Conceptual Artist Sudarshan Shetty’s Raison D’être Is His Art

Karnataka-based conceptual artist, Sudarshan Shetty, attempts to respond to this as he ventures into finding the raison d’être behind the society, objects and the life we live. These answers unravel as he blurs the lines between reality and imagination at his fourth solo exhibition at Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna. Titled ‘Future Remains,’ the curation evokes a fictional narrative that unfolds through a collection of objects acquired at flea markets in Mumbai, India. His poetic assemblage invites contemplation on the passage of time and the meaning imbued in everyday possessions that we gather around ourselves. Shetty’s sculptural practice indulges in a variety of everyday found objects that may look seemingly mundane but narrate stories of remnants of a man’s life. Having transitioned from paintings to installation art, Shetty’s current practice explores the fundamental ontological challenges that arise while immersing in the world of objects. 

The Sir JJ School of Arts alumni and an ex-Kochi Muziris Biennale curator, the artist presents enigmatic installations that blend the everyday with the extraordinary. His art has been appreciated at multiple prestigious art institutions such as Tate Modern, London; the Guggenheim Museum, USA; the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel, amongst others. Conceptualised and created over the past year, ‘Future Remains,’ at Galerie Krinzinger extends to his ongoing artistic endeavour that comments on the society that we inhabit. In conversation with the artist, DP dives into his practice, his recently concluded show in Vienna and his longstanding interest in the mundane. 

Design Pataki: If you had to describe your practice in 3 words, what would they be? 

Sudarshan Shetty: Simple, Difficult and life-affirming. 

Design Pataki: Do you have a favourite artist or art movement?

Sudarshan Shetty: Nandalal Bose & Bengal Renaissance.

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Design Pataki: Can you share a core memory you experienced while creating artwork for ‘Future Remains’? How has this memory impacted your visual language?

Sudarshan Shetty: The show originates, in a way, from one of the fictional one-liners—free of postulations—that I wrote years ago as a way to sidestep the mannerisms I may have unconsciously accumulated over time as a maker of sculptural objects. What began as a simple, almost throwaway line gradually unfolded into a short story, loosely centered on a man’s final days in an indistinct, almost anonymous hospital. 

Like all narratives, this story is drawn from personal experience, yet it has been deliberately shaped into something that resists clear interpretation. The story contains mention of objects that are the man’s ‘personal effects’ that he leaves behind. While it may appear universal – something that many might relate to, even find unsettlingly familiar – it remains just as likely to feel distant or unknowable, depending on how one encounters it. Perhaps it offers a point of connection, or perhaps it eludes understanding entirely. There is an inherent ambiguity in how the work is meant to be received, and in that uncertainty lies its openness—an invitation for the viewer to bring their associations, to question whether they recognize something of themselves in it. 

Design Pataki: The exhibition evokes a fictional narrative that unfolds through a collection of objects acquired at flea markets in Mumbai. While strolling through a local flea market such as the Chor Bazaar, what are some of the thoughts that run through your mind?

Sudarshan Shetty: I see flea markets as repositories of objects that tell the stories of a civilization that has only just slipped into the past. Each visit to these second-hand markets leaves me enriched – not just by the tangible artefacts I encounter but by the imagined histories they carry. These objects stand as silent witnesses to an era that feels both distant and strangely familiar. As an artist, I attempt to create a kind of theatre – an imagined stage where these objects and their lost narratives are reassembled. Yet, built into the very act of making is the acknowledgement that none of it is real. This constructed unreality becomes part of the work itself, allowing for a space where fiction and memory intertwine, where what has been lost can momentarily return, only to dissolve again. 

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Design Pataki: What is the thought behind the two salvaged double doors, each adorned with a split brass heart and a split bronze ribcage overlaid onto their aged surfaces? How is this installation, earlier also displayed at the India Art Fair, adding to your contemplative exploration of the idea of the ‘passage of time’?

Sudharshan Shetty: This piece is displayed leaning against the wall, side by side. The juxtaposition of these weathered doors with anatomical elements creates a dialogue between history and corporeal vitality, evoking the complex relationship between objects and the human experience.  

The brass heart, with its delicate liquid drip, suggests a lingering life force—an essence that persists even within these reclaimed, seemingly lifeless forms. The bronze ribcage acts as both a protective enclosure and a fragile barrier, embodying the duality of vulnerability and resilience. Their presence transforms the doors from mere architectural relics into deeply humanized forms, imbued with a quiet presence that speaks to endurance, memory, and the passage of time. Just as the body encases a spirit, these doors encase echoes of lives once lived, suggesting that even in deterioration, something vital remains. 

