Young talent with potential

We hear and read about successful artists only, but the truth is that for every Husain or Subodh Gupta there are many more artists who are struggling to find a foothold in the world of art. Many have been around for years while others have just begun their artistic trysts, but, on the flip side, there are those with average or mediocre talent who produce poor quality work and still expect to make it to the big league.
Anyway, in this week’s column, I’ve decided to draw attention to two young artists Tikendra Kumar Sahu and Sataban Sarkar who are participating for the very first time in a duo-exhibition. Their works may not be outstanding as of now but seem to have the potential to evolve and mature.

Sataban is studying for a master’s degree in print making at Nandan Kala Bhavan in Shantiniketan, while Tikendra has a bachelor’s degree in painting from Chhattisgarh and a master’s degree in Graphics from Bangalore University.
When I went to the gallery, I met Tikendra who was actively involved in the display of his paintings. He struck me as an intelligent and a very focused young artist who was quite clear about what he was painting and what he wanted to paint in the future. In this series Tikendra has combined relief work with painting on white paper. Using watercolours on embossed sheets, Tikendra internalises dogmas and ingrained values in an effort to question and rationalise them. He uses symbols to convey his thoughts, which sometimes are too literal and tend to focus on being decorative.

However, in his other works, emotional depths to erotic senses are presented subtly and gracefully. An introspective quality characterises these other paintings and there is sophistication in the handling of the theme, as well. In fact, if he can move away from his preoccupation with the decorative style he can do phenomenally better, which luckily he is aware of.

On the other hand, Sataban’s prints on rice paper and cloth are a combination of satire and wit as they comment upon political and social evils. The prints are produced skilfully and those on a single piece of cloth appear far better than a few paper ones. Undoubtedly, there is a raw quality evident in his works, but overall are quite interesting.

(The exhibition is on till May 2 at Right Lines Art Gallery).

(Published in Bangalore Mirror)

Harsha does it again!

Not so long ago, in fact last year in November, NS Harsha created a record when his painting ‘Mass Marriage’ sold for a whopping HK$ 6.4 million at the Christie’s auction of Asian contemporary art held in Hong Kong.

Last week Harsha was awarded UK’s prestigious 40,000 pound Artes Mundi Prize at the National Museum, Cardiff. The award was in recognition of his art that combines story telling with the miniature form of Indian art that he has adapted in a unique style. Harsha’s paintings bring out social and political incongruity with ease and wit. The minute figures form part of an intricate narrative that appears unremarkable on the surface but reveals layers of absurdities and satirical humour on closer scrutiny.
Harsha beat 8 other nominees to win the prize that is considered to be one of the largest international art awards.
Harsha studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University Baroda in 1995. He lives and works in Mysore, Karnataka.

To read an earlier interview with NS Harsha click here (you may have to scroll down quite a bit).

Indian Art at a Crucial Juncture

Indian art is now poised at a crucial stage and in the near future the results from the upcoming auctions will help in indicating the growth rate of the art market. Dinesh Vazirani, Director of Saffron Art auction house, who was recently in Bangalore for a talk on the Indian modern and contemporary art and how it has grown dramatically in the last few years, also pointed out that the next 12 months or so will determine the course of Indian art in the international arena.

The soon to be held Sotheby’s auction of Indian art comprises of 123 lots by a variety of Indian artists – both modern and contemporary. On May 2, London is expected to be abuzz with the colours of Indian art. The Sotheby’s auction is expected to bring in around 24,00,000 GBP. The auction will feature works by artists such as Jamini Roy, S H Raza, Ramkumar, Shakti Burman, Badri Narayan, Laxma Goud, Krishen Khanna amongst others.

FN Souza’s ‘The Red Road’ has the highest estimated price between 250,000 – 350,000 GBP, followed by Akbar Padamsee’s two works that are estimated between 150,000 – 250,000 GBP each. Incidentally, 11 works by Souza ranging from a lower estimate of 3,000 GBP (for the lowest priced work) onwards will be placed for bidding. Whereas, ‘The Thief of Baghdad’, a diptych painted by MF Husain is estimated to fetch between 100,000 – 150,000 GBP. There are 7 works by Husain too where the lowest priced work begins at a lower estimate of 30,000 GBP.

