Subodh Gupta (b.1964)

Acquired from New Art World, London, October 2007

Wolverhampton, Initial Access, Passage to India, 15 March - 2 August 2008

N. Bourriad et. al., Subodh Gupta: Gandhi's Three Monkeys, Jack Shainman Gallery, Pragati Offset Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, 2008, illustrated p. 289

Good overall condition as viewed. Extremely minor area of rubbing at upper left quadrant, five inches from left edge. Three very faint, horizontal white marks at lower center. Extremely light wear at bottom stretcher edge.
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“Like 80 percent of the population in India, I grew up carrying my lunch in these tiffin pots.”

  - S. Gupta, ‘Trendsetters: Cow Dung, Curry Pots, and a Hungry God’, ARTNews, September, 2007, p.108

Subodh Gupta's preoccupation with ready-made objects from India  transcends the boundaries of the mediums with which he works in. In this painting, stainless steel tiffins occupy a position of importance, in much the same way as his sculptures do. Immaculately painted, these objects are revered by the artist and suggest an air of ambition and prosperity, congruent with India's flourishing economy. The photo-realistic tiffins are piled on top of one another, alluding to the complex and rapidly evolving consumerist culture in India. Used as lunchboxes by the bourgeoning middle class who are employed by the increasing numbers of foreign companies investing in India, the tiffins are a social commentary on the country’s transition into modernity. Yet these continue to be objects of desire for the underclasses, a shiny symbol of ample food and wealth, a fact which Gupta was well aware of, having been raised in Bihar, one of India's most impoverished states. By using objects that typically occupy an innocuous position in Indian households and elevating them to cult status, Gupta is following in Marcel Duchamp and Jeff Koon's footsteps but also commenting on both India's growth and shortfalls.