{"id":9789,"date":"2025-06-07T13:42:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T13:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/?page_id=9789"},"modified":"2025-06-07T13:50:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T13:50:30","slug":"an-artists-homecoming","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/an-artists-homecoming\/","title":{"rendered":"An Artist&#8217;s Homecoming"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"9789\" class=\"elementor elementor-9789\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28c8979a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"28c8979a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2920b3c2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2920b3c2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7d40692f elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"7d40692f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"92\" src=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/images-removebg-preview-2.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-4880\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5fbcd4cc e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"5fbcd4cc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-37d548a3 elementor-nav-menu--dropdown-tablet elementor-nav-menu__text-align-aside elementor-nav-menu--toggle elementor-nav-menu--burger elementor-widget elementor-widget-nav-menu\" data-id=\"37d548a3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;layout&quot;:&quot;horizontal&quot;,&quot;submenu_icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-caret-down\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 320 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M31.3 192h257.3c17.8 0 26.7 21.5 14.1 34.1L174.1 354.8c-7.8 7.8-20.5 7.8-28.3 0L17.2 226.1C4.6 213.5 13.5 192 31.3 192z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;},&quot;toggle&quot;:&quot;burger&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"nav-menu.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<nav aria-label=\"Menu\" class=\"elementor-nav-menu--main elementor-nav-menu__container elementor-nav-menu--layout-horizontal e--pointer-underline e--animation-fade\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul id=\"menu-1-37d548a3\" class=\"elementor-nav-menu\"><li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-5097\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/current-issue\/\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\">CURRENT ISSUE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-4501\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/jsw-craft-prize\/\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\">JSW CRAFT PRIZE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-4502\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/archives\/\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\">ARCHIVES<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-4503\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.education.artindiamag.com\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\">ART INDIA EDUCATION<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-4992\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/register\/\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\">REGISTER<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-4505\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/about\/\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\">ABOUT US<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-5176\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artindiamag.com\/subscription-form\/subs-form.php\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\">SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-5657\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/initiative-form\/user-details.php\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\">ART INDIA CARE FUND<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-15884\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/artindia-30-under-30\/application.php\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\">Looking Ahead: 30 under 30<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t<\/nav>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-toggle\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"Menu Toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"elementor-menu-toggle__icon--open e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-menu-bar\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M104 333H896C929 333 958 304 958 271S929 208 896 208H104C71 208 42 237 42 271S71 333 104 333ZM104 583H896C929 583 958 554 958 521S929 458 896 458H104C71 458 42 487 42 521S71 583 104 583ZM104 833H896C929 833 958 804 958 771S929 708 896 708H104C71 708 42 737 42 771S71 833 104 833Z\"><\/path><\/svg><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"elementor-menu-toggle__icon--close e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-close\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M742 167L500 408 258 167C246 154 233 150 217 150 196 150 179 158 167 167 154 179 150 196 150 212 150 229 154 242 171 254L408 500 167 742C138 771 138 800 167 829 196 858 225 858 254 829L496 587 738 829C750 842 767 846 783 846 800 846 817 842 829 829 842 817 846 804 846 783 846 767 842 750 829 737L588 500 833 258C863 229 863 200 833 171 804 137 775 137 742 167Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<nav class=\"elementor-nav-menu--dropdown elementor-nav-menu__container\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul id=\"menu-2-37d548a3\" class=\"elementor-nav-menu\"><li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-5097\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/current-issue\/\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\" tabindex=\"-1\">CURRENT ISSUE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-4501\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/jsw-craft-prize\/\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\" tabindex=\"-1\">JSW CRAFT