A look at India's sculpture scene and its potential for collectors

With the contemporary art market getting globally integrated, it has been observed that sculptures have generally outperformed market benchmarks considerably, many achieving hammer prices well above their high estimates at prominent auctions. Sculptures by Ettore Bugatti, Alberto Giacometti Auguste Rodin and Isamu Noguchi achieved among the highest measurable rate of price rise.

There has been a marked rise in demand not only for sculptures, but also for other three-dimensional art objects. And the trend is likely to be visible in India as well, in the near future. Sculptures by many Indian artists are underpriced so they are worth acquiring up, experts think.

Masters like Himmat Shah, Nagji Patel, Somnath Hore, Sarbari Roychowdhury, Satish Gujral, Ajit Chakravarty and Meera Mukherjee are all available in the reasonable price range of Rs 5 lakh onward. The contemporaries like Subodh Gupta , Bharti Kher, Chintan Upadhyay, Ravinder Reddy , Jitish Kallat, KS Radhakrishnan, Bimal Kundu and Probir Gupta fall roughly in the price bracket Rs 2-75 lakh.

Akhil Chandra Das, Debanjan Roy, Tapas Biswas, Subrata Biswas, Ketan Amin and Adip Datta are among the upcoming sculptors, whose works are available in the price range of Rs 50,000 onward. Compared to other forms, this segment definitely has greater scope for higher returns on investment (ROI).

Sculpture in modern times has failed to gaining currency among collectors, though the trend is gradually changing, more so in international markets. As far as India is concerned, it has yet to acquire the prominence it deserves. The prices remain low compared to the international market, though the quality of modern Indian sculptures is as good as those of their contemporaries abroad.

Indian artists are trying to experiment with the medium, leading to a blend of cut-n-paste aesthetic with the fabricated for fresh contexts and meanings. They are looking to explore varied possibilities in order to push the boundaries of their creative practice. A few like Akhil Chandra Das emphasize on the Indian tradition.