How to build a complete art collection?

Experts feel going for the middle work of a well-established artist or betting on a young artist both has own sets of intricacies. Accordingly, the risk element is determined. However, there is a greater element of risk involved with acquiring works of new or unknown artists in terms of return on investment (RoI).

It is still not such a bad option for aspiring collectors to grasp the market and develop awareness and understanding of the ground realities of it. As your appreciation increases, so does the accuracy of overall decision-making process. Develop your eye by looking at art constantly. Walk in a gallery, visit museums, surf the web, read books, talk to art experts, or go for an art appreciation courses. There are so many ways of enhancing your knowledge.

Prints and photography works can often be a better starting point for those collectors not ready to spend or those a touch intimidated by the notion of investing. It is easy to collect photographs and lithographs with a smaller budget. If the primary motive is to invest, then it must be mentioned that prints won’t offer the same dazzling returns as paintings and other original works of art. Though, at times you may get lucky! For example, limited edition Chagall or Warhol prints now go for handsome prices internationally.

From the perspective of Indian art, London-based research firm Art Tactic lists the well-established artists like Atul Dodiya, Jitish Kallat, Bharti Kher, Surendran Nair and Subodh Gupta, as topping the survival ratings. Diversity is a vital aspect of building a complete art collection.

Ideally, you should be looking to incorporate both original works by emerging and established artists as well as prints and photography in your collection. Although your budget and motives for initiating the exercise of collecting art are probably linked, art consultants and gallerists will tell you that you should always acquire works of art you really like. In the end, you’ve got to live with it over time.

Art bodies that promote Indian art and artists- III

In the three-part series, we have tried to present the noteworthy art bodies that promote contemporary Indian art. Here is the concluding part that focuses on two such ventures.

Art Mall:
The Jain family runs the Delhi-based institution. Its dynamic owner Naren Bhiku Ram Jain strives to take art to the masses at prices truly affordable price. The motive is to support young artists and help them connect with common art lovers. An art collector or investor can simply come here, and offer a budget as well as other parameters like genre etc, and will then get to see a wide variety of work.

Recounting the origin of this enterprising concept, he had stated in an interview with The India Today: “I had a prime ancestral property and 2 options—to convert it into an office or turn it into footfall proposition. Instead of selling artistry, I wanted to generate a full environment of art.”

Keen to branch out to other leading cities in India and abroad, the promoters also visualize a school of art and an art residency program as well.

Emami Chisel Art:

The Kolkata-based body is among the major private auction houses in eastern India. It is presently engaged in an artistic exchange with Sweden. Its director Vikram Bachhawat has been quoted as saying in The IANS news report:

"It began with an Indian fashion show, Contemporary India. Indian artists will show bit over 100 artworks across eight display spaces throughout Sweden, including museums and pavements in August. The gesture will be reciprocated when Swedish artists display their art in Kolkata in December."

Emami Chisel has established itself as an auction house that strives to deliver fair value to both artists and collectors. Its meticulous study is based on evaluation of aesthetic factors as well as market trends. Their rich collection comprises authenticated paintings, prints, sculptures and drawings.

This post concludes our three-part series on some of the prominent private contemporary art bodies, though there are many others committed to the cause. Do post your feedback and write about them to us.

Institutions greatly encouraging Indian art – II

Here is the second post of our series on the prominent art institutions that actively promote contemporary Indian art:

ICIA and The Arts Trust:
Art connoisseur, curator and collector Vickram Sethi unveiled his ambitious art venture, the Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (ICIA), with a view to promote talented artists. Located in the heart of South Mumbai’s art district, the spacious gallery has showcased some of the best emerging talent in Indian art.

ICIA has a vision of promoting immensely talented artists with an oeuvre harbouring intrinsic artistic value. It serves as a logical extension of The Arts Trust established in 1990 by Vickram Sethi, who wishes to offer art lovers a quality viewing experience. He elaborates, “There has to be that ‘wow’ factor when someone looks at a painting. The paint application, the technique, the concept – it all has to come together.”

This committed and articulate art aficionado has been actively engaged in promoting contemporary Indian art, and increasing the awareness and interest in Indian art. Both ICIA and The Arts Trust share his goal and vision of becoming the best source for quality work of art.

Vickram Sethi envisages ICIA to serve not only as a space for showcasing a wide range of talent and creativity but also as a learning center for the visitors by making them involved with nuances of art. He wants to make it a dynamic platform for frequent exchanges and interactions on contemporary art.

The Harmony Art Foundation:
Based in Mumbai, it has been founded by Tina Ambani. The Harmony is engaged in several activities in the domain of contemporary Indian art for over a decade and a half. It awards many talented emerging artists every year apart from hosting an exhibition of artworks of promising artists from across the country.

The momentum gathered by The Harmony Show - many of them curated by The Arts Trust - is an ample reflection of the success it has gained over the years because of the dedication of Mrs Tina Ambani to the cause, supported by the curators and the unstinted cooperation extended by the artists and sculptors to the venture.

Art bodies committed to promoting Indian art - I

Listed below are some more prominent art institutions actively promoting contemporary Indian art:

Osian's Connoisseurs of Art:
Neville Tuli leads the Mumbai-based organization. It has created one of the most impressive codified body of modern, contemporary as well as kitsch art under one roof in India. Their official website states:

"Osian’s vision is to create a new infrastructure and model for the Indian arts and culture, whereby a merit-conscious and financially self-sufficient infrastructure is put in place, independent of traditional patronage systems but grounded in its own ability to be a part of India’s developmental framework.

"The Archive spanning five major areas is collectively the world’s most omprehensive textual and visual Archive. Recently the Collection has taken major strides into building a significant presence in the art of the Indian miniature and the Nepali & Tibetan Thangka. The Auction House and WMAS support the Archive and Film House occupied with documenting, preserving and disseminating the Indian and Asian artistic and cinematic heritage.”

Devi Art Foundation:
It has emerged as one of the most comprehensive and complete compilations of art from India and the neighboring countries. The foundation is keen to introduce contemporary art practices to public discourse through a series of exhibitions, education & outreach program, and artists' interactions.

Lekha Poddar started collecting art in the late 1970s primarily with works of the Bengal School and the Progressive Artists Group (PAG). Her son Anupam followed suit at the beginning of the new millennium, writing a new chapter in this memorable journey. Regarding his relentless passion, he has stated. “It just took over my life. It became an obsession. The term hobby is too tame; it almost controls you.”

Lekha and Anupam Poddar set up the Gurgaon-based foundation in 2008. It is committed to providing a platform to talented contemporary artists as well as young curators. The idea is to initiate a dynamic change in the viewers’ psyche. The organization works with nationwide schools, colleges and a host of other professional institutions/galleries involving young art aficionados in curious curatorial exercises, art workshops to expose them to different genres.

Motivated art promoters encourage the new talent

Guess who is pushing contemporary Indian art in a big way internationally? It’s private art promoters quietly pitch-forking dynamic young artists on the world map. They are playing a significant role to bring them into international limelight.

According to rough estimates, there are close to 100 private art foundations – major and minor; big and small - in the country that are actively promoting contemporary art & culture. They are popularizing the new age art in both India and abroad. In the process, they are trying to fill a void left behind by rigid bureaucratic red-tape and endless delays in those typical government-backed art initiatives.

The private bodies demand that they be offered greater incentives by the government, to initialize new projects for perpetuating the country’s rich artistic heritage. One among them is The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA). It takes up several meaningful initiatives like an emerging artists' award, a residency program at California’s Montalvo Arts Centre, workshops in Delhi’s schools, a public art grant, FICA group shows, research fellowships, group exchanges and an arts reading room in a famous Delhi locality.

The FICA spokesperson, Parul Vadehra mentions that their dream was to set up a foundation largely as a philanthropic project. But the idea was to segregate its routine activities from those of the art gallery. An IANS news report had elaborated on the efforts undertaken by the Delhi-based body by mentioning:

“It was set up in 2006 by Arun Vadehra in an endeavor to make contemporary art accessible, promote Indian art abroad, increase greater interaction among art institutions. It has helped several leading Indian photographers showcase a significant body of heterogeneous visual perspective of South Asia at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. The exhibition opened in London to wide critical acclaim - and is now being showed in Zurich. "

In the next few blog posts, we shall take a look at more art organizations in India...

Understanding market realities of art insurance

Whichever way you look at it, it is essential to approach an insurance agency specializing in high net worth clients. A recent article by Bloomberg news agency throws light on market realities of art insurance in the US. Some of the facts are valid and worth considering in Indian context as well so we take a look at them.

Most homeowners’ policies from ubiquitous mass-market providers tend to have lower limits that won’t cover specific valuable items over a certain limit. Such policies generally lack special services such as compensation for appreciation or probable loss in value. Collectible values may not to rise and fall with the market index, something which lures investors.

About 75 per cent of people in the US with a net worth of over $5 million get for themselves homeowners’ insurance policies from any of the mass-market providers. These comprise Allstate or State Farm, according to the president of consumer lines at Chartis US, Charles Williamson. The insurer is attracting nearly 80 per cent of its new private clients from insurers like Geico and State Farm.

Wealthy investors are realizing that art and other collectibles need a far more TLC. Insurers like Chartis, Chubb and Fireman’s Fund Insurance provide specialized property insurance policies for collections that range from artwork to rare autographs, which can be had separate from homeowners’ coverage sold by the carriers. There is fixed cost for artwork insurance for specific amount of coverage. It varies based on such factors as where the collector is based and also the size of the collection.

In India too, there is growing about art insurance. Tata AIG General Insurance Company launched its Fine art and valuables insurance plan earlier this year for its High Net Worth Individuals. HNI customers and their families remain the exclusive focus of the group. It offers cover for fine art, jewelry, antiques and many other valuables.

