Nature Morte presents A Fistful of Sky, a comprehensive exhibition by internationally acclaimed artist Subodh Gupta, opening April 3, 2026, until 17 May 2026 at the Art House at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC). Curated by Clare Lilley, the exhibition unfolds across the four floors of the venue and brings together large-scale installations, new commissions and key works from different moments in the artist's celebrated career.
Over more than three decades, Gupta has transformed the objects of everyday domestic life like utensils, tiffins, vessels and beds into works that reflect on larger questions of migration, labour, faith and aspiration. In (A Fistful of Sky), these familiar materials expand into immersive works that respond to and complement the scale and architecture of the venue.
Several works are shown in India for the first time. Proust Mapping (2024-26) stretches over nine metres and is made from flattened cooking vessels marked by years of use. From afar, the surface appears abstract; up close, dents, scratches and burn marks reveal traces of everyday labour. Also on view is Stupa (2024), a group of nine sculptural forms assembled from stainless-steel utensils that reimagine the devotional structure through objects drawn from the kitchen. Scale is further explored in Kingdom of Earth (2016-26), a monumental installation extending more than seven metres across. With its columns and sculptural fragments recalling archaeological remains, the work links the artist’s materials to longer histories of culture and civilisation.
At the centre of the exhibition is a newly conceived installation titled A Fistful of Sky (2025–26), created specifically for the Art House. A field of polyester fabric-netted beds forms an immersive environment that draws on ideas of rest, migration and memory; experiences closely tied to the rhythms of life in Mumbai. The exhibition brings together works from across different points in Subodh Gupta’s career. Faith Matters (2007–10), shown in India for the first time, sets stainless-steel utensils moving along conveyor belts, echoing the everyday cycles of cooking, labour and exchange. Works recently presented at the Bihar Museum in The Way Home (2024) return, alongside new paintings from Gupta’s Inner Garden series, also shown for the first time.
'This is the largest exhibition I’ve had in a private space in India; most of the works are new and mark a distinct shift in my practice. I still remember my first solo show at Jehangir Art Gallery in the early 1990s, and Mumbai had an incredible energy that stayed with me. Returning to the city with this exhibition carries that same excitement, and I'd love for people to come and experience the works for themselves.'
- Subodh Gupta, Artist
A Fistful of Sky presents one of the most expansive views of the artist’s work in India in recent years. Moving between the scale of architecture and the intimacy of everyday objects, the exhibition reflects Gupta’s enduring interest in how ordinary materials can hold complex histories of movement, belief and collective experience.
A Fistful of Sky is on view at NMACC, Mumbai until 17th May, 2026.
Words Platform Desk
Date 15.4.2026
