Lot 72: Guldasta

SUBODH GUPTA (B. 1964) Guldasta stainless steel untensils 31 x 17 x 17 in. (78.7 x 43.2 x 43.2 cm.) Executed in 2013

43.2 x 43.2 cm.

When I was small, I saw it [the kitchen] as a place to pray. A kind of temple. For me it's a place full of spirituality. (Artist statement) Subodh Gupta draws heavily from his own experiences in his art practice, recasting traditional objects of Indian culture in contemporary media and contexts. "I work with my childhood memories. Today, when I use stainless steel utensils in my work, people say I'm taking advantage of a Bihari scenario. It's a source of laughter for me. I am making art, not branding India. I make very contemporary artworks. My work emerges from the mundane, from my surroundings." (Artist statement, A. Mehta, India 20: Conversations with Contemporary Artists, Ahmedabad, 2007, p. 180) Stainless steel has been an iconic emblem of Gupta's artistic vocabulary, particularly in the form of Duchampian style ready-mades constructed out of cooking utensils; items embedded in the social fabric of day-to-day culture of the Indian subcontinent. Earlier this year Subodh Gupta was the subject of a prestigious mid-career retrospective at the National Gallerie of Modern Art, New Dehli, curated by Germano Celant. This exhibition displayed many of Gupta's iconic utensil constructions which propelled him to international success.