Born in 1964, Subodh Gupta studied at the College of Art, Patna (1983-1988) before moving to New Delhi, where he continues to live and work. Trained as a painter, he went on to experiment with a variety of media, and his mature work can be said to begin with his first installation entitled Twenty-nine Mornings, created during a residency at the Fukuoka Museum of Asian Art in Japan in 1996.

Gupta is known to work with ubiquitous objects such as mass-produced steel utensils, found routinely as part of household kitchens throughout India. The ordinary items are combined and transformed into sculptures that reflect the social and political economies of Gupta’s homeland, while acknowledging multiple references from the history of Modern Art. While stainless steel is his signature medium, he also executes works in bronze, stone, brass, wood, clay and fibreglass. Striking a dialogue between the found and the built, he manipulates the accoutrements of daily life to encapsulate multitudes of definitions and circumstances of contemporary India.

Before art school, Gupta delved into the arena of theatre, experimenting with both acting and set design. For him, performance, and by extension drama, exists as an inherent condition of being. Gupta states, “Performing has become a part of my life. So whenever you see my large works, it is part of my performance on a big stage”. In both his sculptures and paintings, the artist reflects upon the theatre of life, the performers who move through it, the props with which they engage, and the narratives that are implied. In 2010 Gupta designed the sets and costumes for a performance choreographed by Ballet Preljocaj for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Subodh Gupta’s works have been exhibited in solo exhibitions in prestigious museums such as Monnaie de Paris, France (2018); Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, UK (2017); Art Basel, Switzerland (2017), The Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art, USA (2017); National Gallery of Victoria, Australia (2016); Museum fur Moderne Kunst, Germany (2014); Kunstmuseum Thun, Switzerland (2013); Kiran Nadar Museum, India (2012); Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere, Finland (2011). His mid-career survey, curated by Germano Celant, was held at the National Gallery of Modern Art, India in 2012.

Gupta was knighted with the Chevalier dans L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 2013 by the Government of France. Other awards he has received include the Emerging Artist Award established by Bose Pacia Modern, New York, USA (1997) and the 1st Prize at the All India Painting Exhibition by M.F. Husain at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, India (1996).

Subodh Gupta

Proust mapping (IV), 2024