Sudarshan Shetty — Between the tea cup and a sinking constellation — Templon Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: May 21 → July 23, 2011

Born in 1961 in Mangalore, this conceptual artist is renowned for his enigmatic sculptural installations, which are often animated. He is one of the most innovative of the current generation of Indian artists making a name for themselves on the international scene, along with artists such as Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher and Jitish Kallat.

Sudarshan Shetty creates hybrid constructions that question the merging of Indian and Western traditions. His work also addresses domestic preoccupations and the concept of movement.

Sudarshan Shetty will be showing a disturbingly distorted wooden automobile at Galerie Daniel Templon, finely sculpted in the Indian handicraft tradition. Slowly rotating, the car appears as an archaeological find, raising many questions about the accident—and the civilisation—that forged it. This animated object created from living material generates a sensation of absence and loss. Sudarshan Shetty uses a decorative facade to examine the fundamental truths of the human condition, offering a brilliant reinterpretation of the traditional still life.

Sudarshan Shetty will be part of two eagerly-awaited exhibitions this spring: Indian Highway IV at the Musée d’art contemporain in Lyon (24 February — 31 July) and Paris, Delhi, Bombay at the Musée national d’art moderne — Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (25 May — 19 September 2011). One of his monumental installations will also be featuring during Art Unlimited at the June 2011 Basel fair.