Their art collection management services include a wide array of services like Customized policies, Transit supervision, Vulnerability assessments, Streamlined appraisals, Conservation and storage assistance etc.

An artist who explores the idea of life, death and confusion about the universe

Om Soorya explores the idea of life, death and confusion about the universe. Born in 1977, Om Soorya completed his MFA from University of Hydrebad and his BFA from College of Fine Arts, Trivandrum, India. He has had shows at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Mumbai, Nature Morte Art Gallery, Delhi, Kalakriti Art Gallery, Hydrebad and Khoj, New Delhi. The Guild Art Gallery presented a solo show of his works last year. The exhibition comprises his recent works that continue an exploration of his stylistic surreal landscapes.

Om Soorya’s paintings show neither the past nor do they really represent our own surroundings. They have neither nightfall nor daybreak, neither cities nor villages, but images of both rural and urban life. He takes a cue from life around that is surrounded by a spate of contradictions. He adds:

"Villages become urban when you displace someone, often improperly, from one place to another. I talk about the nature of reality and urban and rural juxtapositions as a search for the constant truth in the reality, which surrounds me. Reality doesn’t merely mean the socio-political arena; it relates to the most inner truth of everything.

"Conscious mind enters the real world and it searches for the logic in reality. Here, all doubts on reality emerge by itself, from the realms of the conscious mind. The question of existence and the reason of birth, growth and death are the phenomenon to be unveiled. At the same time, there is an inherent obligation to live. Concurrent to this thought, the unconscious mind manifests an imaginary world of dreams. Sometimes the nature of the idea is a kind of contradiction on the present realities."

In essence, his work is being just like a pendulum: in between the anxieties over the present realities and the quest for total existence. The idea of life, death and confusion about the universe, recur in his works.

A collection that reflects the Modern Indian culture in its entirety

While shopping for furniture in Delhi in 1999, an art-loving couple happened to meet Amol Vadhera from whom they bought two works by MF Husain. This is where the seeds of one of the most fabulous collections of Indian art were sown...

A first-generation entrepreneur, Rajiv Savara along with his wife Roohi, has compiled a museum-worthy selection of works from the late-19th and mid-20th centuries onward. The Roohi & Rajiv Savara Family Collection is appreciated for its focus on artists who the collector couple believes will, ‘five decades hence, define pre-Modern and Modern art of India.’

The comprehensive collection is an outcome of their insight, erudition and instinct to collect finest of artworks. It comprises historically significant and rare works, including a large private portfolio of exquisite Raja Ravi Varma paintings and the Tagore family (Rabindranath, Gaganendranath and Abanindranath) works. The Savaras’ admiration for artists like VS Gaitonde, FN Souza, SH Raza, Ram Kumar and Akbar Padamsee reflects in their selective acquisitions. Applauding their effort, a curator of Indian & Himalayan art at the Philadelphia Museum, Dr. Darielle Mason, has stated:

“The collection tells the story of Indian Modernism on a level not yet presented, and is be able to communicate the originality and vitality of it to a global audience because of the quality of each work.”

The Savaras’ approach since then has been driven by a belief that works of select great artists suffice to reflect the Modern Indian culture in its entirety. The duo seeks inspiration from art patrons in the west like Duncan Phillips, Mellon and Samuel Guggenheim. Elaborating on his philosophy, Mr. Savara has stated: “Private enterprise created some incredible institutions in America. That is what required here too!”

His belief that the collection actually belongs to the people of India sums up his vision as a collector.

Passion for art defines India’s premier collectors

A celebrity couple that cherishes a classy art collection is Parvez and Roshni Damania. It comprises superb paintings by MF Husain, Satish Gujral and Bose Krishnamachari, among others. The two have acquired other big names, such as FN Souza, Ram Kumar, Paritosh Sen, Sakti Burman, Jogen Choudhury etc over time.

The emphasis is invariably on acquiring unusual works like a rare painting by Ram Kumar and a FN Souza landscape. The underlying thought is to buy only those works that are pleasing to the eye and intellect. These are the pieces of art the two would want to grow with. In essence, they must be worth the price from their perspective!

While Parvez Damania makes most purchase decisions, the responsibility of their maintenance lies with Roshni. According to her, the focus now has shifted slightly to upcoming and talented artists. She has stated, suggesting they are keen to promote the younger artists: “Every art collector, I guess, happens to pass through different phases. Parvez is probably beyond the phase when he was keen to acquire top names.”

Rajshree Pathy is one of India’s distinguished collectors. Belonging to one of India’s leading industrial and philanthropist families, the PSG group, she has simultaneously cultivated her love for art. Her comprehensive collection has distinguished names, such as SH Raza, Rameshwar Broota, FN Souza, and Chintan Upadhyay in its fold. Summing up her journey, she has stated: “Art is not something that I've to keep under lock & key. It’s indeed rewarding
intellectually, emotionally and financially.”

And what prompts her to buy? ”It’s something that talks to my heart. Of course, it’s good knowing that a choice I made has gone up in value.” Though Rajshree Pathy is averse to selling any of her pieces, she underlines its importance as an investment-worthy asset. According to her, the price of good art will never fall, and investing one-fourth of one’s income makes sense.

Key aspects that need to be kept in mind while buying art - I

Investing in art is said to be an art in itself. It’s a specialized arena that demands knowledge, expertise, research and fieldwork. The investment parameters need to be evaluated in the context of not just an individual work, but keeping in mind national as well as international trends.

Following are some of the aspects that need to be kept in mind while buying art:

- Art is still not considered a primary asset class and definitely not one just to make money.
Returns from asset classes like equities and mutual funds are boosted by interim dividend payout, which is not the case with art. The monetization takes place only after you sale it.

- Investment avenues such as equities, mutual funds, debt, commodities and currency are institutionalized with strong regulators. Art is still in a nascent phase on this count.

- Art also requires careful handling and a high degree of maintenance. If it gets damaged owing to environmental changes of careless handling, the value would get diminished.

- Art you buy also needs to be authenticated by a reliable source or else you would be saddled with a fake. There is some paperwork involved the intricacies of which may not be easily fathomed by a layperson.

Irrespective of these concerns, art has its own unique position in the whole spectrum of investment avenues. In fact, it has grown in stature and acceptance as a dependable asset class. Investing in art is more of a process that should be enjoyed. When one wants to buy art, this is something that needs to be factored in.

Significantly, art is now a much more organized market with ample information and statistics including auction results, artists’ prices, trends etc – publicly available thanks to the Internet. Apart from well-known artists and high value masterpieces, you can dig out information about upcoming and talented artists by visiting different gallery websites to buy their works and be ensured of excellent returns in due course of time. That's the real beauty of art for you!

Aspects to be kept in mind while buying art - II

When buying art or for that matter, any asset class, aspects such as liquidity, risk taking ability and return expectations will come into play. These obviously vary from one individual to another and hence need to be clearly defined at the outset.

Art has come into spotlight thanks to the rising stature of Indian artists on the global canvas and the stupendous prices that they now fetch. Broadly speaking, the price discovery process in the art market has become much more efficient thanks to open bidding. The main concern of liquidity does not apply to this asset class owing to its democratization and growing popularity. Quality works are very much in demand and draw enough buyers.

Of course, to understand valuation mechanics, you need to consult experts in the field. They appreciate and understand the work better than laypersons, who may not be able to determine the precise value of an artwork. It’s better to leave the job to experts or perhaps to the market if you have faith in it through peaks and falls. As with any asset, the appreciation over and above your buying price may not be immediate.

However, the acquisitions need to be done carefully and after necessary groundwork. The decision to buy an artwork should importantly be based on your inclinations and fondness for a particular artist, theme, genre, style or form; it should not be random but a well thought out call! Most importantly, quick gains should not be the sole motto.

In fact, most genuine collectors (who may also be termed investors, so to say) enjoy the very idea of owning an artwork. The idea is not to make huge profits from the investment. They simply collect and treasure the works they possess. The very process of buying and cherishing a painting is fascinating.Ultimately, art bought for art’s sake will fetch you handsome returns, if you listen to your heart.

Tips for insuring your precious art pieces

In a couple of blog posts published last month, we acquainted our readers with the varied nuances of art insurance. As we've grasped, insuring your art is extremely important to retain its worth.

Following are some vital tips to keep in mind, when you seek art insurance:

- Photograph your paintings and other collectibles. This is one of the most basic albeit important things to do while seeking insurance for your art.
- Take multiple sets of photographs, at least two of them. Be sure that you take snaps from different angles. Thus you will be able to prove the authenticity and precise condition of an artwork if it gets stolen, damaged or lost.
- Put a set of photographs in a bank locker and retain one at home. You may take a third set for your attorney and even the executor of your will.
- In addition to taking photographs of the actual piece/s, also photograph relevant supporting documents like original sales receipts and other paperwork in support of its provenance, appraisals etc that substantiate the value.
- It’s a good idea to create e-files as a solid backup to artwork photographs and other supporting documents. You may scan your sales receipts, convert them into PDF files and put them on your desktop or on a remote server.

There are several insurance agencies specializing in only art and antiques coverage. You may seek art insurance from the same service provider that offers the homeowners insurance to you.
Many firms offer discounts to customers who take more than one policy; for instance, a homeowners and an auto insurance policy. Depending on what you are going to have insured, and at what cost, it will generally cost less premium if you include coverage for your artworks in your existing homeowners insurance policy.

Before you make a final call, do necessary field work. Shop around. Well, even art insurance can be negotiated. Do not accept the first quote as the final one. Seek clarifications, ask questions. Check for loopholes in a proposed policy. Find out if a particular situation or instance is not covered. In essence, try to ensure that you know exactly what you'll be getting as part of your art insurance.

