Emergence of Indian art as a global force

When Christie’s first offered modern and contemporary Indian art as a single sale category in London in 1995, the sale took in just $613,837 at the exchange rate then. The category has grown exponentially since then largely because of an increasing amount of cross-fertilization and pan-Asian bidding and buying apart from the obvious interest non-resident Indians show in it.

‘Experience economy’ and art as an asset

To add to this boom, a new investor class that values the ‘experience economy’ is turning to passion investing. Simultaneously, a sustained and collective push from prominent art auction houses, galleries and art institutions has laid the foundation for a solid secondary market.

“The expanding art market of India is fueled by an expanding middle class of the country with money to invest and a greater awareness of interior design in a country largely indifferent to aesthetics,” so mentions a 1990 news report (Hungering for Art in New Delhi) by Barbara Crossette in The New York Times, putting a question mark over the art market boom.

Some of the questions still remain unanswered even today, though the growing affluence levels alongside India’s rapid rise as a major power has led to a new-found fascination for art in terms of its cultural and investment value. The world-renowned curator, Hans Ulrich Obrist of London’s Serpentine Gallery, also highlighted Indian art’s emergence as a major force on the international art scene!

Valuations still ‘very reasonable

Echoing the sentiment, Dr Hugo Weihe, Christie’s Senior Vice-President & International Director (Asian Art), noted in an essay that the classical arts & miniature paintings have been collected for a long time in the West. But now the interest is awakening in India itself. The values still look ‘very reasonable’, looking at the longer term, taking into account the relative scarcity of the material still available.

No surprise, despite the slowdown, the impending recession in Europe and the US as well as the steep correction in the market, art continues to attract a growing number of investors from within the country and outside.