What to buy - painting or installation?

Even as contemporary artists continue to rule the market, new media, which incidentally is not so new any more, finds fewer takers in the domestic art market. Art lovers, especially individual collectors prefer to buy conventional art such as paintings, and sculptures - to some extent. Installations, video art, digital art although are rich in creative content and provide stimulation to the senses find fewer takers, when it comes to loosening the purse strings.

When buying art, the primary motivating factor apart from its investment potential still remains its visual appeal. Buyers look for art pieces that draw them irrevocably or those with which they feel an instant connection. What is interesting here is the diametrically opposing views that collectors or rather nouveau buyers, and investors or seasoned buyers have. It appears that new buyers tend to go for visual appeal. Whereas, buyers who have been around for some time and have already fulfilled their aesthetic instincts, then look out for creative stimuli. They are then willing to experiment and are more open to experimental work from artists as well. So, the basic difference seems to lie in the initiation period – the longer the involvement with art the greater the aptitude for newer artists and mediums. However, budget constraints always tilt the balance one way or the other.

Then again art such as installations and also large sculptures have associated physical problems that then translates into fewer sale figures. Large pieces are impossible to accommodate in cramped apartments and even average-sized houses for that matter. Buyers face the same issue with large paintings as well. Many artists indulge in creating art that is experimental in form, concept and medium fully aware that these are unlikely to be bought by any individual collector. With the Indian art market poised to create a larger impact than ever before, who knows artists might even consider coming out with a specially designed miniature line of experimental artworks that keeps in mind the urban constraints.

(Published in Financial Times)

The colours of 2008

Controversies, price fluctuations and celebrity art shows – they all made news last year. The Indian art scene hit new heights and then seemed to flounder for a little while. Fortunately, the year end auctions saw a renewed interest in the contemporary artists, where NS Harsha, Atul Dodiya, Subodh Gupta and TV Santosh performed well at the Christie’s Hong Kong auction of Asian contemporary art. And, the Saffron art winter auction held in early December collected more than Rs 30 crores, where SH Raza, Tyeb Mehta, FN Souza, Rameshwar Broota, Jogen Chowdhury and MF Husain were amongst those who fetched the highest prices.


How does the art market look like in 2008? It seems Indian art and artists will continue to make waves both at the domestic front and internationally. This should translate into a subsequent increase in the number of art shows, galleries and dealers. Younger artists who have the talent are also likely to do well. According to art collector Harish Padmanabha, “popularity of modern artists will hit the stands once again. No one can take away credit from stalwarts like Husain, Raza, Tyeb Mehta, Gaitonde and Ganesh Pyne.”

Which artists will do well? Padmanabha asserts, “It is difficult to predict the future of new artists who are at the beginning of their careers. But, the interest in contemporary artists is likely to continue. Also, the global interest in Indian art will continue to gradually build.”
Artist Ravikumar Kashi feels, “the market has slowed down somewhat in the last few months, but personally I have done well. Soon the market should start to look up.” Buyers have become more discerning and this trend is likely to continue. With awareness comes the ability to judge and that is one reason why footfalls have not converted into sales in the last year. Bangalore is fast emerging as a hotspot for art after Mumbai and Delhi. Hopefully, local artists will soon get their due and this should reduce disparity in prices of artists from Bangalore versus Delhi and Mumbai.

(Published in Financial Times)

Rendezvous with N S Harsha

N S Harsha, an artist who lives and works in Mysore has firmly imprinted the city on the global map. At the Christie’s auction of Asian contemporary art held in Hong Kong last month, Harsha’s painting ‘Mass Marriage’ went for a hammer price of HK$ 6.4 million, the highest among the Indian works. Harsha is currently busy completing his painting for the third Artes Mundi Prize, a prestigious award, for which he has been nominated along with seven other artists from all over the world. His entry called ‘Come give us a speech’ is a metaphorical painting that he is still working on. Art consultant Nalini S Malaviya catches up with him, to find out more about his art and community projects.

