146-147 / 184
146
14772
SUBODH GUPTA
(b. 1964)
Untitled (Guldasta)
Stainless steel
Height: 31 in (78.1 cm)
Width: 17 in (43.1 cm)
Depth: 18 in (45.9 cm)
Rs 30,00,000 ‒ 40,00,000
$ 47,620 ‒ 63,495
PROVENANCE
Christie's, Mumbai, 11 December 2014, lot 72
Gupta subverts the idea of the flower bouquet
with his ironic take on a theme long favoured in
still‒life paintings.
Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder,
Bouquet in an
Arched Window
, circa 1618‒1620
Mauritshuis, The Hague
Source: via Wikimedia Commons
Named
Guldasta
, the Urdu word for “bouquet”, Subodh Gupta’s installation offers
an ironical interpretation of the cultural connotations of flower arrangements.
Bouquets have adorned homes and public spaces since the 3
rd
millennium BC, and
continue to be presented as gifts to mark special occasions. Each flower is selected
for its colour and fragrance, and also for its symbolism. Flower arrangements have
also been a popular subject of still‒lifes since the 17
th
century. The subject thus has
a demonstrated history of appeal to a particular kind of sensibility.
Gupta’s “bouquet,” however, is an assortment of flat and round stainless steel ladles
arranged in a bucket. He supplants the refined aesthetics of a flower bouquet and
instead celebrates the mundane aesthetics of ordinary, everyday life. In doing so,
Gupta establishes continuity with Marcel Duchamp’s notion of the “readymades,”
where objects are stripped of their functionality. In elevating the humble kitchen
tools found in every Indian kitchen, into the realm of art, Gupta uses the formal
language of art to create a dialogue about commoditisation and value.
Gupta’s large and small‒scale sculptures are composed of both, used and new
utensils, and have been shown worldwide. In a 2016 interview, Gupta stated,
“With the brand new, shiny, stainless steel utensils there’s always a bit of tension
and deception, they are attractive and sparkling yet cold and empty.” (Christina
Chua, “An Interview with Subodh Gupta,”
The Artling
, 24 November 2016, online)
The present lot embodies this disconnect even more with its intriguing title.