Design Pataki: The curation includes a table with a fascinating collection of vintage objects – a radio player, a kerosene hand lamp, a timeworn suitcase, a vinyl record player, etc. Is there a personal anecdote related to these objects that once played a more functional utilitarian role in your life? 

Sudharshan Shetty: Yes, almost all of these objects were once an integral part of my life, each carrying a unique set of memories and emotions. While their functional purpose may have faded with time, they continue to hold a deep, personal significance—like echoes of a past that still lingers. For instance, the radio player reminds me of quiet evenings spent tuning into distant stations, the crackling static adding a certain mystery to the voices and music that filled the room. The torch brings back memories of power outages when its warm glow turned an inconvenience into a moment of shared storytelling. The timeworn suitcase? It has seen countless journeys—some joyful, some bittersweet—each scuff and scratch a testament to the places I’ve been and the experiences that have shaped me.

The objects we collect often serve as tangible markers of time, holding within them fragments of who we once were. Perhaps our need to hold onto them reflects a deeper desire to anchor ourselves in an ever-changing world, a quiet acknowledgement of our fleeting existence. However, in this setting, these objects are not merely relics of nostalgia. Instead, they are being revitalised—presented with a newfound meaning within this theatrical setup, inviting fresh interpretations and connections without recourse to sentimentality. They are no longer just artefacts of the past; they become part of an evolving narrative, prompting us to see them in a different light, beyond personal memory and into a broader dialogue of time, function, and meaning.

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Installation view of Future Remains by Sudarshan Shetty, 2024, Video Installation; (Image courtesy of Galerie Krinzinger & the artist, Photo: Carmen Alber)

Design Pataki: There is a very stark juxtaposition that the viewers encounter while experiencing the curation. Can you talk about the contrast between the warmth of familiar everyday objects curated on a table in the same space as a fictional video installation of these very actual objects falling to the floor?

Sudharshan Shetty: The objects in the video piece are captured in free fall against a uniform background, each impact producing a distinct sound that contributes to a rhythmic, almost musical composition. What deepens the experience is the presence of these same objects, meticulously replicated in wood. Painstakingly hand-carved, these wooden sculptures mirror their video counterparts with almost obsessive precision, capturing every detail as they sit displayed on a table. The delicate craftsmanship highlights the fragility of the original objects, while the slow, laborious act of replication stands in stark contrast to the fleeting, chaotic nature of their falls.

In the video, they are seen falling, crashing, and breaking apart. The very objects that once held meaning through use are now subjected to a process of destruction. Their destruction is not violent but measured – the almost poetic -a slow unravelling of the every day into fragments of memory. The presence of their wooden counterparts offers a form of preservation, a second life. In their replication, the objects regain a sense of permanence, though altered. Together, the video and sculptures engage in a conversation about impermanence and preservation, spontaneity and control, warmth and loss. This interplay extends beyond the immediate experience, prompting reflections on how art preserves, transforms, and projects objects into a speculative future—where their histories, both real and imagined, continue to unfold.

Design Pataki: If you had to identify the pièce de resistance from this curation, which one would it be and why?

Sudharshan Shetty: The show is conceived as a singular experience that unfolds through multiple perspectives—a fluid exploration of the same theme from variable positions. It seeks to create a theatrical playground, a space where meaning remains open-ended, inviting viewers to engage with the remnants of what is left behind while contemplating what they, in turn, can take away.

Design Patakin: An interesting show that you recently visited and stayed back with you 

Sudarshan Shetty:  ‘Blue Black Yellow’ by T. Venkanna at Gallery Maskara, Mumbai. 

Design Pataki: A dream exhibition venue on your bucket list 

Sudarshan Shetty: One of the caves of Ellora

Design Pataki: In your opinion, what role does art play in today’s everyday life and society within this rapidly evolving socio-political context?

Sudharshan Shetty: I often question whether art must serve a tangible role in our lives beyond the artist’s innate compulsion to create—an almost instinctive human drive to make and express outwardly. Moreover, over time, art seems to have drifted from its fundamental role as a means of producing knowledge and experience, becoming secondary to the vast accumulation of information that already saturates the world. Rather than generating new ways of seeing and understanding, it often risks merely rearranging or referencing what is already known. Too often, engaging with a work today requires first excavating the layers of external information it draws upon before one can truly access it. 

I believe it is the artist’s responsibility to reclaim this space— even if it means restoring art to the avant-garde, where it does not simply echo existing knowledge but actively shapes new ways of thinking, positioning itself once again as a space for exploration.

Design Pataki:  What is your next project or exhibition in the pipeline?

Sudharshan Shetty: I am working on a commissioned sculpture project and writing for two video projects that will be shown at the end of this year.