Has Indian art market hit a bottom? Is it ready for a bounce?

‘Indian art: What next?’, is an insightful NDTV report, on the status of the country’s art scene in the wake of economic downturn that cast its shadow on it.

Tracking the Indian art market, the report asks whether it has hit a bottom and whether prices have stabilized. The key question to be asked now: ‘Is there growth on the cards? Seeking the answer, the story points out: “The impact of the global slowdown hit the Indian art market last year as buyers apparently tightened their purse strings. As a result, sales declined. The year gone by was rough, as volumes of Indian art sales almost halved.”

For example, Christie’s sales figures dropped to $15 million from a high of $40 million in 2006. Yamini Mehta looking after south Asian contemporary art division at Christie's, was quoted as saying, "The last year has been a very challenging one. The volumes of the sales did drop, but I think that we are in a position now where again quality is selling. We are getting far more inquiries from a wider clientele."

According to the report, prices for Indian art have started to stabilize. Experts suggest that an expanding base of buyer is leading to increased momentum for sales not only in Asia, but also in the West. International Director-Asian Art of Christie's, Amin Jaffer, stated: “In the last few sales prices have been rising in a really healthy way. I think we will continue to see this trend, particularly where the supply is finite for the great rare things.” Well, it could be an early Subodh Gupta work exhibited in an early Biennale, or an early Husain very rarely seen.

The report observes: “Compared to the Chinese art market, India still has a long way to go. Prices for Chinese art can go up to as high as $20 million whereas top prices for Indian art still stand at $2.5 million pointing to the fact that there is ample potential for an upside in prices.”