Most of my work is linked to my roots: Artist Subodh Gupta

A dense wall of flattened, used pans expands the subject of domestic labour articulated in his Proust series while brass and stainless steel mould the long practice of communal eating in Bihar into the idea of respect and patience in the installation, School. Migration meets hope in Door, another installation involving polished brass.

Presented by Nature Morte gallery, the exhibition, curated by British curator and former director of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Claire Lilley, contains mostly new works like the titular installation, A Fistful of Sky (2026), a massive installation of nine beds on a whole floor filled with old TV sets, kitchen grinding stones and cakes of cow dung representing memories and migration. Gupta speaks with Faizal Khan about the artistic process and philosophy and what drives him to create works for exhibitions across the country. Edited excerpts:

Q1:A Fistful of Sky comes just under a year-and-a-half after The Way Home, your last exhibition at the Bihar Museum in Patna in which the sculptures and paintings linked you to your roots, the city you were born in. What is the artistic philosophy of your new exhibition?

Gupta: Most of my work is linked to my roots; there is no specific artistic philosophy. Wherever I exhibit, it is always about me and my work. The difference is that most of the works in this exhibition are new and on a much larger scale than at the Bihar Museum. A Fistful of Sky is a very big show. Here, I am thinking less about returning and more about how we exist within a larger flow of time. Different moments, memory, labour, movement, they are all present together. The works do not move in a straight line. They sit next to each other, like different conditions within the same space. If you are referring to the exhibition as a whole, I believe artists are always making works. For any upcoming exhibition, you naturally start thinking about the space and how your artworks will come together within it. So the ideas are always there, evolving and playing in your mind. 

Q2: The new exhibition is bigger and has an extensive element of the artistic process and language you are known for, especially the use of ordinary household material. Would you describe some of the works that reflect your creativity in relation to aesthetics and architecture of the medium?

Gupta: That is what I am trying to say. When you enter the exhibition, you will feel that you are walking together with me, through my journey and my art work. It is almost laid out like several penned down short stories. Some works talk about me, some works speak about fiction and some on dreams. I really want people to experience this exhibition for themselves. 

Q3: You dedicated The Way Home to your mother. Is there a personal and emotional element to the exhibition?

Gupta: Yes, it is still personal, all my art is personal, but in a different way. The Way Home was very direct in its emotion, it was about family, my memories, where I come from. In this exhibition, the personal is present, but it is more dispersed. It appears through different works, all of these carry something of lived experience, care, labour, the small actions that hold everyday life together. In a city like Mumbai, where many lives intersect and people are constantly moving, that feeling of interconnectedness becomes stronger. So the emotional layer is there, but it is not centred on one story. And my mother was the first person I shared this show with.

Q4:The Way Home was also a tribute to the migrant workers who form the backbone of development in the country. Is the subject of migration and the struggles and dreams of a better world part of the new exhibition?

Gupta: Ek Mutthi Aasman, on the second floor, is dedicated to the struggles, dreams, and journeys of our people. Through this space, you will encounter these stories in depth. The installation, titled Ek Muthhii Aasman, consists of nine beds and forms a key moment within the exhibition. There are many important points in the show, but this work holds a special place for me. For me, the bed becomes a personal and symbolic space. Along with the mosquito net, it represents protection, a space that every human being seeks for rest, sleep, and dreaming. The work brings together many layers, including memory, labour, migration, ritual, and everyday reality. In that sense, it plays an important role within the larger structure of the exhibition, where these different experiences come together.

Q5: Some of the works, especially Door, seem to be a continuation of your conversation about life and death. How has conflicts, violence, death and destruction defining the 21st century, right from 2001 and the subsequent events, influenced your creativity?

Gupta: The work Door is a continuation from my previous exhibition. It is about curiosity, suspense, adventure, dreams, fairy tale—it can mean many things at the same time. I am interested in how these larger realities of today exist alongside everyday life. 

Q6: After your last exhibition, you said you would like to take your exhibitions across the country and share your works with people. Is the Mumbai show the beginning of that journey?

Gupta: I have shown my work in many places across the world, in museums, public spaces, and different institutions, and each context brings a different way of seeing the work. At the same time, it has always been important for me to show in India, and to reach audiences here in different cities. It gives me another opportunity to connect with people and share my work in a meaningful way.

Faizal Khan is a freelancer