A guide for new-age art collectors

visionsart — Sat, 17 Apr 2021 09:51:45 +0000

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.

Whose gaze is it anyway?

visionsart — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:33:00 +0000

DNA – Anupa Mehta | Sunday, September 4, 2011

Jehangir Sabavala was a distinguished man. His oeuvre was as elegant and understated as his persona. His demise on Friday morning was sudden but not surprising, as he was ailing. He leaves behind a legacy of fabulous works, many styled with an almost European sophistication of palette and application. He is one of few Indian painters to have systematically documented a copious body of work – eponymous publications offer a wealth of insights into his work.

That evening, at the opening of an exhibition titled Staging Selves: Power, Performance and Portraiture curated by Maya Kovskaya at his gallery in Mumbai, artists and others paid respect to the painter by observing a minute’s silence. It seemed like a fitting tribute: the show must go on.

And the show in question is a many layered, finely nuanced presentation. Featuring works by several artists from India, China and Iran, who, according to the curator, make it part of their practice to “question, problematise and blur the artificial binary between the staged and the documentary to investigate power relations implicit in the pretension of representation.”

On the strength of this strong conceptual ground, the curator seeks to bring together artists with diverse sensibilities and very different areas of concern on the strength of the fact that their work questions the way perceptions are established, and the inequities of power that imbue the gaze with the strength to do so.

Peripatetic lensman and activist Samar Singh Jodha’s work, titled, Whose Wealth? Whose Commons? cast light on the lesser known plight of the workers who built the infrastructure required for the games in record time. Jodha says, “An estimated US$80 million was saved by contractors by denying workers the legally mandated wage through a long sub-contractual chain that diminished accountability with every link.”

The artist employs a striking visual narrative to reveal a poignant tale. Images are cast on concrete blocks and light boxes. However, as the artist points out, the work transcends its immediate context to become a larger story of a society at odds with itself in that national pride and international recognition is sought at a high cost extracted from its own people. The artist-photographer captures both, the grit and the grime within the games with his planned and staged portraits of those who live on the margins of all that they help to create.For the rest, catch the show online if not in Mumbai.

On another note, coming up in November are two new art fairs that aim to reach out to many more people through their online presence and unusual marketing activities. India Arts Festival and India Art Collective, the new entrants on the Indian art circuit, are all set to give India Art Fair, slated for New Delhi in January, a run for its money.As wonderful as it is to see such initiatives take flight, one can’t help but wonder about basic problems of infrastructure and audience development, among key issues assailing the arts sector.

— The author is a published writer and an independent arts consultant

The post Whose gaze is it anyway? first appeared on Indian Art News.

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A guide for new-age art collectors

Whose gaze is it anyway?