Changing dynamics of Indian art and collectors' approach

Auction houses and galleries are exploring new exciting avenues in the face of a challenging scenario. They are introducing fresh faces and taking art to new destinations. The market is now healthy and the prices being quoted are more realistic. What happened with the boom is that several transitory buyers, who were in it just for profit and not for the art, constituted the market. Another area that is opening up to the Indian art scene is the Far East. The market in China is beginning to explore a Pan-Asian sensibility in art.

In the ACRO Madrid some of years ago, Abir Karmarkar’s work interested a Chinese collector, and a buyer from Hong Kong expressed a lot of interest in Sarika Mehta, another new comer from Ahmedabad who has had group shows nationally and internationally. Clearly, China seems to be a new unexplored market for Indian art, where spending on art is not as unthinkable as other worse hit economies.

Now, the buyers who are putting money into art really want to have it on their walls. Also with the pricing of art becoming more affordable a new market of young corporate buyers interested in new names has come up. This will encourage a younger generation to look at art as part of their life and sift out the speculator. To encourage collectors who buy art out of a love for it, you have to make it accessible to them. Real collectors are the future of Indian art.

In this context, it is important to listen to Paul Johnson, eminent British historian and author, according to whom: "If you love works of art, read up on the subject and visit museums. Then buy because you want to possess certain objects and have them in your home to look at and enjoy.

"But don't collect in order to make money. All the great collectors loved art and trained their minds to respect and cherish it for its own sake. Not one of them collected art to make money or because it was a safe investment. Unless you share this love of art, I would give it a pass when deciding where to place your money," the expert advises.