There are two works by Rabindranath Tagore as well, titled ‘Bird’ (pen and coloured inks on paper) and ‘The Death Scene’ (gouache and coloured inks on paper) which will also be coming up for bidding. Then there are works by Subodh Gupta, Atul Dodiya, Jitish Kallat, T V Santosh, Sudhir Patwardhan, Chintan Upadhay and Shilpa Gupta amongst a bevy of others.

All eyes are now on this auction and the results will be of special significance for collectors and investors of Indian art.

Divergent Discourses

Last week saw Dinesh Vazirani, Director, Saffronart - an online auction house - giving a talk in Bangalore. He delivered a lecture on modern and contemporary Indian art before a select gathering of art collectors, gallery owners and art aficionados. What made the evening particularly interesting was that such interactions between the various members of the art community are rare in Bangalore.
The event, organised by Tangerine Art Space, was part of the opening of their art exhibition ‘Divergent Discourses’ that featured established artists such S G Vasudev, Yusuf Arakkal, Manu Parekh, Jogen Chowdhary, Krishen Khanna, Laxma Goud, Rameshwar Broota, Rini Dhumal, Surya Prakash and T Vaikuntam, amongst others. The single-day exhibition at the venue now continues online on their website.

Dinesh Vazirani focused on the timelines of Indian art, how it has evolved over the years, and in particular, how the art market has grown exponentially over the years. He also touched on the various factors that impact pricing and the state of the market.
The contemporary art market has grown spectacularly in the last couple of years and Vazirani elaborated upon it with facts and figures. You will remember, last year, at the Christie’s auction of Asian contemporary art held in Hong Kong, Harsha’s painting ‘Mass Marriage’ went for a hammer price of HK$ 6.4 million, which was a record for any Indian contemporary artist. N S Harsha, who lives in Mysore, made one of his rare appearances and was present at the talk. He was given a much-deserved standing ovation. Harsha happens to be not only incredibly talented and extremely grounded, but also one of the most articulate (minus the sales pitch) artists I have met.
One must give credit to Leena Chethan the Founder Director of Tangerine Art Space for organising such an event. Incidentally, Leena drew a lot of flak for the first art show that she had organised a couple of years ago.

But, coming back to the present, an interactive forum such as this is vital in bringing together all players connected with the art field. It also leads to a healthy discussion, and creates a positive atmosphere for the city’s art lovers. Hopefully, such interactions will eventually also help in bringing more transparency (much needed) to the market.

(Published in Bangalore Mirror)

Affordable art with investment value

How the definition of affordable art has changed over the years! Having grown at a furious pace in the last few years, the Indian art market is currently estimated to be valued at around Rs 1,500 crores. And, market sources predict that Indian art is likely to continue its impressive performance, but what is unclear or has an element of ambiguity is the growth rate. Whether the market grows at the same spectacular rate it has seen in the past remains to be seen. Despite this most experts feel that Indian art is one of the safest investment options, provided one invests after a thorough research and looks at it as a long term asset.

Affordability is surely a relative term. Earlier where one looked at investing Rs 10,000 to 50,000 on a painting; prices have now climbed substantially higher and now involve more than five digits. A few years ago one could buy an average sized work of art with associated investment value for less than a lakh, whereas now one would have to spend at least Rs 2 lakhs and above to pick up an artist with some investment potential. In fact, those contemporary artists who are considered to be ‘safe’ in terms of their investment potential are available only above Rs 5 lakhs. Unfortunately, these high figures can be a major deterrent to those looking at buying an affordable range of art that goes beyond decorative purposes.

Galleries and dealers are therefore introducing new artists with attractive pricing to plug the resultant gap in the market. This also helps in broadening the buyer base. At the same time this bodes well for young artists and promising talent. Students, fresh graduates and artists with 2 to 3 years experience are in a better position than ever before to sell their artworks. The demand for affordable art ensures that gallery representatives scout actively for reasonably priced artists and these are then marketed aggressively to create a clientele.

(Published in Financial Times)