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 on 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...
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 on 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 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 as of 2017, the metaphor behind Gupta's Hungry God acquires even more relevance in its contemporary context.
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Lot
129
of
150
SUMMER ONLINE AUCTION
13-14 JUNE 2018
Estimate
$200,000 - 300,000
Rs 1,32,00,000 - 1,98,00,000
Winning Bid
$222,000
Rs 1,46,52,000
(Inclusive of Buyer's Premium)
USD payment only.
Why?
ARTWORK DETAILS
Subodh Gupta
Hungry God
2005-06
Stainless steel
Height: 104 in (264.1 cm) Width: 196 in (497.4 cm) Depth: 83 in (210.8 cm)
PROVENANCE: Gallery Nature Morte, New Delhi Walsh Gallery, Chicago Acquired from the above by the present owner
EXHIBITED:Hungry God, New Delhi: Gallery Nature Morte, 1-25 February 2006Urban Manners 2: Contemporary Artists from India, Sao 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 PUBLISHED: Urban Manners 2: Contemporary Artists from India, Sao Paulo: SeSC Pompeia, 2010, p. 19 (illustrated)
Category: Sculpture
Style: Still Life