SUBODH GUPTA, Recent Works- THE ART OF THE MUNDANE
FRANCK BARTHLLEMY
Franck Barthelemy wants to remember Subodh Gupta’s latest exhibition at SKE Gallery, Bangalore as a dialogue with the century’s old tradition of still lives and naturalism. Through the selection of artworks, he explored the power of the association between monumentalism and intimacy, the use of the mundane and its representation, the complexity of accumulation and the simplicity of a journal, says the critic.
Subodh Gupta’s exhibitions are always’must see’ exhibitions (especially in the quiet city of Bangalore). I feel very lucky to be able to see his latest works at the gallery SKE, now establishing base in Delhi. Itake this opportunity to thank SKE to bring us some of the best shows in India. The day I receive an invite to attend any of their shows, I immediately block my evening for the preview and another day for a leisurely visit. When I got the card for the Gupta’s show, I was surely excited. An immediate question came to my mind : am I going to see the usual utensils works that made him write a piece of the art history ? When I walked in the show, the answer was not so straight forward. There was Aura, the2013 produced huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling made of stainless steel tiffin boxes, buckets, milk pots, neon tube lights and bulbs. The cold and white light the chandelier emits takes the viewer to the Terry Gilliam’s Brazil(one of my two favourite movies) futuristic ambiance: complex, rich, scary and questioning. The viewer gets a kick in the stomach. The challenge is to interpret what is being seen beyond the metal containers. What gets me into the work is the omnipresence of the everyday ordinary life. It connects me to the fascinating world of still lives initially painted by anonymous artistsof the 16th and 17th century. Those who had the chance to visit European museums, castles and forts would remember seeing these paintings hanging in the kitchens and the dining halls. Raw meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, utensils.
The idea then was to depict the opulence of the household, in other words a show-off ceremonial. The size of Aura, the accumulation of simple mundane objects and the complex display of each of the constituting elements perhaps make the artist a still life master of our 21st century. The Note to Self series of paintings confirmed my view. Gupta painted a few days of his food diary … after eating. Instead of representing the raw meat and ingredients that we typically see on still lives, the artist played with the concept. He perhaps found another way to talk about an economic context of prosperity and opulence: an empty plate and hence a stuffed eater. What strikes me is the naturalistic way of doing it.Franck Barthelemy wants to remember Subodh Gupta’s latest exhibition at SKE Gallery, Bangalore as a dialogue with the century’s old tradition of still lives and naturalism. Through the selection of artworks, he explored the power of the association between monumentalism and intimacy, the use of the mundane and its representation, the complexity of accumulation and the simplicity of a journal, says the critic.
Subodh Gupta’s exhibitions are always’must see’ exhibitions (especially in the quiet city of Bangalore). I feel very lucky to be able to see his latest works at the gallery SKE, now establishing base in Delhi. Itake this opportunity to thank SKE to bring us some of the best shows in India. The day I receive an invite to attend any of their shows, I immediately block my evening for the preview and another day for a leisurely visit. When I got the card for the Gupta’s show, I was surely excited. An immediate question came to my mind : am I going to see the usual utensils works that made him write a piece of the art history ? When I walked in the show, the answer was not so straight forward. There was Aura, the2013 produced huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling made of stainless steel tiffin boxes, buckets, milk pots, neon tube lights and bulbs. The cold and white light the chandelier emits takes the viewer to the Terry Gilliam’s Brazil(one of my two favourite movies) futuristic ambiance: complex, rich, scary and questioning. The viewer gets a kick in the stomach. The challenge is to interpret what is being seen beyond the metal containers. What gets me into the work is the omnipresence of the everyday ordinary life. It connects me to the fascinating world of still lives initially painted by anonymous artistsof the 16th and 17th century. Those who had the chance to visit European museums, castles and forts would remember seeing these paintings hanging in the kitchens and the dining halls. Raw meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, utensils.
The idea then was to depict the opulence of the household, in other words a show-off ceremonial. The size of Aura, the accumulation of simple mundane objects and the complex display of each of the constituting elements perhaps make the artist a still life master of our 21st century. The Note to Self series of paintings confirmed my view. Gupta painted a few days of his food diary … after eating. Instead of representing the raw meat and ingredients that we typically see on still lives, the artist played with the concept. He perhaps found another way to talk about an economic context of prosperity and opulence: an empty plate and hence a stuffed eater. What strikes me is the naturalistic way of doing it. Gutparecorded on canvas the state of a post meal experience the way one of these new amateur photographers would have done it with a smart phone in order to post it on a famous social network. The small formats of the series add some intimacy to the viewer’s experience. As Gupta puts it, this is a ‘visual archive’ of different meals he had in flight, in five stars, in small restaurants or cafés, in other words, a piece of his life thrown on a piece of canvas. The last part of the exhibition is made of miniature vitrines showing small size emblematic works of the artist encapsulated in glass boxes.
Though the effect is fantastic I feel it is the weaker part of the exhibition in terms of concept. I do understand it is great to own a small piece of art by one of the most internationally acclaimed Indian artists, and especially very representative artworks with all the elements that made him famous but I feel it is far too early to think about souvenirs captured in glass boxes in the way we would display curios of bygone era in a museum of anthropology or worst in a cabinet of curiosity.However, Thoughts, the vitrine with the mini skulls accumulated in a silver spoon is perhaps the most stunning of the lot and the most representative of Gupta’s works. There is surely a direct connection to Very Hungry Gods (2006) now in the François Pinault’s collection. I cannotstop wondering thoughwho is this spoon going to feed? Gutparecorded on canvas the state of a post meal experience the way one of these new amateur photographers would have done it with a smart phone in order to post it on a famous social network. The small formats of the series add some intimacy to the viewer’s experience. As Gupta puts it, this is a ‘visual archive’ of different meals he had in flight, in five stars, in small restaurants or cafés, in other words, a piece of his life thrown on a piece of canvas. The last part of the exhibition is made of miniature vitrines showing small size emblematic works of the artist encapsulated in glass boxes.
Though the effect is fantastic I feel it is the weaker part of the exhibition in terms of concept. I do understand it is great to own a small piece of art by one of the most internationally acclaimed Indian artists, and especially very representative artworks with all the elements that made him famous but I feel it is far too early to think about souvenirs captured in glass boxes in the way we would display curios of bygone era in a museum of anthropology or worst in a cabinet of curiosity.However, Thoughts, the vitrine with the mini skulls accumulated in a silver spoon is perhaps the most stunning of the lot and the most representative of Gupta’s works. There is surely a direct connection to Very Hungry Gods (2006) now in the François Pinault’s collection. I cannotstop wondering thoughwho is this spoon going to feed?
