Hema Upadhyay | The Princesses’ Rusted Belt

Hema Upadhyay was one of the most significant figures in contemporary Indian art, whose work stood out for its monumental and aerial sculptures and installations, deeply imbued with poetry and social critique. At the heart of her practice lay an exploration of urban neuroses and the concepts of migration, loss and displacement, with a profound and intimate focus on the female condition and personal identity. The artist utilised an extraordinary variety of materials — combining photography, painting, written texts and recycled industrial waste (such as sheet metal, plastic and aluminium) — to reconstruct complex and claustrophobic urban landscapes, inspired in particular by the slums and shanty towns of Mumbai, the city where she lived and worked. Born in Vadodara in 1972 and tragically passed away in 2015, she trained in painting and printmaking at the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University, going on to establish an international career marked by prestigious exhibitions — from MACRO in Rome to countless appearances at European biennales and avant-garde galleries.

Exhibitions by the artist at Studio la Città
2008 – Insia Crossing | Group exhibition
2009 – Esotico Contemporaneo | Group exhibition
2010 – Antipodi | Group exhibition
2010 – Midnight’s Children | Group exhibition
2011 – Where The Bees Suck, There Suck! | Solo show
2011 – Princesses’ Rusted Belts | Solo show
2016 – Omaggio a Hema – Where The Bees Suck, There Suck! | Solo show
2016 – Il Corpo della Città | Group exhibition
2018 – Senza Tema. Carta | Group exhibition
2018 – No Place Like Home | Group exhibition
2020 – La Musée 2 | Group exhibition
2024 – Torn Curtain. Buongiorno, Buonasera | Group exhibition
2025 – Freedom – Il Potere delle Donne | Group exhibition