| Manav Gupta | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kolkota, India |
| Field | Painting,[1] Murals,[2] Performance[3] Short Films,[4] Sculptures, Poetry |
| Training | Academy of Fine Arts |
| Movement | Performance Art Jugalbandi,[5] Collaborative Public Art |
| Works | |
| Awards | He was the first Painter to get the Sanatan Sangeet Sanskriti by French Ambassador(2006)[9] |
Manav Gupta[10](born 29 December 1967)is a leading contemporary artist from India who has pioneered collaborative art as performances[11] and mega murals.He has co-opted his art practices in paintings,poetry,music and sound to create one minute films on climate change,[12] sustainable development,[13] ecosystems and alternate energy for public service messages commissioned by the Ministry of Environment & Forests,Government of India(2005–2006,2011). He has won international acclaim for his first of its kind six floor high 5000 sq ft commissioned mega mural[14] at the headquarters of leading telecom corporate giant in Gurgaon[15]( near Delhi,India in 2010,where he painted Live for three months while involving thousands of employees’ brush strokes in his creation[16] “The Tree of Life”.[17] He has pioneered co-creation with his "Jugalbandis"(Collaborations) with leading musicians,poets,dancers including Dr.L.Subramanium,[18] Shubha Mudgal, Anup Jalota,[19] Rahul Sharma[20] where he translates a performing artist's oveure LIVE on stage on 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).
Noted for his mastery over light and color he has been listed by Financial Times among the top ten contemporary Indian artists whose works would fetch good returns. Gupta’s works have been sold by Christie’s, Bonhams,[21][22][23][24] Philip de Pury and are in leading Permanent Public collections around the world including the Parliament of India, the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Royal family of Oman, Indian embassies abroad, Chitrakala Parishad and Birla Academy museums, etc.
One of the youngest members to have been nominated on the Expert Committee of India's National Republic Day celebrations for consecutive years, he has been invited for many a advisory role including the formative process of the Museum of Natural History, New Delhi.
Working on a 360 degree platform of canvases,video installations and performances[25] he collaborated with dance troupes and audiences in public art projects besides his performances and exhibitions at different venues along his three month travelling trilogy[26] across U.S.A and Europe in 2010 including New York,Amherst,Des Moines,[27] San Francisco, Berlin,[28] and London.He also delivered guest lectures on art,environment and collaborative public art practices at the San Jose State University and the ICD,Berlin in 2010.
In 2011 he has delineated Bhutan–India relations on a public mural commissioned by the Government of India and mounted in Bhutan.The monumental work consists of a suite of eighteen feet and twelve feet high canvases mapping the political, socio-cultural, spiritual and natural archival history of friendship between the two countries.
A passionate sculptor,he creates 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.[29]
Widely regarded as a maverick genius[30] never afraid to experiment with innovative concepts in his art practices that explore hitherto unchartered territories of collaborations, he has translated poetry,[31] music,text,environment issues,corporate ideas,[32][33] and his own spiritual philosophy into art forms that communicate with the masses.
Trained in Kolkata at the Academy of Fine Arts under Rathin Maitra and under his guru Vasant Pandit,the artist currently works out of his sprawling studio in New Delhi.
