26th September marked the launch of artist Satish
Gupta’s new Ganesha Sculpture at the DLF Emporio Mall, Vasant Kunj. After a
span of a good three years, comes his latest work. Stepping inside the
beautiful and stylish mall which boasts of names like labels like Dior, Armani,
a large coin-like sculpture of Ganesha greets you with His plate of golden
laddoos and His companion, the Mouse at the entrance. It is mounted on a wooden
plank with a small commentary about his work and the driving force behind it
for interested onlookers. On the other side of the sculpture, adorns another
figure, the Goddess Lakshmi.
As we sit
at Cha Shi restaurant, tucking in delicious eats, we talk about his work and
his inspirations. I ask him what makes him drawn to creating large-scale
sculptures, which are sometimes as tall as twenty three feet, Gupta explains
that he wants the viewer to have the experiential feel of the work and feel
awed by it. It draws from his trips to the Ellora caves in Aurangabad. Since
then, he has always wanted to create art larger than life. For this sole
reason, he prefers outdoor spaces to place his work rather than in the museum.
I ask him about how long he works on these
massive sculptures and whether he does them by himself. Gupta, with a twinkle
in his eyes, smiles and replies, “ I will be spending an entire lifetime doing
just one scultpture!” The artist has five to twenty assistants helping him in
creating these projects, especially the welding part of it as he works largely
in copper. Most of them take four to five months to complete while the current
work was complete in two months on a tight schedule.
The
inspiration behind his new work dates back to his childhood days when his
mother used to hand out gold and silver coins and narrate mythological stories
to the children. The coins were part of an heirloom set and had been passed
down from generation to generation. The artist has a few of them with him and
treasures them deeply.
The Ganesha
sculpture is infused with nostalgia and symbolism. The artist rues the loss of
cultural values and the break up of the family system in the metropolis. The artwork
is also a comment on the materialistic values of our times. For Gupta, it is
about the play of opposites- rich vs poor et al. Yet he is optimistic about the
day when everything and everybody has an important role as equals to play in
the game that is called Life.
Satish
Gupta’s upcoming March show in 2015 at the DLF Emporio will showcase his work
in every medium-be it ceramics, prints, paintings and sculptures. When I try to
elicit his favourite medium, he laughs and replies with twinkling eyes, “ They
are all equal!”
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