Born in 1961 in Mangalore, India, Sudarshan Shetty lives and works in Mumbai. Shetty initially trained as a painter, later turning to sculpture and installations which now account for all of his practice. A conceptual artist, he is renowned for his enigmatic and often mechanized sculptural installations, Shetty explores the fundamental ontological challenges presented by our immersion in a world of objects. His hybrid constructions question the fusion of Indian and Western traditions as well as exploring domestic concerns and the notion of movement. His installations are developed around a rigorous grammar of materials, mechanical exposure and unlikely juxtapositions of things that may belong to culturally distinct spheres. Moreover, Shetty’s object language eschews narrative as well as established symbolism.

He has exhibited widely in India and around the world. His recent shows include ‘A Song A Story’ for the Rolls-Royce Art Programme, 2016, ‘Shoonya Ghar – Empty Is This House’, NGMA, New Delhi and at the 20th Biennale of Sydney, 2016, ‘Mimic Momento’, Galerie Daniel Templon, Brussels, 2015,‘Constructs Constructions’, curated by Roobina Karode, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, 2015, ‘A Passage’ Staatliche Museum, Schwerin, Germany, 2015 ‘every broken moment, piece by piece’, GALLERYSKE, New Delhi, 2014, ‘The pieces earth took away’, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, 2012, ‘Critical Mass’, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, 2012, ‘Indian Highway’, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, 2012, ‘The Matters Within: New Contemporary Art of India’, curated by Betti-Sue Hertz, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, 2011, ‘Paris-Delhi-Bombay’, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2011, ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, curated by Walter Vanhaerents and Pierre-Olivier Rollin, Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels, 2011, ‘India Inclusive’, World Economic Forum, Davos, 2011, ‘Contemplating the Void’, curated by Nancy Spector, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2010, Vancouver Biennale, Vancouver, 2009, among others.

Sudarshan Shetty was the curator of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016 in addition to participating as an artist in the inaugural edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale curated by Bose Krishnamachari and Riyas Komu in 2012. 

Sudarshan Shetty is currently based in Mumbai.