The work of the leading Indian artist, Manav Gupta was introduced to South African art lovers earlier this year at an exhibition titled Rainforests And The Circle Of Life. Classicfeel took the opportunity to speak to the artist.

Light  is a common preoccupation among visual artists. Painters and photographers alike are always seeking to find light that illuminates their subjects  in just the right way and to capture  it – somehow to trap  within the physical confines of their medium. For Manav Gupta, however, the concern with light goes beyond the problems of the medium to become the subject itself. ‘for me  it has always been a quest for light.’ he says. ‘I seek light -in gaps, in crevices and ventricles of the rainforests.

For me light is hope. It seeks you out amidst the  darkness. So the process of seeking out  and finding the way forward with that single streak of light has been the journey of my life and work.’

The works on display during Gupta’s exhibition in Pretoria earlier this  year were clear expressions of this ongoing preoccupation with light. The centerpiece of  the exhibition, which also included several  of the artist’s paintings, was an imaginative installation called   Unsung Hymns of Clay Forming the heart of this site specific work is a large mass of small clay pots called diya- used as lamps in various Indian religious occasions –innovatively reimagined as the contours  of a drying riverbed. These simple earthen bowls, when filled with oil, augmented by a cotton  wick and lit. become  spiritual instruments. With the addition of a tiny flame,  these common, disposable pieces of clay become links to the divine. A small bit of light thus elevates the profane towards the sacred

Unsung Hymns of Clay is the third in a trilogy of exhibitions called Rainforests and the Circle of Life. which, aside from the ongoing exploration of the qualities-both empirical and spiritual – of light. also explores environmental consciousness as the central theme in Gupta’s work. The fresh and minimalistic treatment of the lamps laid out on the floor remind the viewer of a dried up riverbed. This links to discussions around water and its increasing scarcity in some places around the world, which speaks to wider issues of natural resources and the environment. Which are also matters of deep concern to Gupta and have occupied his thoughts since before his career began.

Born  and raised in Kolkata, India, the birthplace of the Nobel  Prize for Literature  laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Gupta’s own versatile repertoire comes from writer and scholar parents who made a point of exposing him to art and culture during his formative years.

“I was exposed to prose and poetry from a young age.’ he says, ‘as well as music, theatre and dance. I also grew up in the  lap of nature because my father was the director of the national library, which is situated on this patch of green,  complete with  lush, budding trees. Which can almost be described as an island in the middle of the city.’ Combining  with the strong influences of culture and  nature were  ideas about spirituality and transcendence.’ I  had a guru, when I was a child .who had  spent a lot of time in the forests and so on and he taught me the soul of art  and the essence of nature. All ofthese things made a very strong   impression on how I grew up and how my work evolved.’

While he learned about ‘the soul of art’ from his guru, Gupta was taught ‘the grammar of art’ at Kolkata’s renowned Academy of Fine Arts.

After completing his education ,he did not go straight into a career in  the arts_ ‘I worked for a while-I had to support my mother_ I was doing very well, I  had a good job,  I was secure. But one day I decided to take the plunge. Everyone said I was crazy- art will never pay the bills!  But I knew that if I didn’t do it then,  I would  never do it. ‘Gupta’s first solo exhibition was extremely successful and brought him an invitation to show in the Indian capital, where his  works drew the attention of the   wife of the US Ambassador to India, who bought some of his works  and hosted his exhibition at Roosevelt House_ The environmental themes in  his work introduced him  to members of the Indian government, which     led to his work being displayed in the Ministry of Culture. commissions by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, a collaboration with former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam (Gupta illustrated a book of poetry by the former head of state  and a mural commissioned to mark the long friendship between  India and Bhutan.

Perhaps Gupta’s most famous work -thus far -is the 11000 square-foot. six-floor high mega-mural .The Tree of life, which adorns the New Delhi headquarters of the multinational telecommunications company, Bharti Airtel. The creation of this work was unique in itself, with Gupta employing four creative processes. for the first time, in its making -namely conceptual. performance. collaborative and site specific. He invited the company’s employees to share the experience of painting with him in the  first phase using what was created to weave a composition on a six-floor high staircase, while   the organization’s  employees watched. ‘How I saw it was  you have 4000 employees  who are going to be watching me work every day. So I thought, why don’t we make this  a collaborative process? I opened up to all these non-artists.  They would be there doing their job and then on their coffee break they could come and add a brushstroke here and there. It was exciting as well as challenging, especially as I was  conceptualizing spontaneously without any blueprints. I juggled between the micro   environment of helping the office workers paint and the  larger role of creating a cutting edgeartwork.’ This massive undertaking resulted in the giant  work of art that has seen the Airtel building being granted museum status.

Gupta’s first trip to South Africa took place at the invitation of the Indian  High Commission in Pretoria. Unsung Hymns of Clay,  together with a number of earlier works,  went on display at the National Museum of Cultural History. The response to  the exhibition-from the public. collectors and the media alike-was very favourable.

Manav Gupta  is an artist quickly growing in international  renown and his works are recognised by collectors as excellent investments both for artistic and economic reasons. But, contrary to the misconceptions propagated  by popular culture, the achievement  of fame and recognition does not signify a destination. For Gupta.  the effort to expand consciousness and create awareness. And most importantly,  the quest for light. continues. CF