10th April 2007
They start their day with the surya namaskar, salivate over Indian curries and kebabs, swing to bhangra pop, weep at Bollywood melodramas and devour every word written by award-winning Indian novelists. And now the world's fascination with everything desi is spilling into the arena of art as well.
Contemporary Indian art, until recently a largely unknown genre in the global art world, is suddenly everywhere—Christie's, Sotheby's Bonhams, you name it. "The interest in this field is phenomenal, and every sale is attracting more and newer bidders," says Claire, director, Islamic and Indian Art department, Bonhams.
Jagdish Swaminathan's The Tree, The Bird, The Shadow fetched 1,45,000 pounds (Rs 1.15 crore)—a world-record price for Swami—at the recent Bonham's auction at Bond Street, London. At Christie's Hong Kong auction last month, MF Husain's Untitled and SH Raza's Trishna touched the magical Rs 1 crore figure; while Tyeb Mehta's Kali sold for more than Rs 1 crore (Rs 10,169,500, to be precise) in a recent online auction. And it's not just the biggies—newer artists such as Subodh Gupta and Atul Dodiya are also being recognised internationally.
Sales of contemporary Indian art started to be held in London in 1995, took a few years to establish themselves in the auction market, and grad"ually prices began to rise, says Penhallurick. "As this happened, a gallery structure built up in India, US and UK, and academic interest increased, all helping to strengthen the market," she adds.
Traditionally, paintings by Indian artists had been offered in Modern British and European painting sales for many years, often slipping through for little money and not getting the recognition that they should have. "But now, Indian art is finally getting its due in the art market," says Hugo Weihe, department head, Indian & Southeast Asian Art, Christie's. "Our sales in this auction have more than doubled from last time. Today, there is a willingness to look at art as an identity." Why the sudden and steep rise in the value of Indian art? And who's buying? "There are large numbers of educated Indians and Pakistanis working in the US and Europe, who have begun to realise that they can buy works by top artists from their own countries for relatively little money when compared to, say, a Hockney or a Damien Hirst," says Penhallurick.
Weihe has an interesting insight to offer: Raza's Trishna was sold to a Chinese buyer. "For the first time, I noticed a sense of competition among Indian and Chinese bidders," says the Christie's rep. "There's a whole new buyer potential in the market. It's just fantastic."
The Chinese, apparently, like others across the world, have realised the potential of Indian art to appreciate greatly over the next few years. "I'd call it nothing but foresight,'' says art gallery owner Arun Vadehra. "Ours is a healthy, steady growth, and I believe India has by far the best pool of talent, waiting to be channelised."
Swaminathan's son Harsha Vardhana, an artist himself, recalls the days when his father didn't have the money to send him to school. "My father was part of a group that struggled to establish Indian art on the world stage," he says. "I know of a time when he was paid Rs 250 for all the paintings he did in a month. It is the slow, steady and committed effort of artists that has got them this recognition."
Many see the trend as a natural progression of a field that was already established. "The people buying now want to have contemporary art as well as the Mughal box or Pala sculpture," says Penhallurick. Adds Robin Dean, head of Sotheby's Indian and South-East Asian department. "People across the world are appreciating Indian art for what it is worth. I don't see that changing until Indian artists change the passion with which they paint."
Not everyone believes the picture is so vibrant. The high prices paid for some paintings and artists don't automatically become a criterion for their artistic value, points out O P Sharma, former principal, Delhi College of Art. "I welcome the fact that some contemporary Indian paintings are getting huge prices in auctions through market forces," he says. "But I would also like to know the justification for their high value, based on a proper evaluation by experts."
One interesting offshoot of the greater sweepstakes in Indian art is that like for the IITs and IIMs, people are now willing to pay a price for coaching classes (read admission) to the Delhi College of Art. Albeit ‘unofficial', these classes are generally taken by ex-students and the going fee is apparently Rs 10,000. What price art, you wonder. Well, definitely a crore and more.
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