Current art market scenario and artists to buy

An informative article in Forbes India offers definitive clues to the future prospects of art market on basis of the recent developments. We highlight key points made by Dinesh Narayanan based on discussion with the experts:

• The price-points of rare, significant works by a selection of the important modernists have appreciated since the start of 2011. They are expected to rise through 2012. Between 2010 and 2011, the international auction market index for two leading modernists, F.N. Souza and M.F. Husain rose by over 60 percent and 80 percent, respectively. In keeping with trend, a Tyeb Mehta work titled 'Figure on Rickshaw' sold at a record $3.2 million at a Christie's auction in June 2011.
  
  
• Though their prices were affected, Indian contemporary artists who rode the wave in the middle of the last decade still have headroom because they managed to establish their reputation and their works are already part of many collections around the world. Many works of contemporary artists are available for a song in the secondary market and astute collectors are making the most of it. Many buyers are filling gaps in their collections, according to Chatterjee & Lal’s Mortimer Chatterjee.
  
  
• Arvind Vijaymohan of a Delhi-based art advisory, The Art Ventures, quips: “"In so far as the contemporary category is concerned," says Vijaymohan, "there has been a resounding shift back towards quality, with the practice taking precedence over mere production." He feels the period beginning with 2012 and carrying forward till 2015-16 will offer a solid opportunity. This phase will serve as a juncture from where the current wave of emerging talent will rise and take charge as the new contemporaries.
  
  
• The economic recession hurt emerging artists the most as their careers were just taking off. They are still struggling. It also means that works of some of the most promising young artists are available at very low prices. Many of the new artists are exploring themes and concerns that define their own generation.
  
  
• Several young artists like Minam Apang, Rohini Devasher and Nityan Unnikrishnan are getting attention abroad as well. Devasher, Sarnath Banerjee, Atul Bhalla and Huma Mulji are some of the most promising artists whom you may consider in your portfolio, apart from identifies Kiran Subbaiah, Manish Nai, Minam Apang, Neha Choksi, Remen Chopra, Rohini Devasher, Shreyas Karle, Vibha Galhotra and Varunika Saraf as recommended by Vijaymohan.
  
  
• To sum it up, the core idea should be: ‘If you like it and can afford it, buy it’. As Shalini Sawhney, director of The Guild art gallery of Mumbai puts it, "Art is not about money. It is about passion."