The Art of Starting Small

Collecting art doesn’t require deep pockets. It begins with a simple realization – art is an expression of the human spirit, and its value goes beyond monetary figures. It’s about connecting with an artist’s vision, unraveling the stories behind each stroke, and forging a personal connection with a piece that resonates with you. The joy of collecting art comes from the heart, not the wallet.

Visions Art: Your Starting Point

Visions Art, a hub for contemporary Indian art, understands the essence of this journey. It’s not just about offering a platform for artists; it’s about creating an experience for collectors, both seasoned and newcomers. Here, you can embark on your collection voyage with a sense of belonging and support.

Exploring the Visionaries

Visions Art is home to an array of exceptional artists, each with a unique voice and perspective. Here are a few exemplars and their remarkable works:

• Aatmica Ojha: Ojha’s art speaks to the soul. Her work explores the interplay of light and shadow, drawing viewers into a world of introspection. Her mastery of capturing fleeting moments on canvas is awe-inspiring.
• Naveena Ganjoo: Ganjoo’s abstract creations evoke a sense of mystery and wonder. Her ability to play with shapes and colors creates an enigmatic experience for the viewer, inviting them to explore the depths of their imagination.
• Prasanta Acharjee: Acharjee’s art is a tapestry of emotions and cultural influences. His works are a visual representation of his inner world, and each piece tells a unique story. His use of symbolism adds layers of meaning to his creations.

Starting Your Collection

Begin your collection journey by exploring Visions Art’s diverse offerings. As you scroll through the online gallery, let your heart guide you. Don’t focus solely on investment potential; instead, consider what resonates with you on a personal level.

Budget-Friendly Options

Visions Art understands that every collector’s journey starts somewhere, and they offer a range of budget-friendly options. You can find smaller works, prints, and emerging artists whose talent is waiting to be discovered. This is your opportunity to own a piece of the Indian contemporary art scene from the ground up.

The Joy of Discovery

Collecting art isn’t just about ownership; it’s about discovery. It’s about delving into the artist’s world, understanding their motivations, and sharing in their creative journey. It’s about connecting with a community of like-minded individuals who appreciate the power of artistic expression.

A Journey Worth Taking

In the world of art, there’s no right or wrong way to build your collection. What matters most is your passion and dedication. So, start small, explore, and let your collection grow organically. Visions Art is your partner on this remarkable journey, offering you a chance to be part of the vibrant tapestry of Indian contemporary art.

Remember, art is a reflection of the human experience, and your collection is a testament to your own unique journey through life. With Visions Art by your side, you’re not just collecting art; you’re embracing a way of life that celebrates creativity, imagination, and the boundless possibilities of the human spirit.

The post Building Your Own Art Collection: A Journey of Discovery and Passion first appeared on Indian Art News.

By Siddhi Jain

New Delhi– Given the current exposure Indian art is receiving, the projected turnover for the market will hold its ground, and further expand over the next decade. Analyzing, researching, and thereafter including Indian art properties, during the asset planning and strategy phase should not be undermined, says Siddanth Shetty, V.P. Business Strategy and Operations, AstaGuru.

He further writes:

“Indian art has proven to be a safe asset with long-term goals and has even done well during inflationary periods. However, having said that, art will always be a subjective investment, in?uenced by the trends of the time.

Therefore, one must always keep their ears to the ground and validate an acquisition, backed by research and analysis. Factors such as an artwork’s exhibition and publication history go a long way to prove the work’s importance, it not only validates its authenticity but also places the work on a pedestal of sorts. Other crucial factors that one should exercise due diligence about is to trace the provenance of the artwork and follow the respective artist’s auction performance before committing to a transaction or a bid.”

“After researching and achieving clarity about the contended acquisition the next step is to choose a genuine and well-informed source for the acquisition. Galleries and auction houses represent the primary and secondary marketplace respectively. An auction house acquisition proves to be exciting as well as completely transparent, and the presented artwork’s legitimacy is seconded by the auction house since they undertake research and adhere to due diligence protocols.”

“Apart from the safety factor which technology provides, there is the advantage of ease and mobility. Users can participate in auctions while they are on the go, either through a website or a mobile phone app. All the essential data pertaining to the lots are published online and are shared on the open platform for all to glean through.”

Last, but definitely not least, It is imperative to study the artist’s practice and build a symbiotic relationship with the creation, the emotive experience one shares with the artwork must be taken into account since it’s going to be part of your immediate environment.

Good art will always garner demand and the prices for masterpieces by seminal artists will remain high as they have, historic as well as the leverage of a rich provenance. First-time buyers must bear in mind and favor the idea of posterity, rather than focusing on short-term gains, it is imperative to perceive art as a long-term moveable asset. Owning a work of art with unmatchable aesthetic value, that appreciates with time, is indeed a valued and treasured asset, and with the art market presenting an encouraging prospect, this is the ideal entry point to invest in Indian art. (IANS)

By India New England News -April 15, 2021

The post A guide for new-age art collectors first appeared on Indian Art News.

The post The top ten collectors on our list by Milton Esterow first appeared on Indian Art News.

