Subodh Gupta (born 1964) is an Indian contemporary artist based in New Delhi. His work encompasses sculpture, installation, painting, photography, performance and video. Gupta was born in Khagaul, a small town in Bihar. His father, a railway guard, died in his early forties, when Gupta was 12 years old; his mother, who came from a farming family, sent Gupta to live with her brother for a few years in a remote village. Of his years there, Gupta said, "Not a single school kid wore shoes, and there was no road to go to school. Sometimes we stopped in the field and we sat down and ate green chickpeas before we went to school." On finishing school, Gupta joined a small theatre group in Khagaul, where he worked as an actor. He also designed posters to advertise the plays he acted in, which is around the time he started considering a career in art. He worked part-time as an illustrator at a newspaper while studying at the College of Arts & Crafts, Patna between 1983 and 1988. Of his time studying art in Patna, Gupta has said, "“Can you imagine the library of an art college forever locked? I just felt so lost when I passed out of the college. Had there been proper infrastructure in the college, I feel I wouldn’t have had to experience the same kind of struggle." Gupta moved to Delhi after graduating, and struggled for several years. Early turning points in his career came from being exhibited at the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale held at the Fukuoka Art Museum in 1999, and at the Gwangju Biennale in 2000. His association with Khoj Studios in Delhi, an organisation that promotes young artists and experimental work, begun in this period, also influenced his career. His work has been described as being in the tradition of the French surrealist Marcel Duchamp.