You have set a record of sorts at the recent Christie’s Hong Kong auction. How does it feel?
It feels strange to be pulled into such a situation that my painting managed to set a ’monetary record’ and I am answerable to it. Frankly, I was shocked. For me, the equation hasn’t changed at all. I sold this long ago and it feels different to see it again in its present context after such a long gap.
Will you get any financial benefit from the sale?
Actually, no. I sold it in 2003, so for me it ended there.
Where have you studied art?
I did my BFA in CAVA in Mysore then MFA in Faculty of Fine arts in Baroda.
How difficult has it been for you to establish yourself?
For me the artistic journey is not a career. I never worked with an intention to establish myself in the art world. It has always been a deeply-rooted personal activity for me. My struggle was more about believing in myself and realising or executing these thoughts. The best thing a small town can offer is ’personal time and space’ which I feel gets a little compromised in a big city. So I do try and balance between my travels abroad and my time here in Mysore.
Along with art, you are also involved with a lot of community projects. Tell us more about that.
I have worked on community art projects for the last 10 years in several different countries. It has been a rich learning process for me. It has enriched my understanding of different cultural practices as well as the new challenges we are facing as a global community. I focus on bringing many different voices and expressions on a single platform to understand the complexity of our times. Every workshop is designed according to the context and place where it is held, so I do a lot of homework before designing the project. This also gives me the freedom to work in public spaces along with conventional gallery and museum spaces.
What is the future of art as an investment avenue?
Oh! I don’t have any knowledge in this field. For me, collecting art is about collecting a ’thought’. So it is best if this is answered by an investment banker.
(Published in Mysore Plus)

Chitra Santhe - Art Fair (Bangalore) Dec 30, 2007

Most of the 'artists' this year too were hobby painters et al. However, there was a sprinkling of fine arts students from other districts of Karnataka. According to official figures there were 1,700 art stalls and at least a 100,000 people attended. I also heard that more than Rs 1 crore changed hands!

There were very few works that I liked, amongst them were pen and ink drawings by an artist from Chikmaglur and a couple of paintings by an artist from Hassan. Unfortunatley, there were many reproductions right from SL Haldenkar's 'Glow of Hope' painting (please visit Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore to see the original), to John Fernandes to even SH Raza! The different versions of Glow of Hope, which incidentally is on sale at every Santhe, was truly pathetic this year. At least all the copies I saw had no resemblance to the original except for the fact that they featured a woman holding a lamp. The magic created by Haldenkar was completely missing!


Prices were as high as Rs 5 lakhs (the painting of an elephant was priced at Rs 5 lakhs - see below). Here are a few images from the Santhe.








If you visited the Santhe, what did you think about it? Did you like the paintings on display? Did you buy anything? Were the prices reasonable? What is the best part of an event like this? Mail your comments to me.

Should artists get royalty?

Once again there is a lot of discussion on whether an artist should be given a royalty or a percentage of the sales, when one of his artworks does exceptionally well during a resale, for instance, at an auction. There is mixed feeling towards this. While most artists feel that a certain percentage of the sale proceeds should be given to the respective artist, gallery owners and collectors feel that the issue is debateable. In practical terms it is very difficult to track each and every artwork that is sold or resold, unless it is at an auction. Art collector Harish Padmanabha asks, “when I invest in real estate and I sell the property a few years down the line, should I give a percentage of the profits to the previous owner?” He says that once an artwork leaves the studio, it becomes a commodity and gets bandied around in the market. An artist’s job should be to give vent to his creativity and give enjoyment to the viewer and himself. He brings out the point that when the artist is no more, who should benefit from the percentage? Therefore, it appears that implementing such a plan is full of loopholes. Artist Ravi Kumar Kashi also admits that the idea has its benefits, but wonders how the mechanism would really work in practical terms.

On the other hand, Indian artists who have struggled a lot in their career and have only now begun to make a mark at international auctions are unfortunately not getting any share of the proceeds. We have seen in the past that legends from the fields of music and sports have languished in abject poverty in their last days. One wonders, when the modern and contemporary Indian art market is thriving so well, is there a way to acknowledge the contribution of its key players? Giving a royalty to the artist may or may not be the answer, but a solution that aims at long term benefits rather than short-term gain is much needed.