Shilpa Gupta

This article is about the artist. For the cricketer, see Shilpa Gupta (cricketer).

Shilpa Gupta
Gupta in 2012
Born	1976 (age 48–49) Mumbai, India
Nationality	Indian
Known for	Sculpture

Shilpa Gupta (born 1976) is a contemporary Indian artist based in Mumbai, India.

Early life and education

Shilpa Gupta was born in 1976 in Mumbai. She pursued her studies in sculpture at the Sir J. J. School of Fine Arts, from 1992 to 1997.

Work and exhibition

Untitled artwork by Shilpa Gupta (2009)

In her 2001 work she distributed bottles of simulated blood with messages blaming others for aspects they cannot control, such as religion or nationality. She continues to explore this theme in various projects, including "There is No Border Here" (2005), "Someone Else" (2011), and "Altered Inheritances" (2012–14), which highlight issues of identity, boundaries, and personal agency. ^[1]

Gupta's Sound-based installations, Examples include "Singing Cloud" (2008), consisting of 4000 reversed-function microphones, ^[2] and "Speaking Wall" (2010), where visitors follow instructions through a headset, transitioning from spectator to performer. ^{[3] [1]}

Other Notable works include "Untitled" (2004), a controlled animated figure projection, ^[4] and the interactive video projections "Shadow 1, 2, and 3" (2006-7), which capture and project real-time silhouettes of visitors. ^[5]

Her installations extend beyond traditional gallery spaces, with projects like "Someone Else" (2011), featuring a library of 100 books written anonymously or under pseudonyms, ^[2] exhibited in public libraries around the world. Gupta has also created outdoor light installations, such as "I live under your sky too" (2004) ^[6] and "My East is Your West" (2014), an animated light installation featuring the words "My East is Your West" illuminated in a nonlinear arrangement. ^[7]

Gupta has participated in art events including the Venice Biennale (2019), ^[8]

In 2015, Gupta presented a solo project at the 'My East is Your West' exhibition, which was a joint India-Pakistan exhibition organised by the Gujral Foundation in Venice. ^[9]

Gupta has held solo exhibitions at Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, ^[10] Centro Botin in Santander, ^[11] Barbican in London, ^[12] Amant Art Center in Brooklyn, ^[13] Ishara Art Foundation in Dubai, ^[14] Arnolfini in Bristol, ^[15] OK Centre for Contemporary Art in Linz, ^[16] Museum voor Moderne Kunst in Arnhem, Voorlinden Museum in Wassenaar, ^[17] Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi amongst others. In 2021 she had a survey show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp curated by Nav Haq. ^[18]

Awards and recognition

In 2025 she was awarded the Possehl Prize for International Art 2025. Gupta is the third artist to win the prize, which is awarded every three years, following Doris Salcedo and Matt Mullican. ^[19] In 2024, she was awarded the ‘Path Breakers Award’ by Asia Society. ^[20] In 2019, Gupta was the recipient of the GQ Cultural Provocateur Award; ^[21] in 2018, she was named India Today’s New Media Artist of the Year; ^[22]

Bibliography

• Shaheen Merali, Nancy Adajania, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Julia Peyton-Jones, Shilpa Gupta: Blindstars Starsblind, Kehrer, Heidelberg, Bodhi and Volker Diehl, Berlin, 2009
• Natasha Ginwala, Iftikhar Dadi and Lawrence Liang, Shilpa Gupta and Rashid Rana: My East is Your West, HarperCollins and Gujral Foundation, New Dehli, 2016
• Sunil Khilnani and Anushka Rajendran, Shilpa Gupta: Drawing in the Dark, Hatje Cantz, Berlin, 2021
• Chris Bayley, Hilary Floe and Urvashi Butalia, Shilpa Gupta, Barbican Centre and Ridinghouse, London, 2022
• Alexandra Munroe, Nav Haq and Elvira Dyangani Ose, Shilpa Gupta, Phaidon Press, London, 2023

References

1. "I'm interested in perception and with how definitions get stretched or trespassed: Shilpa Gupta". The Indian Express. Vandana Kalra. 17 January 2016.
2. "The Formation of Identity- Shilpa Gupta- Someone Else- Arnolfini- Bristol". Aesthetica Magazine Blog. Regina Papachlimitzou. 11 April 2012.
3. "Shilpa Gupta". frieze.com. Ronald Jones. 14 March 2012.
4. "Shilpa Gupta- Untitled, Interactive video installation". Damlier Art Collection.
5. "Shilpa Gupta- Untitled (Shadow 2), 2006". NTT InterCommunication Center, Japan.
6. "Shilpa Gupta Writes Across Night Sky". Art Asia Pacific Magazine. Noelle Bodick. 22 February 2013.
7. "Shilpa Gupta, Possessing Skies". asymptotejournal.com. Poorna Swami.
8. Maddox, Georgina (10 May 2019). "The trio from India who made it to the Venice Biennale 2019". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
9. "My East is Your West, a Collateral Event for the 2015 Venice Biennale - Announcements". e-flux. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
10. "History | Contemporary Arts Center". www.contemporaryartscenter.org. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
11. "Shilpa Gupta: I Live Under Your Sky Too". Centro Botin. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
12. "Shilpa Gupta | Barbican". www.barbican.org.uk. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
13. "Shilpa Gupta I did not tell you what I saw, but only what I dreamt". Amant. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
14. "Shilpa Gupta: Lines of Flight – Ishara Arts" . Retrieved 10 May 2025.
15. "Shilpa Gupta - Someone Else". Arnolfini. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
16. "Shilpa Gupta's Half a Sky - Announcements". e-flux. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
17. "Shilpa Gupta - Where Do I Begin". Voorlinden. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
18. "Shilpa Gupta: Today Will End - Announcements". e-flux. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
19. "Shilpa Gupta awarded the Possehl Prize for International Art 2025". artreview.com. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
20. "2025 Asia Arts Game Changer Awards India: Shilpa Gupta, Asia Arts Pathbreaker Awardee | Asia Society". asiasociety.org. 10 February 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
21. Staff, G. Q. (1 April 2019). "GQ Style & Culture Awards 2019: Full list of winners". GQ India. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
22. "India Today Art Awards 2019: Portrait of an artist as a warrior". India Today. 23 December 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2025.