Understanding the medium of photography

Photography is all about perception. It is capturing or recording a moment in time and at a specific place, which depending on outside elements that are sometimes beyond one’s control, or the tools that you choose to use, can portray to the viewer a multitude of images that are all different but nonetheless each representative of that same moment.

Much also depends on how we perceive the final print, which is equally influenced by outside factors, such as lighting or where it is displayed, as it is by our cultural beliefs and diverging backgrounds. Indeed, this is also applicable in the work of the United Nations. As in photography, how we see others is also influenced by our perception of things.

A photograph provides a view of world known to us yet different and unfamiliar from what we experience – away from stereotypical images of our immediate settings – giving us an entirely new perspective. Fine art photography has the unique ability to capture and immortalize a passing moment, one that becomes a permanent memory only to be understood from different perspectives, contexts, and angles. The process heightens our sensitivity to the transient nature of life.

From its humble origin as a form of documentation, fine art photography has now assumed importance as a form of fine art, timeless and resonant in nature. The genre encompasses photo-images created to bring to life the unbounded creative realm of an imaginative mind, sharp focus and aesthetic vision. It is not surprising that artists better known for installations, video and performance now opt to experimenting with digital cameras.

Fine art photography has emerged as a powerful and popular medium for its remarkable ability to capture an apparently inexhaustible amount of detail and depth. Its growing acceptance as an art form is reflected in its increasing demand at leading auctions in India and internationally. Importantly, photographs are far more affordable than most art forms. They offer immense value to collectors over time apart from sheer aesthetic joy.

India’s largest private contemporary art museum

Walking through the vast artistic space of 20,000 sq. ft at a Delhi shopping mall, one gets a glorious glimpser of Indian art world’s amazing masterpieces - SH Raza’s monumental painting ‘Saurashtra’ and Jitish Kallat’s skeletal car sculpture, for example.

We must thank the KNMA that has just unveiled its new premises at DLF Place in Saket, with a grand party hosted last month. Renowned personalities from the world of art were all there to visit the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) that until now had been running out of the HCL campus in Noida.

Her husband Shiv is the founder of HCL with a rich business background. The official website mentions: "At a time when India had a total of just 250 computers, Mr. Nadar led a young team that passionately believed in and bet on the growth of the IT industry. That vision in 1976, born out of a Delhi "barsaati", akin to a garage start-up, has resulted 3 decades later in a $5.5 billion global transformational technology enterprise today. From designing India's first PC at the same time as global IT peers in 1978; to working on the Boeing Dreamliner's Flight Management Systems now, HCL has stayed a true Pioneer of Modern Computing."

The business tycoon has already committed to put aside over 10 percent (his own net worth is estimated at a whopping Rs 15,000 crore) of his fortune for different philanthropic ventures. These comprise building free schools, running universities and also a museum of art. His philanthropic projects will entail an expenditure of around Rs 4,000 crore in the next five years with focus on a proposed Shiv Nadar University, free residential schools, and of course, an art museum.

Already, Kiran Nadar’s ambitious private venture is probably the largest showcase of contemporary & modern art in India. It well goes to show how one individual collector’s showpieces can make for an ambitious repository of contemporary art easily accessible to all art lovers.

A collection for the masses

Kiran Nadar’s journey as a collector has been uncharted and unplanned, at least initially. She launched her career first in advertising. Her impressive CV among other things mentions that she is an international competitive bridge player.

When she started collecting art sometime in the mid 1980s, she did so mostly for home décor purpose. She would purchase pieces directly from artists like MF Husain, even commissioning some of them to make works. When the walls were full, she turned to the HCL office space as a repository of her art treasure.

It was around 2003 that the collector decided to do something specific with her growing collection. Putting her precious works into storage didn’t seem a reasonable idea. She recounts in an interview: “I thought if I’m going to continue acquiring art, I should do something more substantial.”

What largely was a conundrum of slightly disorganized space for art, to start with, gradually expanded into a broader philanthropic vision. Once the multi-faceted art lover decided to set up the museum, she has been going to several auctions across the globe to bid and buy. She campaigned to prompt the Union Ministry of Culture provide her with tax benefits and is probably among the first to benefit from an import duty waiver for works brought into India for public display.

The collector is now striving to make most artist donations commercially viable. The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), as she envisions it, will get transformed into much more than an exhibit space in the years to come. It will serve as a site of confluence where there will be scope for art appreciation discourses, workshops, global exhibitions, performing arts and several other related elements that go into creating an exciting art hub.

As the KNMA director Roobina Karode proudly mentions, it has several works seldom been in the public sphere earlier, making it for a unique viewing art viewing experience.

Highlights of the KNMA collection

Some of the highlights of the comprehensive KNMA collection are as follows:

‘Absence of God VIII’ (2008) by Raqib Shaw

The work featured at the KNMA can be considered a metaphor for his tumultuous childhood in Kashmir. At first, his visually deceptive canvas tends to leave the viewer dazed with its enameled, gemstone-studded surface. But a deeper inspection brings to the fore some gory details of a world (dis)order in a state of near collapse.

The multi-faceted artist is known to employ mix media, such as car enamels and industrial paints coupled with decorative materials comprising glitter and precious gemstones for densely patterned and elaborately layered surfaces that combine an Eastern and Western perspective. Born in Kolkata, raised in Kashmir and located in London for more than a decade, the talented contemporary artist created waves with his ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’.

The erotically charged works courtesy Victoria Miro were inspired by Hieronymous Bosch’s 15th century triptych. The artist depicted a dizzying scenario of erotic hedonism, both gruesome and explosive in its debauchery. It was a fantastical underwater world full of mythical creatures populated with hybrid creatures and fusing a wide array of fabulously painted flora and fauna. A work from the series went for a whopping $5 million (around Rs. 22.8 crore) at the Sotheby’s auction in 2007.

Blue Abstract (1965) by VS Gaitonde

This is rare oil on canvas work by the reclusive modern master. His paintings were invariably described as abstract in nature. Personally, he rejected the tag. VS Gaitonde instead preferred to see them as 'non-objective,' visualizing more as a balanced juxtaposition of colors and texture. He meticulously maneuvered his medium on the canvas with precision, building up pigments to only strip them away and unravel hidden layers of the work.

Revealing his mindset as a painter, he had once remarked: 'A painting is simply a painting - a play of light and color...Each (painting) is a seed that germinates in the next one. It’s not limited to one canvas. I go on adding elements and that's how my work evolves.” It was a kind of never-ending metamorphosis in a canvas, extending onto the next one. As a whole, the captivating canvases displayed spiritual quality and characteristic silence – meditative, eternal and momentous, evoking subliminal depths of emotions.

Artists to watch out in the KNMA collection

Some of the highlights of the comprehensive KNMA collection are as follows:

Birth of Blindness (2007) by GR Iranna
G R Iranna’s creations tend to depict pain as an abstract force translated visually in bruised textures and rasping, razor sharp cutting edges. They have always been far removed from an overriding, postmodern logic. Instead, he skillfully employs the idealistic, representative and modernist language of Indian contemporary art.

The artist believes that his artistic approach goes beyond the terms like modern and the postmodern. He has once stated: “My work and my figures are illustrative of the spirit of human experiences - timeless and immortal. My thought process has witnessed a subtle, albeit definite transition, which is a natural phenomenon as part of an artist’s evolution.”

His sculptural installation has 10 naked, blindfolded men in a posture of complete submission. Their overworked bodies are tense with impending torture. The installation is unsettling because of its implicit power dynamic. It was shown at the Aicon Gallery in London with only a short preview in New Delhi two years ago.

Genesis of Kurukshetra (2005) by A Ramachandran

This bronze work by the Padma Bhushan-winner, A. Ramachandran, combines elements of architecture, sculpture and theatre. It’s inspired by the epic tale of Mahabharata. His interpretation is rather unusual, as the title suggests, essentially focused on the genesis. It depicts Kunti and Gandhari orchestrating the tale. Their sons are pawns - the five Pandavas in gold and 100 Kauravas in silver. And with each false move, the mothers would lose them.

Kaayam (2008) by A Balasubramaniam

The Bangalore-based artist was one of the nominees for the Skoda Prize 2011. Though this sculpture (fibreglass, wood and acrylic) was shown at Delhi’s Talwar Gallery a few years ago, it’s worth another look. He is keen to delve into the mystery of creative processes rather and not unduly worried about its outcome. In this work, selfhood is elusive. It tries to capture the absent form of something very essential and obvious just like our own shadow.

The core philosophy of KNMA collection

An experienced advertising professional, philanthropist, international bridge player, communication & brand building expert, all rolled into one, Kiran Nadar also actively promotes Indian art and artists. Having shaped the NIIT brand, which grew out of businessman Shiv Nadar's vision along with Rajendra Pawar, she also serves as the Trustee of SSN Trust and Shiv Nadar Foundation. The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), her brainchild, aims to function as a site of mellifluous confluence rather than just a compilation.

It treasures a wide array of works, which highlight the vibrant visual trajectories of modern & contemporary art, especially in the post-Independence phase. Raja Ravi Verma, FN Souza, VS Gaitonde, MF Husain, Tyeb Mehta, Arpita Singh, Akbar Padamsee, Jogen Chowdhury, Subodh Gupta, Atul Dodiya, NS Harsha and GR Iranna are among the artists whose works are housed at the museum, inaugurated earlier this year with a group show conceptualized by Roobina Karode.

With a vision based on the premise that museums today are not only sites of a static art display, but also a strong catalyst that may prompt people into ‘experiencing art’, culture and their own identities, this non-commercial, nonprofit entity is committed to displaying meaningful art from India and the subcontinent. It encompasses a stunning spectrum of styles and expressions for simultaneous engagement.