The very rich will go on accumulating wealth faster than previously forecast, in spite of the turmoil in financial markets and the US economic downturn, according to a new survey.
A growing demand for “passion investments” – art collections and luxury goods – in Asia-Pacific, eastern Europe and the Middle East is expected to outweigh any slowdown in demand from wealthy individuals in western markets, the 2008 World Wealth Report, produced by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, concludes. Contemporary art, Ferraris and 200-foot yachts featured prominently on wealthy people’s shopping lists last year.
The wealth report, now in its 12th year, seeks to understand the behaviour of wealthy individuals and the responses of wealth managers.
The report says high net worth individuals – people with net assets of at least $1m excluding their main home – are expected to own global assets of $59,100bn by 2012, an average increase of 7.7 per cent a year.
That compares with a forecast of an annual increase of 6.8 per cent to a total of $51,600bn in 2011, made in last year’s report.
The very wealthy grew richer last year but the very, very wealthy grew richer at an even faster rate. In 2007, high net worth individuals increased their wealth 9.4 per cent to an aggregate $40,700bn while their numbers rose 6 per cent to 10.1m.
But the number of ultra-high net worth individuals – those with free funds of more than $30m each – rose 8.8 per cent to 103,300 while their assets rose 14.5 per cent to $15,000bn. Average assets owned by all these wealthy individuals exceeded $4m for the first time.
The upward revision in the five-year forecast reflects increasingly effective monetary policy that has meant recent US downturns have been shorter than previously. The wealthy have also become more adept at shifting their funds out of troubled markets into more profitable areas, the study shows.
“As the portfolios of high net worth individuals continue to grow more diversified, spread across international boundaries and asset classes, their investments become increasingly mobile,” the report says.
“As growth in one region or market slows, [they] can move freely, re-allocating their funds to other areas, often more quickly than the troubled market itself can react and recover. Ultimately, this evolution will make [their] investments less vulnerable to market downturns.”
Strong economies and buoyant stock markets in three of the Bric nations – Brazil, India and China – meant that they were the main centres of wealth creation in 2007 in terms of the number of high net worth individuals and the wealth they controlled.
India led the growth in the number of wealthy individuals, with a 22.7 per cent increase to 123,000, driven partly by a 118 per cent rise in the market capitalisation of its stock exchanges. The Bombay and National stock exchanges ranked among the world’s top 12 exchanges at the end of last year.
China’s stock exchanges performed even more strongly but the country’s larger population meant that gains per head were lower. At the same time, much of China’s wealth accrued to the “mass affluent” who have yet to break through the $1m wealth threshold.
Even so, China counted 415,000 people with more than $1m in disposable assets, the largest absolute number globally.
Wealth creation in Brazil, meanwhile, benefited from the country’s closer integration into the global financial system.
Russia, meanwhile, saw a 14.4 per cent increase in the number of high net worth individuals to 136,000. This was a slower rate of growth than in the smaller communities of the very wealthy in South Korea, Indonesia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Russia is a big energy exporter and hosted the world’s two largest company initial public offerings last year, but it suffers from a lack of modern infrastructure, the report says.
The growing number of high net worth individuals in the developing world reflected in part those countries’ success in attracting new stock market listings. Emerging markets captured seven of the 10 largest IPOs while the Bric nations accounted for 39 per cent of global IPO volumes last year, up from 32 per cent in 2006.
Following a buoyant 2006, the wealthy bet heavily on the riskier asset classes during the early months of last year. But as the year wore on, financial market turmoil and economic uncertainty increased and they shifted their investments to safer, less volatile asset classes. Their overall portfolio allocation to cash, deposits and fixed income securities rose nine percentage points to 44 per cent.
They trimmed their investment in alternative assets from 10 per cent to 9 per cent of their total holdings, though the fall might have been steeper but for the fact that some hedge funds froze withdrawals. Gold, among other commodities, gained in popularity as a hedge against inflation.
Property investments fell sharply out of favour, partly because of profit-taking after a strong 2006, shrinking to just 14 per cent of portfolios, 10 percentage points down on the year before. In general, wealthy investors switched asset allocations to their domestic markets, though the report’s authors said this was “a temporary, tactical move”.
The outlook for 2009 is for a reduction in risk-averse investing and a two percentage point increase in holdings of alternative investments. Wealthy individuals in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to be most bullish with a three percentage point increase in alternatives.
Despite a 6.2 per cent rise in the Forbes’ Cost of Living Extremely Well Index, twice the rate of general inflation, high net worth individuals demonstrated “an unquenchable appetite for luxury items”, the report says. Luxury collectibles, comprising cars, boats, jets, fine art and jewellery, and luxury/experiential travel each accounted for about a sixth of “passion investments.”
Luxury goods makers, high-end services providers and auction houses all found ready clients in the emerging markets – most notably China, India, Russia and the Middle East – to compensate for high-rollers hit by the US economic downturn. “We used to think in terms of hedge funds when targeting new customers,” according to a leading auctioneer quoted in the survey. “Now we look for barrels of oil.”
North Americans have traditionally been the largest purchasers of private jets but in 2007, orders for Gulfstream jets from overseas buyers surpassed those from North Americans. Ferrari recorded 47.2 per cent growth in sales in Asia-Pacific, compared with single-digit growth in the US and Germany, historically its largest markets.
“Limited-edition and classic car prices remained immune to the economic downturn and custom-built motorcycles experienced a boom, with aficionados paying more than $300,000 for some of these one-of-a-kind ‘works of art’,” the reports says. Russians, meanwhile, “took the yacht market by storm”, accounting for at least 20 per cent of demand for vessels longer than 200 feet, according to yacht brokers.
The art market was booming, with strong growth in online auctions and private sales. Buyers were willing to bid up to $1m for items they had not viewed first-hand, while private auction house sales rose as more people chose to avoid being named in the press.
Green investing saw robust growth in 2007, partly owing to an increase in the investment products available. Clean technology investments rose to $117bn, 41 per cent up on 2005.

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