The India Art Fair had many young buyers making big transactions though foreign galleries received a mixed response. By Shrabasti Mallik
After the record breaking sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction last year, the art fraternity had pinned high hopes at the India Art Fair. However, the business looked average with many galleries registering low sales. The number of footfalls also dwindled in comparison to previous years. “Business was not up to the mark. Unlike last year we did not find our old customers. There were many people who visited and showed interest in the works, going around and asking about the artist but very few people bought,” said Mehak of Galleryske.
However, a few galleries also recorded a total ‘sold out’. Kolkata’s Experimenter had whopping sales of over 80 per cent of their artworks. Most of their sales were generated from collectors, who showed interest in both what was displayed and what they had in stock. “All the works that we have in our gallery are in a nominal range of two to seven lakh. The most expensive that we exhibited was priced at Rs10 lakh, which has also been confirmed,” pointed out gallery director Priyanka Raja.
Fair director Neha Kirpal, however, seemed very positive about the transactions. The mixed responses, she said, “is part of the fair.” She pointed out that Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke had sold more than 17 expensive pieces of work and that on the opening day the Bruno Art Group from Tel Aviv had sold two Swarovski peacock sculptures worth nine lakh. She added, “The museums from Santa Barbara, New South Wales, Art Institute of Chicago, Doha have done really well. In the first two days customers bought artworks worth more than 15 lakh from Brinkerhoff Fine Art.”
One reason why the fair failed to generate the much expected amount of business is the change in its buyers. Galleries and exhibitors claimed that that among the few people who bought, more than 60 per cent were young buyers.
Tripat K Kalra, founder and director of Gallery Nvya said, “This is not the first time that we are entertaining young buyers but this year is more about young people who are buying for the first time.” Neha agreed with the new trend and pointed out that since the young buyers are paying themselves, they chose artworks that suited their budget. “This year is about younger collectors. More than 40 per cent of the buyers were first time ones and they were all in their late 20s and early 30s. Normally we associate that people buy art form their wealth but these people are investing in art from such a young age. This is a preview of the possibility of the market in the future,” she added.
Responses from the international galleries were mixed as well. While Art Chowk from Pakistan did real good business with a turnover of almost Rs14 lakh, Baudoin lebon recorded dismal business.
Galeria Joan Gasper from Spain did brisk business with over four sold artworks and six conversations to be transacted after the fair. Owner Joan Gasper was still unsatisfied, “The business was not very good and it was not very bad either. We sold works, each worth Rs12 to 14 lakh but we still hoped for more buyers.”
photos Sanjeev Kumar