Spelling out her vision, Kiran Nadar has stated in an interview: “Primary goal of KNMA is to share this private art collection and bring visibility and appreciation to Indian art, presenting it meaningfully to the art loving public and the fast-growing HCL community.”

Besides curated shows, KNMA has on its agenda a host of cultural and educational programs. By sharing several excellent works of art collected by her over the last few decades, the underlying idea is to let people enjoy quality art, leading to an enhanced awareness of it.

‘Collecting art is an emotional response to finer aspects of life.’

The enriching collections of established art aficionados offer the perfect opportunity to explore an interconnected and multi-layered world of fascinating creative expression that continues to bind Indian art over time and trace the common thread running through it. They indicate how premier artists from each generation including masters and their younger contemporaries crave for an independent identity.

Explaining why it is vital to seek information on the works important collectors are acquiring (as well as the ones they are avoiding), art expert Kishore Singh had mentioned in an essay: “They lend recognition to an artist. Even if the market for artists collected by them takes a downturn (as witnessed during the recent recession), chances are these artists will weather the long-term better than those whose works are not in well-known collections.”

When one is referring to top-notch Indian art collectors, mention must be made of entrepreneur Harsh Goenka for whom collecting art is an emotional response to finer aspects of life. His exquisite collection comprises abstract art, figurative works, installations, new media art and, of course, the portraits that transcend several key milestones of Indian art history. An avid collector of self-portraits by renowned artists, Harsh Goenka mentions:

“I always felt it was indeed a fascinating exercise, to see how painters looked at themselves.” For him his collection, encompassing different genres, styles, forms and themes, is simply priceless. He rightly refuses to attach any price tag to it. Summing up the essence of his proud possessions, he has stated, "I never collected art as an investment.”

The R.P. Goenka collection of miniatures is among the most coveted and treasured ones in India. Taking the glorious tradition ahead, Harsh Goenka launched the RPG Academy of Art & Music. It has been organizing an annual art camp in Mumbai, for almost two decades.

An artist known for her strong female protagonists

For internationally celebrated artist Rekha Rodwittiya, painting has always been a free form of expression that allows her to engage in a heartfelt dialogue with herself and others.

A recurring motif in her bold-hued paintings is the female figure that represents shades of feminine emotions, concerns and persona sans objectifying them. Her female protagonists are often elevated to iconic proportions. They can simultaneously occupy multiple avatars.

In very clear form, the works explain the artist’s viewpoint that female empowerment and its attendant baggage is rather a complex issue. A staunch feminist, she believes that in spite of the gender inequality, a multitude of voices still express the desire to dispel the stereotype of gender bias, and look to accommodate the complex changes we know to be real. This strong social consciousness may well be attributed to a ‘strange kind of sophisticated otherness’ instilled in her by her parents.

Her father worked in the air force. Growing up in a rather isolated camp life, her creative self became her companion. In fact, she always wanted to be a painter. Born in Bangalore in 1958, Rekha Rodwittiya’s did her B.A.(Fine Arts) at Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (1976-81) and M.A.(Painting) from Royal College of Art, London (1982-84).

Having practiced Photography under Prof. Jyoti Bhatt, she studied Film & Video at Fulham Institute, London (1982-83). She received Inlaks Scholarship in 1982, and was also invited for a residency project at The Konsthogskolan Art College courtesy Svenska Institute, Sweden (1988-89).

The artist describes herself as a colorist for whom it’s not an element she needs to struggle with. According to her, metaphors culled from specific sources of reference, get transformed by virtue of how they are finally delivered, to evoke wider meanings. Interestingly, the male figure has gradually disappeared from her work. She employed expressionistic language in her early works. Though the concerns largely remain the same, now the negotiations are different.

A staunch feminist expresses herself through art

Regarding her position as a staunch feminist, Rekha Rodwittiya quips she has instinctively been one, reasoning she has invariably identified with those who are marginal or marginalized.

Encapsulating her art practice, she mentions: “There are certain things within the history and the currency of life that get absorbed into an artist’s vocabulary. My work displays a consistent involvement with the human figure as a leitmotif to embody man’s predicament. I’ve also made a conscious choice to engage with the delineation of the female figure over time.”

Sakshi Gallery arranged an exhibit of her paintings in 2008 to celebrate the five decades. Aptly entitled ‘rekha@fifty’, the show was an assertion of the artist’s commitment to what she has consciously structured as the grid, encapsulating the essence of her life and existence. Her works were presented as a gift of celebration to her audience, with the underlying message of living life with passion. The mixed acrylic & oil works attempted to set right the seesawing tilt of male/female inequality.

The artist has once stated: “You cannot remain on the periphery of an issue you identify with.” However, there is a tender side to her personality as well. Trying to retell stories we carry with us, she brought to the fore in her 2006 series an amalgamation of truths and desires, memories and histories - the residues of experience that define our existence.

Her body of work, ‘Once upon a time…’ alluded to both collective and personal territories she inhabits, the yin and yang of he existence, as she put it. However, these paintings were not sheer illustrative stories about her personal life. In keeping with her broader concerns, they explored the life cycle – a sort of homage to the ancestry of womanhood, transforming the presence of her persona into its emblematic representation.

Juxtaposing the satire with profundity of life

At one level, Rekha Rodwittiya is interested in fathoming the loss of identity and co-related transition in the complex socio-economical urbanscape, an outcome of several factors like the burgeoning capital economy, hastening the goods and commodity flow; globalization and the migration.

She has stated: “We seldom think of how it’s defined by roads that occupy a high percentage of land in any nation. They are ubiquitous points of reference, of connection, arteries, but yet a 'non-subject'.”

Fragmentation surfaces as means of depicting the experience of surviving in the world: invariably incomplete and suggestive of an extended frame beyond. This, in terms of execution, may take several forms: fracturing the image; incorporating many fragmented images into one single frame; painting a part of the narrative/ image onto single frame/s; or perhaps selecting a fragment of it to render skillfully.

This sensitive artist juxtaposes the satire and the profundity of life as she looks to capture the power and potential of women. In the process, her artistic vision comes to the fore with mellifluous beauty and mystic. Rekha Rodwittiya's art practice largely revolves around drawing and painting; conceptually it is rooted in ideas of narrative, at different ways of looking, perceiving and the privileging of sight.

She elaborates: “I explore ideas of the daily narrative of our lives in this world through fragmentary, familiar and unfamiliar perspectives – with a keen attention to technique in the eventual resolution of the work, so that the subject of a work is both its content and manner in which it’s portrayed.”

Her much-applauded ‘Sing The Body Electric’, site-specific installation of drawings in collaboration with architect Dhruti Vaidya, incorporates a maze - an imaginative representation of the womb. The abstract feel in the realistic representations of the biological process is among the many contrasts at play here, which makes us pause and ponder.

Personal vision of an artist who seeks public participation

Shilpa Gupta is very methodical in her approach. She often spends months laboring over the elaborate logistics and the whole process of creating it. Apart from humdrum mechanics like connecting wires and screwing on those electrical contraptions, the artist indulges in some bizarrely arduous, even gimmicky processes like going into an operation theatre and recording a kidney transplant (Kidney Supermarket).

Once her research and the meticulous production process is over, the artist seeks your participation. She demands the philistine gaze. Bandwidth, an online installation by her, was a virtual space you log on to, to receive blessings. In fact, most works have been spontaneous expressions of the role of gender, religion and violence in shaping our perceptions.

She started began as an artist in her early 20s, after completing her graduation from Sir JJ School of Art. After her first solo in 1999 at Chemould Gallery, she received more fame internationally than at home, with shows of her works in France, Holland, at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, Italy, at the DaimlerChrysler Gallery in Berlin, and several state museums as well as public art spaces across Europe. Of course, collectors and art institutions in India did finally take notice of her achievements.

As is evident, majority of her artworks reflect an earnest and deliberate engagement with the basic purpose of art. According to the artist, ‘The aesthetics is the process.’ In fact, she is more interested in (knowing) what her art can say and convey, as well as what it can provoke in the viewers not necessarily art lovers. Through, her life size video installation, entitled ‘Shadows II’, Shilpa Gupta urges people to look at themselves differently, in the contemporary context. It was also publicly displayed at the promenade in western Mumbai. “The public space is what I make art for,” she asserts.

Importantly, elite collectors and buyers appreciate this aspect of her works, which is why they have gone to a series of auctions the world over and from part of several renowned collections. In creating a world as her ambition, she helps us to manage the necessary labor in looking at and measuring a strategic globalization based on disruption, rather than focusing on a crisis state where consumerism seems to be the only measurable form of change.

Rohini Devasher’s artistic concerns

Key areas of contemplation and discovery to artist Rohini Devasher remain pattern recognition and pattern formation within organic form and an understanding of the universal underlying structure within nature’s complexity. She elaborates: “In the scientific realm, as the rate of genetic modification accelerates, the boundary of form and function blurs and these chimeras become more of a possibility of what could be.”

Her ‘Bloodlines’ has just been featured at The Hong Kong International Art Fair 2010, courtesy Mumbai’s Project 88. The work that enlivens ‘a warehouse, full of impossible monsters…’, takes a cue from evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, who put forward this intriguing idea in his document 'The Blind Watchmaker'. Exploring the theory of cumulative selection, it presents a curious family tree of constructed artificial evolution.

Explaining this unusual piece of art, the write-up states: “It begins with seven forms; parents let us say. Each ‘parent’ form is the result of a gradual construction of an intricate skeletal structure made of individual, manually placed layers of video. The original footage consists of video feedback that occurs when a loop is created between a video camera and a television screen or monitor.”

And what does it lead to? An astonishing array of spatiotemporal patterns spontaneously emerges from the feedback system. Many of these intricate patterns actually correspond to those exhibited by chemical, biological and physical systems. The curatorial essay adds, “Each ‘parent’ breeds a set of progeny that, in turn, produces offspring of their own.

