While old masters dominated the market in 2013, new artists had to make do with discounted sales. Nonetheless, art veterans, critics, gallery owners and curators feel that the coming year will be for newbies
Mixed bag
Atul Dodiya, artist
There are never trends in art, young artists have been coming up with brilliant concepts, without confining themselves. From interesting installations and sculptures to thought-provoking video art, we have so much to boast of. Art definitely progressed leaps and bounds and there are a few events worth mentioning. For example, the National Gallery of Modern Art invited young artists for the first time to showcase their works. I think it was a very good sign. Usually, very senior artists show their works at the NGMA.
In 2013, India had the Kochi Muziris Biennale which was a big step in our international art affair. Also, recently when Christie’s Auctions & Private Sales opened their first auction in India, it did very well and some artists’ works sold at fantastic prices. This is a great thing for all of us in the country and will give a boost to artists in the coming years. I think when the appreciation is strong, it gives artists the inspiration to experiment. I think there will be more experiments in 2014.
Old and new
Rahul Bhattacharya, critic and curator
Recession makes the market sentiments conservative, and purely in terms of buying, this has been the hallmark of 2013. Masters like VS Gaitonde and Tyeb Mehta’s works have achieved record-breaking prices. Parallelly works of younger artists have seen heavy discounting and a certain drying up of sales.
From mid-2014, I hope to see the return of interest in younger artists’ works. One must remember that though the sales stagnated, the showing and promotion of younger artists has only increased. This reflects tremendous faith being invested in them by the market. Painting as a form of contemporary expression is set to make a big comeback next year. One sees that there is already a focus on young painters who have the contemporary edge (Muktinath Mondol and Balbit Krishan being examples). This year has in a way seen the re-emergence of women artist as a category, as the society feels the need to revisit and re-map genders. There has also been a shift away from macro political issues to more personalised subjects.
Good times ahead
Sunaina Anand Director, Art Alive Gallery
I think after the economic slump, Indian art has become more mature. Industry is settling down and we can hope for good times ahead.
The thought that the market was shrinking was fizzled out with the just-concluded auction by Christie’s in India. There was an emphasis on quality work rather than quantity. less was more this year. Indian art is going through an exciting phase.
Galleries are also relooking at their way of working. This year, a number of galleries shut down but other stronger platforms emerged.
The role of mediators like dealers was reduced since artists have also understood the role galleries play in projecting and promoting the art work. Art is not just about selling but taking trends in the right direction. So there’s more maturity at the organisational level. There’s a definite trend of paintings.
Many artists who were doing installations and sculptures returned to oil paintings and sketches. Veteran artists have been selling but young artists came up with innovative works. Video art and stuff out of junk ruled the roost throughout the year.
If I talk about my gallery, we held some fabulous shows like Talking Heads, which had portraits by eminent artists, and When High and low Art Meet, reliving Raja Ravi Varma’s iconic oleographs.
Make way for media
Chintan Upadhyay, Artist
In contemporary art there was no specific trend, but there was an opening up of different kinds of media and art expressions.
NGMA started showing a lot of contemporary artists’ solos which is very interesting. There are a lot of young artists with different ideas in not only paintings and sculptures but films and photography. One can see a strong influence of conceptual art this year which is interesting. In Delhi lot of new places opened up for young artists, not only galleries, but institutes.
New-age artists are experimenting with different media, which is interactive and social. Many of the new generation artists are not even into the system of galleries.
They do showcase at times in galleries but they are more interested in experimenting with new media and questioning ideas that are already there. People are also creating interactive spaces.
perfect platform
Neha Kirpal, Founder director, India Art Fair
Indian artists are enjoying ever-increasing representation at galleries and fairs outside India.
As the Indian art market grows, so does interest from international galleries and institutions — not just to engage and invest in Indian art, but also to take the opportunity at the fair to introduce new international artists to Indian collectors.
While there are peaks and troughs, generally speaking the art market continues to grow. This can be seen through new gallery openings, the arrival of India’s first art Biennale and events such as Christie’s first-ever auction sale in India, which saw spectacular sales and a number of new records set for Indian artists.
Following the recent surge in interest in Indian art, we will see a new energy injected into the art fairs, with a new generation of collectors who feel confident in the strength of the market and the quality of art on exhibition.
(As told to Iknoor Kaur and Karan Bharadwaj)