A recap of Art Dubai 2010

Three leading galleries from India featured at this year’s Dubai Art Fair as compared to seven in the 2009 edition.

Among the Indian artists that had a prominent presence at the fair, Husain's works were shown by the New York based AICON gallery and the New Delhi based Vadehra gallery. The Vadehra gallery also displayed works of prominent modernist artists such as S. H. Raza, F. N. Souza and Ram Kumar. Despite market conditions, works by these top artists are very much in demand, which is why they were probably preferred. Conor Malrlin, from Grosvenor gallery in London was quoted as saying, “I think many galleries in India would have found it tough to make it thanks to the losses incurred during recession.”

Among the other Indian art galleries participating, Mumbai’s Chemould Prescott Road showed the creations by Gigi Scaria. On the other hand, The Guild (Mumbai and NY) had a work by Vivek Vilasini. On the other hand, Vienna’s Galerie Krinzengen showcased artists Mithu Sen and Sudarshan Shetty.

In all, Art Dubai 2010 had more than 70 galleries from nearly 30 countries featuring an extensive program of collateral events. A press release stated: “The event has become the essential gathering place for collectors, artists and art professionals from across the Middle East, South Asia and beyond.”

The Global Art Forum program had leading arts professionals and experts who discussed some of the pressing issues affecting art today and also those defining its future. This year’s forum addressed the practical outcomes and theoretical concerns of key themes shaping our contemporary culture. It offered thought-provoking concepts alongside intimate interviews with international artists, including M.F. Husain and Iraqi artist Dia Azzawi.

Many of the galleries from India, having opted to skip Art Dubai 2010, are now looking forward to taking part in the upcoming Hong Kong fair.

Sakshi Gallery presents Sunil Gawde’s ‘Alliteration’

Sakshi Gallery presents Sunil Gawde’s magnificent installation, ‘Alliteration’, just showcased at the 53rd edition of the prestigious Venice Biennale.

‘Alliteration’, a complex meditation on the passage of time: is a contemplation of the rhythmic flow of waxing and waning, fullness and eclipse, which characterizes the life cycle of individuals, empires and universes. It directly alludes to a cosmos calibrated by the interlockingtrajectories of suns, moons and planets.

It hints, also, at the enigma of personality, whether of the individual or the planet. And perhaps most subtly, with understated eloquence, it reflects on a society that has made the transition from an industrial past to a future in which the machine is a splendid ruin rather than engine of profit, quiescent memorial to fortune rather than turbulent generator of change.

‘Alliteration’ is a 4.5 meters large dead-matte black metal kinetic piece. Its front side presents a screen-like surface to viewers, a wall on which discs representing 28 moons turn at variable speeds, dipping in and out of view. The reverse side is open, naked to the eye, without hood or baffle: a candid disclosure of the mechanism composed by seven belt-driven wheels, which are choreographing with their movements an elaborate dance of the moons.

Sunil Gawde received the British Council’s Charles Wallace Award for 1995-96, and spent a year as visiting artist at the Glasgow School of Art, Scotland. His work has been exhibited in numerous international exhibitions like ‘Radium Grass’ (Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow, 1997), Bombay Maximum City’ (Lille, 2006), ‘Made by Indians’ (St Tropez, 2006) and ‘Art on the Corniche’ (Abu Dhabi, 2007), In 2009 he was invited by Pompidou Centre, Paris for a residency program where his work is slated for exhibition in 2011.

Later this year his work will also be shown at the Museum of Naples and the Museum of Athens next year.

What is Sharan Apparao's new dream project?

It was in 1984 that an enthusiastic 22 year-old art lover with a degree in art history dared to start ‘The Gallery’. Though she lacked any solid business background, she had passion for art. We are referring to Sharan Apparao...

Tracking her two and half decade long journey, the founder of Apparao Galleries turned nostalgic. In a recent interview with Gargi Gupta of The Business Standard, she quipped that art was hardly a business then. One of the first exhibitions she did was on horses, which allowed her to come in contact with legendary artist M. F. Husain. Then she did an exhibit on women artists.