These forms also echo deep-sea, single termed organisms like Radiolarians and Diatoms distinguished by their unique and intricately detailed porcelain-like exoskeletons. The video installation and drawings comprised in ‘Bloodlines’ initiate a dialogue between the spontaneous generation of pattern within the biological sphere and the technological realm.”

In her quest to define the ambiguous space between science and art, imagined and observed reality, Rohini Devasher’s continues to experiment with different mediums, such as digital prints, drawing and video. Each of them brings something unique to the respective work and consequently carries with it an uncharted territory to explore.

Morphing elements of the botanical, zoological, human, and mechanical realms

Artist Rohini Devasher’s works explore and bring to the fore boundless possibilities contained within nature; both the practice and the imagery mimic processes, where organisms are born, breed and multiply. A heightened sense of complexity is created through multiple layers and recursion.

She draws upon and morphs diverse elements of the botanical, zoological, human, and mechanical realms; machine, animal, flesh, plant, basically different elements - organic and inorganic – that all combine to fashion a hybrid with obscure antecedents. The outcome is somewhat unclassifiable, a category unto itself. Principles of growth, its rhythms, patterns, and tensions form core of her primary artistic concerns.

Among the important awards and residencies she has won are the INLAKS Fine Art Award and the KHOJ International Residency that she describes an exciting experience offering her a chance to interact with contemporaries from various disciplines and geographies and providing an insight into their ideology and practices.

On her part, the artist has been trying to explore some ideas put forward in Goethe’s Botanical writings in which Goethe’s search for “that which was common to all plants without distinction” led him to evolve a purely mental concept of the archetypal plant. This archetype, when translated into art by some of his followers, resulted in what one writer has described as a ‘botanists’ nightmare’ consisting of all known leaves and flowers combined around a single stem.

For example, in her debut solo, entitled ‘Breed’, she engaged artistically with Goethe’s idea of the archetypal plant. This archetype or ‘Urpflanze’ describes’ - one basic form that manifests in the multitude of single plant individuals- harbors the potential for endless transformation, by which manifoldness is created out of oneness. What results is hybrid organics that float in a twilight world between imagined and observed reality…forms in constant flux, in a state of continuous transformation. They could be denizens of a science-fictional botanical garden, specimens in a bizarre cabinet of curiosity or portents of a distant future.

Artists espousing the cause of freedom

Tracking the liberating Canvas in context of the theme of ‘art and freedom’, Ashoke Nag of the ET Bureau had talked to several leading Indian artists last year. Here is what they had to say:

Litterateurs and artists have all assiduously worked for freedom. “There are instances of this aplenty in Germany. The movements surrounding Hitler’s Fascist era, triggered currents that saw artists churning out great works,” observes artist Shuvaprasanna. “During the British Raj, an overt air of nationalism filtered through the Bengal School, led by masters like Nandalal Bose and Abanindranath Tagore. These artists strove to build a new identity for Indian art.

Abanindranath’s Bharat Mata is a luminous example of this. Nandalal Bose was invited by Mahatma Gandhi to do the paintings at the Haripura Congress (1937-38). Nandalal Bose employed contemporary and folk forms in them.” He adds: “The Swadeshi Movement also freed the spirit of man. Ram Kinkar Baij created his famed sculpture, the Santhal Couple. Together with folk culture, many artists explored the urban ethos. The spirit of independence was unleashed.”

The freedom movement witnessed the introduction of Japanese wash technique in Bengal School art. Rabindranath Tagore brought in Okakura, a Japanese aesthete, who infused new elements in art emerging from Santiniketan. Thus emerged Oriental wash technique!

The founder director of Kolkata’s art gallery Chitrakoot and art connoisseur Dr Prakash Kejariwal cites artists such as Somnath Hore who produced art that typified and reflected the Independence movement. He had told the ET Bureau:

"His Wounds series of paintings is now internationally known. He churned several works to fight for liberation through his creativity. These included sculptures to show the suppression of the poor. Classy figurative painters like Hemen Mazumdar, Atul Bose and Sashi Hesh also portrayed nationalist leaders.”

Famous abstract painter Ganesh Haloi says that creative personalities can only work only if their spirit is free. He mentions: “The mind, after all, is not a mere object. A rose blossoms only in an air of freedom. One senses this spirit in nature.”

Sudarshan Shetty’s art practice

Sudarshan Shetty’s intriguing body of work often hinges on a creative mix of intense observation and wit. Grasping the latent meaning or meaninglessness of it seeks power of observation on the viewer’s part.

An incongruous association of objects that might bear different meanings is intended on his part to form new meaning and in the process, create an abstract space for exploring the dark underbelly of the human-object relationship, the duality of free will as well as the inertness of things. He takes apart ubiquitous objects without dismantling them, and decodes them, by revealing their inherent mechanical being.

Looking to experiment with found objects in a wide array of media, he may combine the diverse forms in curious object-assemblages. The intent is to create an emotionally charged experience for the viewer. About his usage of objects that tend to garner a life of their own – simultaneously, being alive and futile, he quips: “I look for the lost body inside.”

Sudarshan Shetty’s mechanical installations, which revolve around the near-precise play of his sculptures, too, carry no value, he emphasizes. According to him, they simply are spectacles in themselves and collapse under the very spectacles once displayed. They stand for the meaninglessness of the ironic situation and he is constantly grappling this contradiction through his works.

Seeking inspiration from VW Beetle childhood toy cars, his most recent installation at the Vancouver Biennale, alludes to multitudinous references: iconic combustion engine vehicles entombed and dated as artifacts. The piece draws our attention to the environment degradation owing to the combustion engine by putting each vehicle into a coffin-like box, on view as a museum relic or artifact.

Summing up his thought process as an artist, he reveals: “I’ve always been fascinated by how things stand, the structural aspect and, in the process, challenge the notion of seriousness of the material.” He is interested in the idea of absence - a human absence - of being elsewhere. “I think most of us are condemned to be elsewhere. I try to define this space with familiar objects, to create a dialogue between them, which may reveal some truths about my own life to me. I find this to be the best way for having a true communication possible with the world at large,” he concludes.

Tips to buy art for beginners

First and foremost, analyze your inner motives of building a collection. Start by asking whether you are collecting art merely for investment motives or for the genuine love of the art in front of you? This will decide many of your next steps to acquiring good art.

Next step is to determine budget. Collecting good quality art needs a certain assured stream of disposable income. Instead of dropping money on needless sundry expenses, if you are serious about collecting art, consider sparing the money for art instead.

Another key is to choosing an artist and a country of your choice. As well as China, India, Korea and for that matter, Vietnam, there are a number of noteworthy contemporary artists on the horizon. However, the choice of an artist or artwork is mostly personal, and this is how it really should be! Experts suggest doing some basic research and search on the local art scene so that it gets easier to have a feel of it and pick the right artist. Broadly speaking, developing countries are a right choice for those who are looking for assured returns from their art investment.

Next is the deep-pockets option. A rather safe way to initiate yourself in the art market is starting with a couple of well-chosen pieces of art by established and internationally recognized artists. But you then must be ready to shell a good amount of money to acquire them. You may alternatively resort to ‘starting young’. This is another approach that involves picking with young, emerging artists from the region.

These works, as is expected, will come at lesser prices tag. Being less expensive, you can afford them, and acquire them at a smaller budget. However, understand who among the up-and-coming artists are most likely to do well in the future. These are a few keys to buy art the right way.

T.M. Azis’s artistic evolution

During the formative years, T.M. Azis mainly used mixed media like watercolors, acrylics, pastels, oil etc on both canvas and paper. Later he turned to acrylic and oil on canvas. Another significant phase of his career was marked in 2004-05. The fascination with negative space within images unraveled itself during this period. In part, this was related to his re-thinking of perspective in 2002-03.

He stayed away from painting to work as a photographer with artist CF John and dancer/performance Tripura Kashyal in a couple of installation/art projects. The enlightening experience re-introduced an awareness of compositional constraints of space evident in his later works, as an essay by Phil Psilos (TM Azis- Artifacts Amplified; August, 2007) noted. The facets of this dynamic shift were amply evident in a solo show courtesy the Soulflower Gallery, Silom Galleria, Bangkok.

The write-up mentioned: “Many painters and printmakers have experimented with presenting a pixilated visual landscape as a feature of the digital age, and it would be no surprise if Azis, working in India’s information technology capital, were also drawn to this approach. However, it stands out from much of the ‘clutter’ of digital-traditional art crossovers, retaining its novelty in part owing to its innocence - its refusal to manipulate the underlying image - and its rejection of the ‘photo-shopper’s’ compulsion to edit or delete.”

Significantly, retaining the drawing as the focal point of his oeuvre, the artist looks to build engrossing painted works through amplification of form and the addition of color and texture. The artist invariably carries a sketchbook with him in which he keeps scribbling, doodling or casually sketching random figures, abstracts or still life. This is all part of a larger process. He goes through the scribbles, works and builds on the ideas further, creating the final sketch for paintings. Apart from many preliminary sketches, he also takes photographs that may be incorporated in a piece.

Effort to fathom Manjit Bawa as an artist and a serious thinker

A noteworthy aspect of late Manjit Bawa’s oeuvre was his unique iconography, and his willingness to come up with a burst of colors, and a format, which comprised of miniatures just about 5-6” or canvases 10-12 feet large. Both were equally relished such was the magic he could weave on them.

