仏パリ高級百貨店に鍋の集合体

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】仏ラグジュアリーグループ、ＬＶＭＨが所有するパリの百貨店ル・ボン・マルシェに、インドの現代美術家スボード・グプタ氏の作品が登場した。（写真は、同店に展示されているグプタ氏の作品）
　グプタ氏は、使用済みの食器や中古の家具などを用いた作品で知られている。作品に日用品を使うことは、グプタ氏がインドで最も貧しい州の一つ、東部ビハールで生まれ育ったことを映し出している。
　今回の作品の一つでは、アルミ製の鍋でつくられた高さ１２メートルのバケツから、鏡でできた水が香水売り場に注がれている。超高級品が並べられた売り場と使用済みの鍋が鮮やかなコントラストを成している。
　グプタ氏はＡＦＰの取材に対し「私が使うのはそんなに豪華な物ではない」「ル・ボン・マルシェに自分のスタイルは妥協しないと伝えたところ、完全に自由にやらせてくれた」と語った。「これだけの道具がこれだけの人に使われて、これだけの人がこれで作った料理を食べていたと考えるのが好きだ」
　ル・ボン・マルシェは毎年、館内とショーウインドーの展示を著名アーティストに依頼している。グプタ氏の作品は、２月１９日まで展示予定。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/01/27-16:13）

For the next few weeks, well-heeled shoppers at Le Bon Marche store in Paris will sniff perfumes and peruse designer dresses in the shadow of vast, three-storey sculptures made from pots and pans.
The unexpected intrusion into one of the city's fanciest department stores -- owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH -- is the work of India's Subodh Gupta, one of the world's leading contemporary artists.
Among the works from Gupta, who often uses reclaimed utensils and other bits of second-hand furniture in his work, is a 12-metre (40-foot) high sculpture of a bucket (made from aluminium pots) pouring water (made from large mirrors) into its perfume department.
The everyday objects -- which reflect Gupta's upbringing in Bihar, one of India's poorest states -- make a striking contrast with the ultra-expensive items around it.
The things I use are not very luxurious, Gupta told AFP.
I told them I would not compromise my style, but what is good about the Bon Marche is they gave me total freedom to do my work.
And this way, people who don't normally go to museums and galleries can see it.
Gupta has exhibited around the world, including at the Tate in London and Pompidou in Paris.
Le Bon Marche invites a top artist each year to exhibit in their store and take over their window displays.
On one floor, Gupta has created a traditional Indian hut from dangling, recycled kitchenware.
I like the idea that all these utensils were used by all these people, that so many people ate food prepared in them. So many people are represented here that it almost reaches into infinity, he said.
Raised in a small village in Bihar, Gupta began his career as an actor in a small theatre troupe before becoming an illustrator.
Moving to Delhi to try his hand at more abstract art, he struggled for several years until a breakthrough when French fashion magnate and art collector Francois Pinault bought one of his sculptures.
Now in his late 50s, Gupta commands millions for his works.
Given the risks of building such vast sculptures in public places, they are painstakingly designed with engineers.
The artworks in the Bon Marche were transported in pieces and assembled like a puzzle by 30 or 40 people, he said.
More and more I like these unconventional settings, Gupta said. Coming from the theatre, I like the performance aspect, as if these artworks are performing for the public.
The exhibition runs at the Bon Marche until February 19.