Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Museums and top collectors 'offer' clues to ‘investment-worthy’ artists

Before you decide to invest in an artist, it is also necessary to grasp the market. When a renowned museum acquires works of art for its galleries, the selection is invariably based on the suggestions and recommendations of analysts or expert committees.

The museum authorities obviously believe in the artist’s relevance and also the ability to stay abreast with the changing times. It helps an artist’s credibility to become part of a museum collection. It isn’t just the Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA), National Gallery of Modern Art (NHMA), but reputed international museums and prestigious private collections that will guide you in deciding who are the investment-worthy artists.

It is worthwhile to check the collections a particular artist’s work is housed in. For example, in the sixties and seventies, featuring in the Jehangir Nicholson collection was considered a form of recognition and appreciation for the artists. In contemporary context, Harsh Goenka, Ashok Alexander, Rajiv Savara, Malvinder Singh and Kiran Nadar are some of the notable artist’s collectors.

Niche collectors such as Anupam Poddar or Rajshree Pathy lend further recognition to an artist. Being part of their collection Every time Charles Saatchi buys an artist’s work, it makes news. It is for this very reason that most galleries mention in their catalogues the names of individual and institutional collectors who have acquired an artist’s works. It is vital to collect information not only on the works important collectors are buying, but also the works they are averse to acquire. It is a clear clue to measuring an artist’s longevity from investment perspective.

Artists like Atul Dodiya, Surendran Nair, Paresh Maity, Chittrovanu Mazumdar, Jayasri Burman, Nilima Sheikh, Bharti Kher or Anju Dodiya constantly find themselves pitched against each other, but from their respective pecking order to their ability to last age as an artist is mentioned into the collections they form part of.

No comments:

Post a Comment