His canvases akin to storyboards cut across generations in terms of popularity and appeal. In a sense the artist showed the courage to take on the modernist establishment, even while celebrating his very Indian roots. He could said to be the quintessential myth-maker. Summing up his persona, art writer Kishore Singh had mentioned in a Business Standard column:

“Like India’s most recognized artist M F Husain, Bawa’s bearded persona was distinctive, and like him he drew from life all that it had to offer him. Where Tyeb Mehta’s somewhat similar journey and equally mythologised use of a central, minimal figure was defined by pent-up strength and violence, Bawa’s exuded a serenity that arose from his own gentle personality.”

When he unfortunately first went into coma, prices for most of his works were in the range of Rs 5 lakh to 20 lakh. He passed away in December 2008, by when the prices had peaked to Rs 42 lakh. Incidentally, this was the time while recession had already set in and the market had started its downward spiral. The auction prices of his work held their own even through that tough period. His work fetched an impressive Rs 1.7 crore in December 2009, at a Saffronart auction. Sotheby’s New York touched the mark of Rs 4.3 crore in April 2010 for a Bawa canvas.

As the price index continues its upward journey, the induction of the late artist into the elite hall of fame of Indian artists has indeed started in serious earnest. The launch of Readings series of books for the Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) with a volume on him is a step in this direction. Art writer Ina Puri, who has closely analyzed his work, quips: “At a time when Modern Indian Art was largely defined by the Progressives and the Baroda and Bengal schools, he emerged as a major force, introducing something so vital. As a result, he stood out among the others.”

One of India’s leading young painters and printmakers

He is among India’s leading young painters and printmakers, keen to experiment with new media and techniques. There are neither decisive tactics, nor fixed artistic devices in his mode of working. It’s more of a spontaneous outpouring on the artist’s part as he allows himself to be soaked by places and people around him and real-life drama he often encounters.

Ubiquitous objects and common people surface in T.M. Azis’s painted realm that seldom exudes a grand décor. They still carry a touch of class and grandeur in the midst of simplicity. T.M. Azis’s work is figurative in nature. The paintings may revolve around what might be outwardly ordinary, everyday occurrences, deeply contemplated over. The human figures in his painting are often in sync with the other elements.

The figures or objects act as symbols that spin around allegories as visualized and conceived by him. Done in bright hues, the paintings incorporate strong individual personas giving rise to a subtle enactment of visual form. He has widely traversed fine art territory of both North and South India and so the world mediascape, skillfully incorporating both into his oeuvre.

His more recent work focus on presentation of outlines juxtaposed with ‘beautiful emergent forms’ largely resulting from amplification of antique photos, engravings, and stamps. Summing up his priorities, he has stated: “Drawing is dominant in my work over time, whether graphic or realistic work, I see it as a drawing.”

Not keen to be identified with a specific style, T.M. Azis seeks newer trends and also to grow with the new environment/people around, also keeping pace with the new digital age. According to him, if an art form demands a particular expression/ medium, an artist must extend his style accordingly. He draws his artistic influences from today’s popular media that reflect rapidly changing times.

Journey from an idyllic village to a teeming metro

Born in Trichur, Kerala, T.M. Azis was always interested in art. He joined for pre-degree studies, but gave up after a year and enrolled himself for 2 years of foundation at a fine arts college in his home town, but found the methods to be too academic and conventional.

The early failures could have put him off of drawing and painting for good. Instead they only strengthened his resolve. He completed his B.F.A. (Painting) from College of Fine Arts, Trivandurum (1987) and later did a Master of Fine Arts (Painting) from Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi (1991).

Moving from his idyllic village to study printmaking in Trivandrum was the first of sequential significant shifts in his frame of reference. It was like an ‘opening to the entirely different world’ for the artist who was a keen observer of the city life, imbibing influences from it.

His first significant show was hosted at the fine arts college gallery, Trivandrum (1986), whereas he had his first solo in Bangalore at the Chitrakala Parishath (1989). After his early studies and a couple of solos, he set out for New Delhi, intending only to travel initially. With the encouragement of renowned painter-sculptor A. Ramachandran his interest gravitated towards the painted canvas during his Masters.

Apart from a series of solo shows since the 1980s, T.M. Azis’s work has featured in several group shows like 'Next...', Amelia Johnson Contemporary, Hong Kong (2010); 'Evidentia', Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore (2009-10); 'Vicissitudes of the Constructed Image', Tangerine Art Space, Bangalore; 'Think Small', Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi; 'Beyond the Form', Bajaj Capital Art House; Visual Art Gallery, Delhi and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai; 'Mining Minds', Chaitanya Art Gallery, Kochi; 'Life Is a Stage', Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (ICIA), Mumbai; 'The Root of Everything', Gallery Mementos, Bangalore; 'Entity', M.E.C. Art Gallery, Delhi (all in 2009); 'Hot Shots', The Viewing Room, Mumbai (2008-09); and 'Beyond Boundries', courtesy Arushi Arts, Delhi among others.

Deciphering the dazzling beauty of a fluent, fluid medium

Before color paintings and today’s much fancied new media came to existence, what mattered most to proponents of creativity and expression was the fine art of line drawings. The genre has existed since the era of early civilization and is still termed the original and genuine form of expression.

The dominance of lines can be gauged by peeping into the history of art. One can see the distinctness of line drawings from the ancient cave paintings to the origin of creative arts across the world. While for sheer academic purposes, it acts as a pointer towards the finished work, for collectors it’s akin to a rare insight into an artist’s soul.

When a sculptor or a painter wishes to give shape to unbounded imagination, the creative process is set in motion by making lines. They tend to form the initial crucial jotting of the germ and a draft layout for the artwork. That is what makes drawings fascinating and priceless.

Artists generally turn to drawing for expressing their inner urge in an uncomplicated manner, akin to the inner dialogue one is having with oneself. Some of the famous Indian artists known for their proficiency in the medium are Jamini Roy, Ganesh Pyne, Nandlal Bose, and MF Husain among others. Each has had his individual style and technique. They all have been greatly inspired by the simplicity of drawing as an art form.

A drawing invariably sets the structure and format for creative minds that essentially serve as pointers to the concept of a finished painting. This is evident in the work of several renowned artists in India and internationally.

For example, if one looks at legendary artist Pablo Picasso’s drawings from his famed Suite Vollard collection, one can grasp that some of them lead up to his most iconic piece, Guernica. FN Souza’s scribbles of nudes, the manner in which he deftly placed his magical figures across a surface, the oft-endless studies of horses by Sunil Das, the depth of artist Tyeb Mehta’s minimal brushstrokes, all perfectly preceded by countless of drawings…all of these creations are not only of academic interest, but also precious collectibles in their own right!

Tips to build a quality art portfolio

With prices having become attractive post-correction and Indian economy on an upswing, most experts believe this is the best time to buy art! But the issue is: how can a buyer make sure that the works he or she is planning to acquire remain depreciation-proof? To simplify the process, adhere to the following basics:

1. Remember, it is unrealistic to think, plan and build a collection in a short span of time. Collecting art demands passion and patience. To begin with, try following the kind of art and artists you like. Gradually hone your buying tastes and skills by looking at the different genres of art in terms of composition, color, theme, and style.

2. Develop your eye by looking at art constantly in order to educate yourself. Walk in a gallery, visit museums; surf the Web; read books; talk to experts; or go for an art appreciation course. The more you travel, view and study art, you will get further exposed to current art trends.


3. Decide for yourself how much you can allocate to start with. Expensive art is not always the best. Proper aesthetic understanding and sense holds the key to your becoming a successful collector. Of course, there is no objective view of the perfect piece. So you need to keep your eyes and mind open. There is good art by lesser known or less established artists available in abundance. You can spot good artists early if you have to the ability to grasp the hidden talent.

4. Most established collectors specialize in order to develop expertise in a specific category. Collect information not only on the works important collectors are buying, but also the works they are not keen to acquire. It is worthwhile to check the recent acquisitions by leading museums and art collections. Their selection is invariably based on the suggestions and recommendations of an expert committee. This will help you in buying quality art.

Finer aspects of art authentication and valuation

Numerous criteria, such as the historical significance of the work, the rarity and its physical condition have to be assessed before proper value can be assigned to a work of art. The valuation process should involve:

1.A detailed study of pricing history for the artist
2.Price comparison with other works of the artist from similar periods
3.Price comparison with works by other contemporary artists
4.Research on historical significance of the work
5.Previous auction price references
6.Current value estimation
7.Liquidity rating & analysis (if required)
8.Rarity & availability analysis
9.Investment rationale (if required)

For valuation purpose, complete description of the artist and the work, as well as provenance, exhibition, publication history etc are also necessary. To understand valuation mechanics, it makes sense to seek advice of experienced art experts.

Here are some more pointers to help in your quest to collect quality art:

Previous buyers’ history: The key question to ask - who had first bought the painting? Check where it was earlier shown or displayed. Seek catalogues and other possible sources of information to prove the previous ownership claims, history, records as well as condition of an artwork.

Proper paperwork and authentication: If you buy a work sans the requisite paperwork, it won’t be easy to sell it at close to its right market value. For artists, who sign and date their respective works, an easy chronology is available to trace.

You can get to see similar works for purpose of comparison (pictures of them, at least). This may not be the case with artists from previous generations, having left behind unsigned works, which are now up for grabs. In such a scenario, proper authentication needs to be ensured.

It is always advisable to approach specialists while investing in any asset class including art since it demands expertise and insight to build, manage and grow your portfolio.

Looking back at ‘Freedom to March' show on the eve of India's Independence Day

Looking back at ‘Freedom to March Rediscovering Gandhi through Dandi’' show on the eve of India's Independence Day:

Mahatma Gandhi has inspired and influenced many artists, prompting them to creatively express his contribution to India's Independence and to propagate the philosophy of non-violence. A show at Lalit Kala Akademi courtesy Ojas Art celebrated his monumental Dandi March.

