Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Factors that will strengthen Indian art scene in 2011

A recent news report by Garima Pant of The Financial Express quotes Arun Vadehra of Delhi’s Vadehra Art Gallery as stating, "We’ve already gone beyond 2008. With Indian art having a very small base of artists recognized globally, the market is bound to grow." According to the gallerist, the Indian art auction scene will witness a good growth of around 25-30 % in 2011.

With top-end modern artists having stated a rather strong comeback last year, Saffronart CEO & Co-Founder of Dinesh Vazirani sees a definite revival of interest in contemporary Indian art market. Though the sentiment for contemporary artists hasn't picked up favorably, 2011 is likely to see them bouncing back.

In spite of a vibrant art culture in India, the rather narrow collector base remains a worry for the art market. It has tremendous potential that still remains to be tapped. The India Art Summit director Neha Kirpal attributes this to the lack of knowledge about art owing to the limited access/ awareness masses have about art. The art expert has been quoted as saying:
"There are hardly any public spaces that expose people to the wonders of art. With the kind of buying power available with the Indian collectors and the acquisitions they are making, it won't take long for the collector base to grow manifold."
Thankfully, a more mature collector base is gradually coming to the fore. "Collectors realize the difference between good, better and the best (art)! They no longer look just at the price tag, but also at the works itself!" an art expert observes. In effect, buyers are looking to acquire works more from a collection point of view than sheer investment purpose. We shall also see the institutional buyers coming back in the fray, most art market players feel.

According to ArtTactic’s Anders Petterson, the international focus will be on contemporary Indian artists who has a strong gallery representation international like Jitish Kallat (Haunch of Venison), NS Harsha (Victoria Miro), Dayanita Singh (Frith Street) and Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher (Hauser & Wirth). They will be the flavor of the international market in 2011.

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