Manav Gupta

Manav Gupta
Born (1967-12-29) 29 December 1967 (age 56)
Kolkata, India
NationalityIndian
EducationAcademy of Fine Arts
Known forConceptual Art, Installation Art, Public Art, Sculptures, Paintings, Murals, Performance Art, Films, Poetry
Notable work
  • Tree of Life mural,
  • River
  • Rain
  • Beehives
  • Time Machine
  • Bed of Life
  • Noah's Ark
  • Environmental Films
  • Water-the New Gold
MovementAvante Garde, Conceptual Art, Contemporary Art,
Public Art
Awards
  • First Painter to get the Sanatan Sangeet Sanskriti by French Ambassador (2006)
  • Senior Fellowship, Ministry of Culture, Government of India (2019)

Manav Gupta (born 29 December 1967) is an Indian contemporary artist known for his paintings, installations and large-scale public art projects on environment consciousness and sustainable development. He has reinvented[1] the identity of rural Indian clay pottery and redeployed various other material like construction scrap to create site specific, contemporary art[2] and environmental installations[3] and sculptures. He has been acknowledged as one of the most versatile and erudite contemporary artists to come from India[4] and is widely regarded as a 'maverick genius' and a 'visionary'.[5]

He has conceptualised and created multiple layers of interdisciplinary engagements at his installations and exhibitions, with other art forms, and outreach programmes with students, educational institutes, the general public as all stakeholders of society, to raise awareness through his 'arth – art for earth' programmes on sustainable living with the message of "respecting the true wealth of life on earth", with recurring episodes of 'Dialogues at the waterfront' at his various public art projects.[6]

For the period of 2010–2019 the artist worked independently via invitations by institutions who hosted his work. He created the following consecutive solo public art projects that were critically acclaimed: 'unsung hymns of clay – shrinking river bed on museum floor'(2013), National Ditsong Museum, Pretoria, South Africa;[7] "Rain the Ganga Waterfront along Time Machine"(2015), India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India;,[8] "Excavated Museum in a Mall" (2017), DLF Mall of India Noida, India,[9] 'arth – art for earth, travelling excavated museum'(2018) IGNCA, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India [10] From Sand to Dust,[11] 'Public art museum on Water, Water- the New Gold, City in a city'(2019) Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar.[12][13]

The decade ended with Gupta being credited with having created some of the most iconic and revolutionary public art projects in India.[14]

He has co-opted his art practices in paintings, poetry, music and sound to create one-minute films on climate change,[15] sustainable development,[16] ecosystems and alternate energy for public service messages commissioned by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India (2005–2006,2011).

He has pioneered co-creation with his "Jugalbandis" (Collaborations) with musicians, poets and dancers across the world, where he translates a performing artist's oeuvre live on stage on his canvas (2003–2011).

He has co authored a book of poems and paintings with former President of India Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, published by Penguin India.(2002–2005).

Gupta created single edition functional sculptures and public installations with varied media including iron, steel, wood, discarded roots of trees, glass, recycled scrap metal and clay for interior and exterior corporate and private spaces.[17]

Trained in Kolkata at the Academy of Fine Arts under Rathin Maitra and under his guru Vasant Pandit, the artist currently works in New Delhi.

  1. ^ Balasubramaniam, Chitra. "Vessels of Life: A Conversation with Manav Gupta". Sculpture – A publication of the International Sculpture Centre. Sculpture Magazine.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Forecast - Public Art Review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Blouin Artinfo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference MCAD President's Lecture Series - Manav Gupta was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Times of India was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Times of India Interview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "An exhibition by New Dehli based contemporary Artist Manav Gupta at the Cultural Museum". SABC News.
  8. ^ "RITUAL RIVER". Forecast Publicart.
  9. ^ "Excavated Museum at the Mall". Millennium Post.
  10. ^ "Excavated Museum at the Mall". Indian Express.
  11. ^ "Art for Earth" (PDF). Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
  12. ^ "30th International Sculpture Conference". Sculpture.
  13. ^ "Artist creates India's first public art museum on water and sustainable development". India Times.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Express India [dead link]
  16. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ "The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata) | Graphiti | an artist's abode". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2011.