‘Freedom to March: Rediscovering Gandhi through Dandi’ hosted last year was comprised of a series of novel artistic interpretations of the salt march. India’s leading contemporary artists capture the spirit that resulted in a historic journey almost eight decades ago. The artists included A. Ramachandran, Alok Bal, Atul Dodiya, Jagannath Panda, KG Subramanyan, Arunkumar H.G., Hindol Brahmbhatt, KM Madhusudhan, Manjunath Kamath, KS Radhakrishnan, Prasad Raghavan, TV Santosh, Murali Cheroot, Vikcy Roy and Sumedh Rajendran.

Anubhav Nath along with Johny M.L. curated the exhibition on the historic event led by Gandhi. The curators were quoted as saying that political resistance, urbanization, and violence are the three primary influences steering contemporary reality art in India. As a political icon, the Mahatma Gandhi shares a direct relation with the three aspects. Anubhav Nath elaborated in an interview:

"Gandhi will not be translated in imagery; but aspects of his persona, contribution to India, philosophy and the fact of what Gandhi is all about will be interpreted by the artists. The works will resonate with what the artists thought on their way to Dandi and how it relates to contemporary India."

It was on March 12, 1930 that Gandhi left the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad for Dandi, launching a non-violent campaign against the British salt tax. The march turned out to be a major symbolic act in India’s tumultuous political history. The commissioned works are based on inspirations and inspirations formed in the course of field visits to the ashram and Dandi. Twenty of them camped in villages en route Dandi.

The gamut of works on view included installations, video art, sculptures, photographs, and paintings.

The changing dynamics of collecting art

For several years, importance of art as a tangible asset was ignored. Unlike other traditional or even alternative investment avenues, it did not receive attention of most market experts. Art as an asset class remained on the periphery largely because it was not as closely analyzed and tracked as most other investment options and even commodities, especially in India.

Of course, wealthy individuals and premier institutions like museums have always been acquiring paintings and other forms of art, largely thought to be beyond the purview of masses. Thankfully, the situation has changed in the last decade or so – both in qualitative and quantitative terms. The art scene has become much more democratic. Furthermore, insight into mechanics of the art market, a more professional approach, an extensive coverage and research to meet the norms of mainstream financial markets has drawn more people to art.

Simultaneously, the art market has become more liquid and transparent in nature. Many parameters, indices as well as auction benchmarks have been created for the purpose of tracking the trajectory, history, provenance and sales trends as a natural response to the growing interest in art. Now, novel analytical frameworks and methodologies are constantly being developed for more dynamic art market research.

Lack of knowledge is no more a hindrance thanks to the Internet and several insightful publications on art. In fact, much is now being talked and written about the international art market, with everything easily available in public domain. Professionals with excellent background and solid expertise in the contemporary art world readily provide a well-informed analysis.

Of course, the key to successful collecting is to work out your approach towards buying or selling art. You may acquire art purely out of passion, enriching your precious collection irrespective of market conditions, or you may want to buy art for diversifying your investment portfolio. Whatever be the motive, it’s essentially a long term process. Being able to buy with a clear focus will turn the simple act of buying art into collecting art. Obviously, much depends on the optimum mix of both quantitative and qualitative research tools coupled with an in-depth knowledge of how the contemporary art markets work.

Then there are issues like documentation and provenance papers, sale deeds, certificates of authenticity, art insurance etc. There are parameters, which serve as the basis for measuring the influence of intangible valuation drivers, such as provenance and irrational premium. All these aspects have made the role of the gallery owners and dealers that much more critical.

Thought provoking art displays at Tate Modern

A new display at Tate Modern explores the ways in which five contemporary artists have used the camera to explore, extend and question the power of photography as a documentary medium.

Consisting entirely of new acquisitions to Tate’s collection, it includes recent work by Luc Delahaye, Mitch Epstein, Guy Tillim and Akram Zaatari, as well as two important earlier works by Boris Mikhailov. Between them they cover subjects as diverse as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, studio photography in Beirut, elections in the Congo, everyday life in pre- and post-Soviet Ukraine, and power production in the United States. Each room concerns one discrete project, in which the artist calls into question the relationship between the documentary value of photography and the museum as its proper context.

Another significant body of work by US artist Taryn Simon draws its title from the series on a faceless person from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ‘A Living Man Declared Dead & Other Chapters’ produced over a time span of four long years starting 2008, saw Simon crisscrossing across the globe, meticulously researching and documenting bloodlines and their related stories.

In each of the ‘chapters’ that collectively reflect the crux of the series, the external forces of circumstance, religion, territory or power collide with the internal forces of physical and psychological inheritance. The subjects documented include feuding families, victims of genocide in Bosnia, the sufferings of people in Brazil, and the ‘living dead’ in India.

Her pointed artistic comment, which maps the complex relationships among the various components of fate, is at once arbitrary and cohesive. Shivdutt Yadav’s depiction is a case in point. A column in The UK Independent by reviewer Laura McLean-Ferris explains: “The poor fellow discovered that he and his family members had been listed as dead; the land ownership transferred to other relations.

Simon has documented that they’re very much alive.” Among the images present on the footnote panel is something chilling, albeit attention-grabbing - A body, dead from leprosy floats in the River Ganges – one bleached white, the eyeballs swollen and pale, the face almost turned black with blood.

(Information courtesy: Tate Modern)

‘Bollywood Showcards at ROM, Canada

An off-beat exhibit, entitled ‘Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s’, is a vivacious visual journey through the history of Hindi movie advertising.

The Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) presents the North American debut of this show curated by Deepali Dewan. She elaborates, “The idea is to explore the evolution of a specific form of advertising associated with the Hindi commercial cinema. This combine of paint and photography encompasses a unique aspect of South Asian visual culture. They were originally produced by local artists but usually thrown out at the end of a film’s run. It is remarkable that this collection has survived at all.”

It’s a stunning array of vintage Bollywood cinema showcards and other forms of film advertising that has been assembled for the first time in Canada. Using a combination of photo collage and hand painting, local artisans used their imagination to create dynamic interpretations of scenes from Bollywood films. Almost 125 pieces are on display, featuring star celebrities in popular movies from India's colorful film history.

The ROM strives to increase understanding of the interdependent domains of cultural and natural diversity, their relationships, significance, preservation, and conservation. The Museum was established by an Act of the Ontario Legislature in April 1912. Annually, it welcomes over a million visitors. The ROM can accommodate up to 1.6 million visitors a year, including 215,000 students.

The ROM wished to put all of its major collections on permanent display, as well as increase the number of objects within each gallery. The expansion and renovation project, known as Renaissance ROM, generates new and renovated exhibition and gallery spaces, and showcases the collections in more comprehensive and dynamic ways. After Renaissance ROM, the Museum has an additional 80,000 square feet of public space. The project also renovated about 75% of the public spaces in the historic buildings.

(Information courtesy: The ROM, Canada)

‘The Word of God Series’

The third installment in ‘The Word of God Series’ at The Andy Warhol Museum located in Pittsburgh, which examines major world religions and their texts through contemporary art, is currently featuring works by Chitra Ganesh.

An explanatory note to ‘The Word of God(ess)’mentions: “Sacred texts are considered by many to be the direct words of God to man. How this Word is passed down and received is dependent on the people, languages and cultures in which it is presented! The works explore the questions like: what is the best version of the Word of God; and does the artistic rendering of it enhance understanding or is some essential truth lost in translation?”

A 21 part piece, ‘Tales of Amnesia’, is based on Amar Chitra Katha, a popular comic strip. It’s a testimony to the artist’s practice that combines an array of visual languages, curious cannons and diverse cultures, including Bollywood cinema, comic books, iconic Hindu goddesses etc. The artist creates cross-cultural narratives about sexuality and power that may smartly fit in comic book frames wherein interior thoughts are revealed in bubbles or hover in psychedelic space - as in her wall installations- with three-dimensional elements that tend to protrude into contemporary reality.

A couple of years ago, her wall creation at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center located at Long Island City, NY was also very much appreciated. It is considered among the largest and the oldest non-profit contemporary art institutions in the US that acts as a catalyst for new ideas, trends, and discourses in contemporary art.

The work at P.S.1 lobby by this versatile and innovative Indian artist features elements in India and Sumi inks, washes of color, cut paper and found objects such as plastic fruits, fake hair, and sequins. Chitra Ganesh’s work is a mix of separate productive moves that work in a perfect harmony. Even while firmly rooted in a Western, postmodern discourse, her cultural references allow her to convey the proven principle of a multiplicity as a spirit that draws together.

‘Erasing Borders: Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora’

Eight years ago, the very first contemporary art event of the New York-based Indo-American Arts Council brought to people’s attention that there are artists of Indian origin in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The area has one of the largest concentrations of South Asians in the United States.

‘Erasing Borders: Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora’ includes sculpture, video and installation art on view at Manhattan’s Aicon Gallery. All 43 featured artists, including renowned abstract expressionist painter Natvar Bhavsar, are connected to South Asia.

According to Aroon Shivdasani, the council’s executive director, the selection process was made a lot more inclusive last year. “Rather than limiting it to people of Indian origin—because you know, that’s so nebulous—we opened it up to the entire subcontinent,” she stated.

“When we first had our exhibition, years ago, artists sent work thinking we wanted them to deliberately trace their roots. But now, increasingly, you see that people are people – especially since so many of us have spent years in our adopted lands. Their art may be something that harks from their heritage, but it may also be a part of their life today.”

For 27-year old Sara Suleman a Temple University graduate student who was born and raised in Pakistan, the exhibition’s expansion is a chance to showcase her video art, centered on concepts like displacement and transition.

