An anonymous account cites several instances of inappropriate behaviour from the artist, most well-known for using kitchen utensils in his sculptures
It was supposed to be a good week for artist Subodh Gupta. As co-curator of the visual arts section at Serendipity Arts Festival, to be held in Goa from tomorrow, Gupta was busy in Panaji overseeing preparations, when news broke on Instagram about his inappropriate advances towards women. On Instagram handle @herdsceneand, a former colleague said: "He has made unwanted physical advancements on separate occasions: grabbed the hand, touched the stomach, breasts, shoulders, pulled at bra straps, rubbed the thighs, even after the woman pulled away." The post combined the experiences of several women, one of which included, "He loudly asked a senior gallerist, pointing at a new assistant he had hired, 'Do you think I should f*** her tonight?'"
Later, art writer and mid-day columnist Rosalyn D'mello commented on the post, corroborating, "Since September, I learned about almost all the instances mentioned in the herdandscene testimony. I could not speak about it because they were not my truths to tell, and I was told them in confidence, and the survivors didn't feel ready to come out. But, if it helps anyone, I want to state that the post pertaining to Subodh is not "made up" or isn't "revenge" or isn't "attention-seeking". They are true. They happened."
This is the second such allegation to affect an art festival after Kochi-Muziris Biennale co-founder Riyas Komu was asked to step down. Subodh Gupta, Peter Nagy, director at Nature Morte, which represents Gupta, and Smriti Rajgarhia, director at Serendipity Arts Festival, did not respond after mid-day reached out to them. Though the official Instagram page of Serendipity stopped tagging Gupta in its posts, while acknowledging the fellow curators.
From the kitchen
Subodh Gupta's oeuvre includes giant sculptures made from welding utensils. This year, Monnaie de Paris hosted a retrospective of 30 works in an exhibition called Adda / Rendez-vous.
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