Since then she has built Apparao into the credible brand in the contemporary art scene, identified with senior ‘modern’ artists like Raza, Jogen Choudhury and Burman, as also young and talented artists such as Alexis Kersey, Farhan Mujib and George K. Apparao is also known for ‘expat art’ done by international artists like Werner Dornik, Andree Pouliot and Olivia Fraser, who have lived in the country for a considerable period of time and been greatly influenced by its artistic traditions.

Apparao is also keen to launch an institution that will address the fast changing face of creativity. It’s something that she earnestly wants as Apparao Galleries completes 25 years. She mentions:

“Most artists reach a kind of plateau by the time they are 50-60 years old. They can’t change because they have reached a comfort zone. What happens if they want to renew their creativity? Or if they have a creative idea, how do they translate it? This could happen even with young artists, so where do they go? My institution will be a platform for out-of-the-box thinking.”

Her desire to know and understand the Dalai Lama is also evident, the writer notes: “She finds the Tibetan spiritual leader ‘a great speaker’, who exudes a compassion and a contentment she would like to imbibe."

Art as an alternative investment: how and why

In an interesting article, titled ‘Offbeat investments’ in The Business Line, Bhavana Acharya mentions of options other than stocks and bonds for investments. The article evaluates assets such as art and wine. It starts off, noting:

“You have just visited an art gallery and viewed some beautiful pieces. You may come across a gramophone at an antiques store. However, But if you’re not willing to buy these pieces because you would rather put your money in avenues, which will generate dividend or interest, think again. Among the more offbeat routes of portfolio diversification are art, sculptures, antiques and so on.”

The writer recommends alternative investment avenues for good gains. She clearly advocates a road beyond avenues of stocks and bonds, suggesting investments can be made in offbeat assets. Here is what the informative piece notes of art as an investment option.

· These investments will deliver returns in the form of capital gains alone, and not dividends or interest as stocks and deposits do.

· Investing in arts can be rather interesting, but it also demands sound judgment on your part. It needs research into different artists, their backgrounds and quality of their work.

· The art pieces must always be signed.

· The investments are not highly liquid and prices are not likely to shoot in the short term.

· Quality holds more importance than mere size while buying art. Bigger pieces are more difficult to maintain and retain.

· Assessing the quality of paintings or sculptures is not easy for a novice investor. So it is advisable to consult experts or enter art funds. Art funds invest in a mix of works by established as well as upcoming artists. SEBI requires art funds to be registered, but there is no benchmark to judge their value or performance.

· Importantly, buy what you like.

Last but not the least, while such alternative investments are novel, they require a tidy sum of money! Good art works and antique pieces come at a higher price.

Women artists who touch upon contemporary issues

Jaishri Abichandani’s ‘Allah O Akbar’ at Charles Saatchi’s ‘Empire Strikes Back’ show evokes a speech bubble that asserts devout beliefs. A sharp contrast between the materials employed and the meaning the words traditionally convey is evident. The words literally would translate as ‘God is Great’, but in utilizing leather whips as well as Swarovski crystals to ‘fashion’ them, they suggest conditions of violence.

Huma Mulji in her compelling works explore change and disorder occurring in the region and beyond. change and disorder occurring in the region and beyond. Her ‘Suburban Dream’ shows a taxidermied animal trapped in an unexpected scenario. The cow is shown trapped in a rather degrading position and at the mercy of humanity. Known for her sculptural works, Bharti Kher has also done paintings and installations to challenge socio-cultural taboos in India.

Her Untitled is made of multi-layered and multi-colored bindis concentrated on painted board. The bindi is a reoccurring motif in her work. It’s at the center of cultural and social identity, and traditionally symbolizes a third eye that links both spiritual and material world. In contemporary context, it has acquired importance as a fashion accessory.

The artist with this work is signaling the need for change, looking to challenge the role of the women, who are entrenched in tying traditions, also commenting on the commoditization of the bindi as a fashion accessory. On the other hand, the comic book epitomizes and perpetuates a perverse sense of good over evil for Chitra Ganesh. Similar scenarios are at the heart of classic Indian literature like the Ramayana.

