Page 105 - Visionaries June 2024
P. 105
Lot No. 87
Vibha Galhotra
b. 1978
EPHEMERAL UTOPIA
With pedestal: 60 x 20.5 x 18 in (152.4 x 52.1 x 45.7 cm)
Wood, concrete & metal
` 8,00,000 - 12,00,000 | $ 9,756 - 14,634
Provenance: Property from a collection based in New Delhi.
Ephemeral Utopia is an impressive sculpture by Vibha
Galhotra that depicts a world which has collapsed and so has
the environment, and depicts the Earth as an archaeological
discovery. The globe is seen showcasing evidence of times
gone by where geographical borders existed. Through
this work she aims to display the ignorance of humankind
in believing that the world today is a utopia. She envisions
the world destroyed owing to the present reality of
environmental degradation and ecological disasters, hoping
to spur her viewers into action.
Vibha Galhotra is a conceptual artist born in 1978, in Kaithal,
Haryana. Her artworks include sculptures, photographs,
videos, site-specific work, and public art interventions.
She completed her BFA in Graphics from the Government
College of Arts, Chandigarh in 1999 and her MFA in Graphics
from Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan in 2002. Through her art,
Galhotra explores social and economic issues like climate
change, capitalism, consumerism, and globalization. Her
artwork is part of several public and private collections in
India and abroad. She has also been the recipient of several
awards and fellowships including Asia Arts Future - Asia Arts
Game Changer Awards India (2019); Asian Cultural Council
Fellow (2017); the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio residency
(2016); YFLO Women Achiever of the Year Award (2015)
Government of India (2001-02); and the Artist Under 30
Award, Chandigarh State Lalit Kala Academy Award (1998).