PRIZE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-4502\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/archives\/\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\" tabindex=\"-1\">ARCHIVES<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-4503\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.education.artindiamag.com\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\" tabindex=\"-1\">ART INDIA EDUCATION<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-4992\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/register\/\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\" tabindex=\"-1\">REGISTER<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-4505\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/about\/\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\" tabindex=\"-1\">ABOUT US<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-5176\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artindiamag.com\/subscription-form\/subs-form.php\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\" tabindex=\"-1\">SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-5657\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/initiative-form\/user-details.php\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\" tabindex=\"-1\">ART INDIA CARE FUND<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-15884\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/artindia-30-under-30\/application.php\" class=\"elementor-item menu-link\" tabindex=\"-1\">Looking Ahead: 30 under 30<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t<\/nav>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-554e798a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"554e798a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-feb457c elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"feb457c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-59709286 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"59709286\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-798ef1cb elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"798ef1cb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patna\u2019s key cultural centre, the Bihar Museum, was palpably abuzz with excitement when we arrived. Within moments, we realised that those queuing up patiently to enter the premises weren\u2019t just intending to view the priceless art and artefacts of the museum, but were eager to catch the solo show of artist Subodh Gupta. Titled <em><i>Subodh Gupta: The <\/i><\/em><em><i>Way Home<\/i><\/em>, the show, which was on view from 9th of November 2024 to 15th of February 2025, was the artist\u2019s first solo in Bihar since he left the state three decades ago. His \u2018ghar wapsi\u2019 had spurred the enthusiasm with which people gathered to experience the show. The Director General of Bihar Museum, Anjani Kumar Singh, had taken on the role of the curator for the exhibition\u2014an artistic collaboration between two men known to be long-time friends. As he helped us navigate through the show, Singh drew our attention to <em><i>Doot <\/i><\/em>(2003), the Ambassador car installed right outside\u2014this was, of course, an iconic installation of Gupta\u2019s\u2014and told us that the design of the show was meant to create drama and surprise the viewers. That he had successfully accomplished this was obvious to us from the reactions of the visitors. Inside, we saw, amongst other works, <em><i>Two Mechanized Cows <\/i><\/em>(2023)\u2014two Bullet motorcycles replete with milk pails strung around the handles, engines off as if dawdling to simulate everyday life in an Indian town (even when you knew that the artist had cast the sculptures in bronze). As Peter Nagy of Nature Morte, Gupta\u2019s gallery, observed: \u201cHe understands the power of the simple object or image and knows when to present it without excess embellishment.\u201d Even though he had acknowledged the influence of Western art practitioners, particularly Marcel Duchamp, Gupta made the narrative personal by articulating the transitions and struggles between development and tradition. The inner landscape was personal. <em><i>The Way <\/i><\/em><em><i>Home<\/i><\/em>, spread across different areas, used stainless-steel kitchen utensils to recreate icons familiar to Indians everywhere, namely tiffin boxes, thalis, lotas and bundled packages on airport trolleys. There was also <em><i>Thik paas me <\/i><\/em>(2012), a thali where atta dough (in fibreglass) sat under a checked cloth. These were vignettes of everyday life, standing in for living things in Indian lives. In an interview with fellow contemporary Jitish Kallat for <em><i>The Khoj Book<\/i><\/em>, Gupta said: \u201cI am very comfortable with the common man\u2026 I think that\u2019s the strength of my work. It comes from the common people. And drama in India, especially something like Bollywood, realises the common man. Tragedy, comedy, love, war, we go through all the political and non-political beliefs. That is why there is a \u2018hungry\u2019\u00a0god and a cascade of utensils<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-310e408c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"310e408c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9dc921 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"9dc921\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/www.artindiamag.com\/subscription-form\/subs-form.php\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Read More<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Patna\u2019s key cultural centre, the Bihar Museum, was palpably abuzz with excitement when we arrived. Within moments, we realised that those queuing up patiently to enter the premises weren\u2019t just intending to view the priceless art and artefacts of the museum, but were eager to catch the solo show of artist Subodh Gupta. Titled Subodh [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"disabled","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9789","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9789"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9796,"href":"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9789\/revisions\/9796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artindiamag.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}