Shilpa Gupta

Shilpa Gupta is an Indian contemporary artist whose artistic repertoire encompasses sculpture, text, sound, light, and ephemeral elements. 

Biography of the Shilpa Gupta

Shilpa Gupta was born in 1976 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She completed her BFA in sculpture at the Sir J. J. School of Fine Arts in Mumbai in 1997.

Throughout her career, Gupta has held solo shows at prestigious institutions worldwide. These include the Museum voor Moderne Kunst in Arnhem, the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, the OK Center for Contemporary Art in Linz, Arnolfini in Bristol, Voorlinden Museum and Gardens in Wassenaar, Kiosk in Ghent, Bielefelder Kunstverein, La Synagogue de Delme Contemporary Art Center, and Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi.

Gupta participated in 'Aar Paar,' a notable public art exchange project between India and Pakistan. In 2005, she co-facilitated 'Crossovers & Rewrites: Borders over Asia' at the World Social Forum held in Porto Alegre. Also, in 2012, Gupta collaborated with editor Madhusree Dutta to design the book titled 'dates.sites: Project Cinema City Bombay/Mumbai'.

In 2015, she presented a solo project at "My East is Your West," a two-person joint India–Pakistan exhibition organized by the Gujral Foundation in Venice. In 2021, she had a survey show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp, curated by Nav Haq. Additionally, her work has been exhibited at renowned institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New Museum, Devi Art Foundation, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Mori Art Museum.

Gupta has participated in several biennials and triennials worldwide. Notable events include the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019, curated by Ralph Rugoff; the Kochi Muziris Biennale in 2018, curated by Anita Dube; the Gothenburg Biennial in 2017, curated by Nav Haq; the Berlin Biennale in 2014, curated by Juan Gatian; the New Museum Triennial in 2009; the Sharjah Biennial in 2013, curated by Yuko Hasegawa and many others. Her work has also been featured in biennials in Auckland, Melbourne, Seoul, Havana, Sydney, Yogyakarta, Echigo-Tsumari, Shanghai, Houston, and other cities.

Currently, Shilpa Gupta lives and works in Mumbai, India.

Shilpa Gupta's Art Style

With a long interest in the divisive systems upheld by nationalism, religious fundamentalism, social identity, and their effects on individuals and collectives within South Asia and globally, Gupta's work transcends cultural boundaries. Often incorporating multiple languages, perspectives, and subjectivities, Gupta deliberately allows room for the interpretation of her work to change depending on the specific time and place of encounter. Through this approach, she encourages viewers to project their associations and engage in introspection.

For instance, Gupta transforms audio and visual technologies to present information in unconventional ways. She may employ flapboards displaying fragmented words and phrases instead of train departure times, project shadows of unseen objects interacting with the viewer's shadow, or embed microphones with hidden speakers to amplify the voices of poets incarcerated for their beliefs, political speeches, or a multitude of thoughts and opinions. These artistic interventions prompt viewers to listen attentively, exposing the subjective nature of reality as perpetuated by media and objects, while challenging the authority and autonomy of their means of dissemination.

The active participation of the audience plays a crucial role in the formation and evolution of Gupta's work. In certain instances, viewers are invited to take an object with them, activating a change in its individual and public context.