Significant features of the current art market scenario

After enduring a prolonged and painful correction, contemporary art is now gradually advancing. Experts feel that the market is currently under a consolidation phase. Here, we list down some of the noteworthy aspects of the ongoing recovery in the market, based on media reports and the expert opinions.

Seemingly listless at the beginning of the year, the auction scene has gathered momentum. The primary market is comparatively still looking sluggish. Also, there is hardly any visible trickle-down effect to many of the emerging art forms. In a quest to target the discerning and choosy buyer, the auction houses are choosing to focus on quality works. Incidentally, most top lots at recent sales are dominated by traditional and modern art.

The artists with strong international backing and visibility seem to have greater scope and speed of recovery. For example, Bharti Kher and Subodh Gupta have staged a comeback faster, even as many of their counterparts await resurrection. Progressive modernists such as FN Souza, VS Gaitonde, Tyeb Mehta, SH Raza and MF Husain are witnessing good demand. (Surprisingly, their works were on offer for a steal, a year ago.)

Reflecting the slightly cautious mood, a section of buyers remains wary. In its first quarter report of 2010, the Mei Moses art index of marketable artworks, has registered a decrease of nearly 5 percent. Echoing the cautious sentiment, Sharmistha Ray asks in a recent Economic Times essay whether it’s all happening too soon. A shallow market is much more susceptible to predatory speculation, a lesson we should have learned well by now. If ever we needed the voice of reason, it’s now, the expert observes.

Summing up the situation, Kelly Crow of The Wall Street Journal reveals in a news report: “So far this year, the clash in attitudes - one cautious, the other giddy - has created an unpredictable marketplace in which artworks tend to fly or flop without warning!”