Young participants, like Sonia Chaudhary see this exhibition as an opportunity to push past these borders. Growing up in a tight-knit Muslim community in suburban Connecticut, Ms. Chaudhary regularly struggled with two seemingly opposing community dynamics. “There were the teachings I encountered, going to the masjid with my mom every Sunday, and then the American school system, where I was told I should really question where I’m coming from to find out who I am,” she said in a recent phone interview.

(Information courtesy: The WSJ, By Aarti Virani)

An artist driven by history, culture and contemporary sensibilities

Celebrated artist Atul Dodiya has created a niche for himself not just in India but internationally. The history and culture of his home country plays a significant role in constructing the barrage of images that inform his oeuvre. Launching his career with a rather straightforward and cleverly deadpan realist approach, he switched to the fragmented and multi-layered approach from the literal one in the mid-90s.

Conscious of history, his rich oeuvre reflects his deep knowledge about immediate surroundings, current events and ancient religious traditions. He often quotes from the recesses of Indian as well as Western art traditions. Even his potent pictorial language can be attributed to his to adoption and usage of the vocabulary of Western contemporary art. Driven by intellect, intensity and ideas, he continues to experiment with many forms.

According to him, ‘I’ve always tried to retain that student phase in Sir J.J. School of Art when seeing a new form or new medium greatly excited us about its possibilities.’ Even as he strives to bring contemporary Indian art into a closer, deeper embrace with Western Post-Modernist art, Atul Dodiya also looks to the former closer to its fundamental roots, through re-adjustment, and reproaches to mythological and cultural figure. His recent shutter paintings at Art Basel 2010 courtesy Chemould Prescott Road respond to iconic paintings from the 1970s by late Bhupen Khakhar, called ‘trade series’, depicting middle-class figures from a wide range of professions.

The talented and socially sensitive artist’s canvases allude to everything - from the eccentric everyday India to high art elements from all over. They embrace issues ranging from exuberant Indian economy to the garish kitsch and disturbing disquiet of daily life. Indian cataclysms have shaped his work and so the explicitly political concerns without, descending into social realism. The striking imagery has invariably been packed with a stirring swirl of motifs: Bollywood, film stars, political icons, Hindu mythology characters, and so on.

Know the secrets of Charles Saatchi's success as a collector

Averse to grabbing spotlight, Charles Saatchi seldom attends the openings of exhibits at his own gallery. His practice of acquiring works of emerging artists has proved contagious, arguably the greatest influence on the contemporary market. Several other new investors and even veteran collectors are following his lead. However, the maverick collector does not like to give interviews and, if he does so, he says as little as possible.

What is it that he looks for before buying a work? Is there any logic or pattern to what he buys and sells? Does he hold himself responsible for the speculative touch to today’s art market? If you wish to get an insight into the world’s most influential art expert’s mindset and philosophy, ‘My Name Is Charles Saatchi And I Am An Artoholic’ (164 pages; Publishers: Phaidon Press) is a must read for you. It reveals almost everything you want to know about the maverick collector and the mad ad-man.

What is his secret of collecting, investing and buying art? In one of the rare elaborate interviews, he reveals: “Artists need all kinds of collectors, buying their art. I never think too much about the market. I don't mind paying three or four times the market value of a work that I really want. As far as taste is concerned, I primarily buy art in order to show it off. So it's important for me that the public respond to it in particular and contemporary art in general. There is no logic or pattern I can rely on to decide what to sell and when to sell it.”

Incidentally, the pre-eminent collector of his generation, will be gifting over 200 artworks from his personal collection as well as the world-renowned Saatchi Gallery to the nation. He still possesses hundreds of pieces that will be handed to his family. The works to be donated to MOCA London are valued over £25m at their current market value.

Gandhi as an icon for artists

Even today, the Mahatma seems to be the icon that is drawing artists, art world and auctioneers globally.

Several Indian artists have created works that revolve around the ideology of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and it’s worth revisiting their works inspired by the great freedom fighter’s philosophy and his persona. For example, his frail frame with a stick in hand was portrayed by painter Nandlal Bose during the Dandi Yatra in 1931.

Another Santiniketan artist Ramkinkar Baij was also influenced by him.The Father of the Nation has been a favorite theme for many masters and contemporaries. Prime among them are Subodh Gupta, Jitish Kallat and Atul Dodiya, three of India’s finest contemporary artists.

Atul Dodiya, in particular, has been deeply touched by the Mahatma’s teachings. He is conscious of historical perspectives, a fact that reflects in his works based on the Mahatma’s message. The artist has been trying to re-contextualize the Mahatma’s message of non-violence, peace and tolerance through his paintings.

Among the younger ones, Hindol Brahmbhatt has worked on several diptychs and triptychs, around 30 of them, that locate the relevance of the Father of the Nation and his philosophy in today’s context. The sensitive artist is pained by hollowness that surrounds the ritual of remembering the Mahatma. Several of the artist’s creations juxtapose images of war, violence and strife with the Mahatma pushed to the background that heightens the sense of irony.

A group show, ‘Detour’, courtesy Mumbai based Chemould Prescott a couple of years ago, featured photographers Ravi Agarwal, Sonia Jabbar, Samar Jodha, Dayanita Singh and Ram Rahman whose work revolved around Gandhi’s movement for freedom. It commemorated the centennial of Gandhi’s seminal work, Hind Swaraj (1909).

Curator Ranjit Hoskote had stated: " By turns illuminating, exasperating and inspiring, these utopian and redemptive writings remind us that ‘nationalism’ was not a single script; that the India these thinkers envisioned was, and will always be, a work in progress.”

Artistic quest to explore architectural spaces

Through her introspective work, Pooja Iranna presents manmade structures that allude to human beings, their mind, emotions and expressions, sans any apparent signs of physical existence.

An accompanying note by Ina Puri to her latest exhibition at Palette Art Gallery explained: “The artist remains grounded to her architectural spaces, exploring the possibilities with which humans have extended their creative mind. She as an artist believes that we have reached our zenith when it comes to expressing our ingenuity. There is no stone unturned as humans have successfully managed to use their cultural and technical knowhow along with positive energies, to conceive the unthinkable.

“Here she goes beyond the human genius and beauty of the spaces created. There is a twist to all the tales she expresses. Everything is not to be seen at the surface level. There are hidden notions behind every wall and the heavy texture. The not so straight partitions and the visible curvatures all denote the concealed part of life.”The crux of the matter here is that life/surfaces/spaces do have in-built twists and turns, but it all depends on the human mind and its intrinsic strength of how one responds to them.

Hers is a quest to explore architectural spaces. Bringing out the essence of her work, critic Deeksha Nath mentions: “It's not so implausible to consider poetry, architecture and art together, for their interest with form, their usage of meter or structure, and their stance toward their environments. They involve our perception and how that perception is translated into a created, or built, environment.

“The artist inserts into this triangulation us - human beings, the creators and receptors of such activities. It (the human presence) is not the central visual character of her work but present more in essence, a viewer whose awareness of self gets heightened by the lack of others.”

Fathoming Pooja Iranna’s art practice

Talented contemporary artist Pooja Iranna has been referencing and deciphering the manmade structures close to two decades. Revealing her artistic inclinations, she has said: “I usually travel to places to take these images. I seldom take images at random, and rather visualize how a particular frame would be used before I click. These are then worked upon on the computer to impart them with unique visual idiom. My watercolors revolve around the same vocabulary.

“There is an intermingling of nature and manmade structures to create spaces. These represent strength of structure on the surface and vigor of human convictions at the subconscious level. One has to imbibe a lot in order to pour back and each time I feel that I’ve said enough, some moving experience excites me to give back something new to myself and the world.”

Having grown up in the heart of a teeming metropolis during her formative years, she never realized how the surroundings were pervading her thought processes and turned the prime medium of her visual expression. To begin with, she underlined the chaos of urban life, metaphorically addressing both the fragility and beauty of human relationships. She explored her artistic space and surface, to employ a wide array of mediums on paper.

Over time, the artist has reverted to two different techniques – photography and watercolor paintings. The former lets her capture reality instantly to further enhance it with her own expression, whereas watercolors help use her senses to the best of her artistic ability. In building her photographical works the subject that excites her is architecture - old and new.

There is no medium she does not wish to explore at this point but the magnificence of the work can only be understood when one looks at the original work. This is what makes her art practice stand out…

Kirsty Ogg and The Whitechapel Gallery

The Whitechapel Art Gallery, founded in the year 1901, brings some truly great art to keen art lovers. Internationally known for its eclectic exhibitions of modern and contemporary art and its pioneering education and public events programs, the gallery has premiered several international artists, such as Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Nan Goldin, and Jackson Pollock, apart from providing a significant showcase for some of the UK’s most significant artists from Gilbert & George to Peter Doig, Mark Wallinger and Lucian Freud.

The Gallery plays a major role in the capital’s cultural landscape and is pivotal to the continued growth of East London as the world’s most vibrant contemporary art quarter.The Grade II* Whitechapel Gallery premises was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend.

This purpose built avenue is an ideal example of the Arts & Crafts movement and its latent aspiration of being accessible. This development builds on the 1980s expansion undertaken by Colquhoun and Miller under Sir Nicolas Serota’s directorship.

Kirsty Ogg, a renowned curator based in London, is closely associated with The Whitechapel Art Gallery. She is Director of ATP London and is the former Director of The Showroom (London). She was part of The Art Expo India the year 2009 where in conversation with Abhay Sardesai, she spoke about Indian Art in an international prospective. She had then stated in an interview:

"Over the last eight years, the representation of Indian art has been gaining on the international art scene. And not just on a commercial level. Artists have been appearing in exhibitions and events like Documenta and the Venice. So there's a high visibility and awareness about Indian art. What's interesting is that there are two sides to it (Indian art)-in terms of the form of the work that can slip into circulation on the international art scene and the context that has an Indian texture."