be anywhere’.

The Bihar-born artist began as a painter in the 1980s before he branched into installation and video. He has been at the forefront of the contemporary art boom South Asian with his sculptures that are crafted from ubiquitous food pots and cow-dung patties. “I very well remember carrying food in a tiffin box to my dad,” he has stated in an interview.

Art has only one language. Even if one does not understand the content, one should at least be able to say, ‘My God, this is a good piece,’” he emphasizes in one of his interviews (Gareth Harris of The UK Financial Times). The artist is keen to maintain a ‘healthy distance’ from patrons as he asserts: “I respect (the late French film-maker Claude) Berri and François Pinault. They have money and they collect art. Four or five people in India are among the richest in the world but they have no passion for supporting art.

His intelligent and slick usage of homespun materials testifies the tipping point of India’s rapid economic transformation and simultaneously strikes a chord with art audiences in India and abroad. His cooking utensils installation brought him accolades at Frieze Art Fair 2005. French billionaire François Pinault placed ‘Very Hungry God’, his 1,000kg monumental skull made of ordinary pots and pans, outside the Palazzo Grassi gallery in Venice. It was the must-see pieces at the 2007 Biennale.

He draws largely from everyday scenarios and objects. His aesthetic tends to delineate the complex inter-relations of rural and urban communities of India. It depicts the aftereffect of the traditional Indian society’s modernization and consumerism. Subodh Gupta has showcased his works at some of the most prestigious galleries in Europe, America and other parts of the world.

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