Whitechapel Gallery, a participant at Art Expo 2010, in spotlight

The contraction of the art market worldwide during the last couple of years doesn't fully erase the bitter memory of the spectacular and speculative rise in prices (by over 80% in a decade from 1995 and 2006), of the insatiable public appetite for zooming contemporary art market, over the earlier two decades, and the most recent fall, making the investors understandably a bit wary. This is exactly where some orientation can be very handy to see through the ups and downs.

London based Whitechapel Gallery, a participant at Art Expo in Mumbai last year, is in spotlight having launched a comprehensive course for aspiring collectors. For over a century it has premiered several world-class artists from modern masters, such as Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Frida Kahlo and Jackson Pollock, to contemporaries like Lucien Freud, Mark Wallinger and Sophie Calle.

Incidentally, the renowned London gallery has also been promoting contemporary art and artists from India in acknowledgement of their rising stature. A recent landmark exhibition, entitled ‘Where Three Dreams Cross’ at the London venue, gave an insightful view of how modern India along with Pakistan and Bangladesh, have been shaped through the lens of their photographers.

Renowned curator Kirsty Ogg closely associated with the gallery took part in Art Expo India last year. In an insightful talk session at the event, she discussed contemporary Indian art from a global perspective. According to her, ‘the representation of Indian art has been gaining in prominence internationally, and not just on a commercial level. Artists have been appearing in prestigious exhibitions and events. So there's a high visibility and awareness about Indian art.’

Her personal advice to collectors is: “Just because your work sells, it's not necessarily good. You hope it sells to a good collector who takes care of it. Work quickly sold by a collector can undermine an artist's career. In fact, people start thinking whether the work is good or not.”