Tourists flock to Subodh Gupta's exhibition at Christie’s

The overflowing bucket sits in front of Christie’s with thousands of tourists reflecting over this sculpture in the week of the Armory show and Asia Week.

"How can you not love this work – it is so simple, playful and honest and yet poignant. It is an iconic emblem of Subodh Gupta's artistic vocabulary. Always finding tension and irony in the mundane, the artist regularly employs the stainless steel bucket and cooking implements in both paintings and sculptures," expressed Deepanjana Klein, vice-president and senior specialist Modern and Contemporary Indian Art, in an email statement.

Here Gupta has magnified the pedestrian milk pail as it spills over in excess with lunch boxes, glasses and bowls. The precarious balance of these utensils becomes a symbol of the juxtaposition between urban and rural life and is perhaps the artist ruminating on the temptation and allure of the gleaming new commodities - just as India embraces a more capitalistic and materialistic culture.

"Focusing on containing the minutiae of culture and tradition within the pristine and protective walls of stainless steel, Gupta's vessel becomes an overt icon of Indian vision," explained Klei.