The stylized simplification of the comic book style holds key to her ‘Tales of Amnesia’. The audacious female character in it confronts subscribed notions of compliance in order to explore alternative models of femininity and power. The artist rewrites popular history to empower her character Amnesia with a chance to challenge the original fairytale. Such preconceived social codes have been heavily influenced by religion and literature, she thinks, and tries to reconfigure these codes in her work.

Rashid Rana presents a kaleidoscope of art practices in Pakistan

‘Resemble Reassemble’ is culled out of the Anupam and Lekha Poddar collection. It showcases a kaledioscope of art practices in Pakistan. The art produced in the last 10 years in the country is more grounded in the local context. There are new new trends emerging along with a new approach and thinking sans any unwanted baggage of history.

For example, Jinnah’s popular and official images attain an Andy Warholesque framing. A veiled woman hijacks a central icon of ‘Madonna and child’. A video-installation about an Indian and Pakistani news anchor seemingly contradicts the same event. Saira Wasim in ‘Nuclear Threat’ comments on the tit-for-tat testing of nuclear devices by the warring neighbors; showing the two in diapers, not followed by typical war & peace visuals, but Ahsan Jamal’s ‘Kaho na pyar hai’.

The show reflects this changed mindset and keenness to expriement. One of Pakistan's most renowned contemporary artists, Rashid Rana himself negotiates a wide range media such as painting, photography and video installation. The 75 works selected for ‘Resemble Reassemble’ at Gurgaon based Devi Art Foundation crystallize the new art trends in Pakistan spanning the last decade or so. Summing up the show, artist-curator Rashid Rana has been quoted as saying:

“If we try to find commonalities in ‘art from Pakistan', there exist none. It's not an artist's specific show which is usually the case. I have reassembled the collection which has brought forth the resemblances.”

Often the shows from a particular region are seen through a ‘narrow view finder', as he terms it, leading only to a limited reading of the works featured. When he started working on the show, he realized, it would be more of a ‘national survey’, so, he chose to strategize it with an intent of shifting the viewer’s focus from the apparent theme. He quips: “It dissembles and reassembles, just like a Transformer.”

Modern art from India does well at two international auctions

Shrugging off the looming financial crisis and its aftereffects, the global art market dropped yet another hint of a recovery, as Asia Week art auctions in New York registered a good opening.

Art markets that had suffered a major confidence loss and real-term losses at the peak of the recession and worldwide economic turmoil showed encouraging signs. A clear indication of this was vigorous bidding for modern art from India and a classical Chinese painting that set a new record at Sotheby's sale. 'Two Mynas on a Rock’, a 1692 work by Bada Shanren, went for $ 2.994 million, thus setting a new US record for classical Chinese art works.

The pre-auction price estimate for it was just $ 400,000-600,000. Another US record was registered for Chinese calligraphy, drawing almost four times more than the pre-sale estimate. The vice chairman of Sotheby's (Asian Art), Henry Howard-Sneyd, pointed to an increased ‘appetite for fresh-to-the-market works that were priced conservatively’.

Christie's opened their Asian sales on a strong note, too, with modern & contemporary south Asian art as well as classical Indian & Southeast Asian works up for grabs. Among the highlights was a large acrylic painting ‘Gestation’ by Raza. It fetched million dollars compared to a pre-sale estimate of $ 600,000-800,000.

Most paintings easily made their reserve prices and a large proportion of them cleared apparently conservative estimates. Manjit Bawa’s 1999 oil painting of a goddess and a lion went for $ 360,000, almost double the high estimate. Two paintings by Husain fetched $ 150,000 and $ 210,000, compared to the high estimate of $ 80,000 and $ 120,000 dollar, respectively.The recovery process is expected to be steady rather than spectacular, but no one is complaining.
The international specialist head for Christie's, Hugo Weihe, observed:

"It’s a very smart market; it's spot on. People recognize quality. The Raza selling at one million is fantastic, but for us it was clear: this was a seminal work by the artist."

Though the market is wary, the interest is now there. According to auctioneers, people are keen on quality and are averse to risk-taking.