Most of Satish Gupta`s works are gigantic. Like his etchings on canvas for which he uses the print making process, a time consuming process, with each print taking days to complete.

His technique is interesting: He makes a drawing, reverses the image and traces it on to a metal plate. Colour is then rubbed into the plate, and rubber or leather rollers of different dimensions help smoothen out the image.

Once the plate is ready, he puts it on a canvas and inserts both into a high pressure engraving press. "That`s a pressure of 10,000 pounds per square inch on the canvas," he says. "The image is transferred as a single impression on canvas and the transparent layers of inks and paint lets the white on the canvas show."

Gupta`s courtyard sculpture series for the Jindal Centre in Delhi is considered a masterpiece in stainless steel sculpture. "The mechanics of creating it were incredible. 45 cubic feet of space, three floors high, 12 tonnes of metal," he sighs, relieving the thrill of making something as massive as that. In short, everything Gupta`s done has been about size. Size that`s overwhelming and technique that`s mind-boggling.

Born in 1947 in New Delhi, Gupta studied art for five years at the College of Art, New Delhi. He moved on to Paris in 1970 on a scholarship to study graphics and lived there for two formative years.

In 1983, his graphics were displayed at the Tropen Museum in Amsterdam. Gupta has exhibited his works in one-man shows in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and at galerie Espace Pont-Neuf in Paris, the Wraxall Gallery in London, the Ufundi gallery in Ottawa, the Viridian Gallery in New York, the East & West Art Gallery in Melbourne and Gallery El-Sol in Spain.

Gupta is known for his etchings inspired by Rajasthan, but that isn’t how he started out. "I used to make etchings of mountains. I was inclined towards minimalism, so my earlier etchings were devoid of much colour. Then, one day in Sikkim, I experienced a sense of unity with God when I entered the Rumtek Monastery. It was such a contrast, from stark to warm hues, that from then on I decided to change my palette from blues, greys and whites to earthy colours. That’s when I turned to Rajasthan," he says.

Gupta isn’t only an artist, he’s a poet as well, with two published books of verse "Vibrations" and "The Broken Wave" to his credit.

Satish Gupta lives and works in New Delhi.