Subodh Gupta
(1964)
Hungry God
Subodh Gupta creates irony and awe by turning everyday objects used in domestic spaces into works of art. The present lot is a monumental wave of stacked utensils, in which Gupta plays with scale and meaning. Hungry God "...is made up of a vast number of stainless-steel kitchen utensils stacked in a mound, at an awe-inspiring scale, as a quasi-religious offering. Gupta likens the modern-day kitchen to a secular temple and its implements...
Subodh Gupta creates irony and awe by turning everyday objects used in domestic spaces into works of art. The present lot is a monumental wave of stacked utensils, in which Gupta plays with scale and meaning. Hungry God "...is made up of a vast number of stainless-steel kitchen utensils stacked in a mound, at an awe-inspiring scale, as a quasi-religious offering. Gupta likens the modern-day kitchen to a secular temple and its implements to idols. With this major work he offers a multitude of tiffin-pots, and the food they might produce or carry on a daily basis, to satisfy a 'hungry god'." (Simon Maidment, "Subodh Gupta: Everyday Divine," National Gallery of Victoria, 11 May 2016, online) Gupta's use of stainless steel objects as a medium has cultural and historical significance. The production of stainless steel, as envisioned by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, propelled India into an era of economic development. "Nehru brought steel under state control and set up the first public sector steel mills in the late 1950s, referring to them as 'temples of modernity'." (Maidment, online) With India emerging as the second largest producer of steel in 2017, the metaphor behind Gupta's Hungry God acquires further relevance in its contemporary context.
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Lot
38
of
76
ALIVE: EVENING SALE OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART
17 SEPTEMBER 2020
Estimate
$200,000 - 250,000
Rs 1,46,00,000 - 1,82,50,000
USD payment only.
Why?
ARTWORK DETAILS
Subodh Gupta
Hungry God
2005 - 2006
Stainless steel
Height: 104 in (264.1 cm) Width: 196 in (497.4 cm) Depth: 83 in (210.8 cm)
PROVENANCE Nature Morte, New Delhi Walsh Gallery, Chicago Private Collection, USA Saffronart, 13-14 June 2018, lot 129 Property from an Eminent South East Asian Collection
EXHIBITEDHungry God , New Delhi: Gallery Nature Morte, 1 - 25 February 2006Urban Manners 2: Contemporary Artists from India , S??o Paulo: SESC Pompeia, 2010Beyond Limits , Derbyshire: Chatsworth House, 13 September - 31 October 2010Subodh Gupta: Everyday Divine , Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, 13 May - 16 November 2016 PUBLISHEDUrban Manners 2: Contemporary Artists from India , S??o Paulo: SESC Pompeia, 2010, p. 19 (illustrated)
Category: Sculpture
Style: Still Life