Subodh Gupta
dal 30/1/2011 al 7/5/2011
Segnalato da
30/1/2011
Subodh Gupta
Hauser & Wirth, London
Visitors to Piccadilly's Southwood Gardens will encounter Mona Lisa, though not as they know her. This transformation is the work of Indian artist and is both a homage, as well as the beginning of a dialogue, inserting Gupta into an imaginary conversation between the heavyweights of art history. 'Et tu, Duchamp?' speaks of Gupta's excitement in first encountering Conceptual art and comprehending its power.
Visitors to Piccadilly's Southwood Gardens will
encounter Mona Lisa, though not as they know
her. The most famous and enigmatic personality
in the history of Western art has undergone
a double makeover: Da Vinci's muse wears a
moustache and goatee — courtesy of Marcel
Duchamp's infamous 'L.H.O.O.Q.' of 1919 — and
she has increased in scale, becoming a larger-
than-life sized sculpture realised in black bronze.
This transformation is the work of Indian artist
Subodh Gupta and is both a homage, as well
as the beginning of a dialogue, inserting Gupta
into an imaginary conversation between the
heavyweights of art history.
An appropriation of an appropriation, 'Et tu, Duchamp?' speaks of Gupta's excitement in first encountering Conceptual
art and comprehending its power. 'When I saw Duchamp's drawing of the moustache on the Mona Lisa postcard,' he
has commented, 'I was thrilled by this simple thing ... Duchamp is a distant figure, but his art is out there in the world,
and many artists have reacted to his work'. The sculpture takes Duchamp's irreverent gesture and monumentalises it –
the size, material and solidity of Gupta's version referencing the artistic qualities that Duchamp did so much to dispel. In
making the icon his own, Gupta has taken possession of the language of conceptual art and laid claim to its inheritance.
Gupta has long explored the effects of cultural translation
and dislocation through his work, most famously using
Indian kitchen utensils such as tiffins and thalis to
demonstrate art's ability to transcend cultural and economic
boundaries. 'Et tu, Duchamp?', made only a few years after
he first encountered 'L.H.O.O.Q.' at Tate Modern, marks a
shift in Gupta's approach towards a direct engagement with
works from art history.
Subodh Gupta was born in 1964 in Khagaul, Bihar, India.
His recent solo exhibitions include: 'Take off your shoes and
wash your hands', Tramway, Glasgow (2010); and 'Subodh
Gupta. Faith Matters', PinchukArtCentre, Kiev, Ukraine
(2010). In February 2011, Gupta will have a major solo
exhibition at Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere, Finland, and
his work will be featured in the group exhibition, 'Paris—
Delhi—Bombay' at Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris,
France, opening in May 2011.
Image: Installation view, 'Et tu, Duchamp?', KÖR Kunst Im Öffentlich
Raum, Vienna, Austria, 2010
Press Contact:
Kristina McLean, kristina@suttonpr.com
Catherine Mason, catherine@suttonpr.com
+44 207 183 3577
Opening Monday 31 January 12 – 2 pm
Hauser & Wirth Outdoor Sculpture
In collaboration with St James's Church, Piccadilly