Market reinforces faith in quality at latest Indian art auction

Out of the 115 lots on offer in the auction, 113 - or an impressive 98% - were sold, in a strong indication of not just an enhanced interest from the market in buying art, but a strong interest in buying contemporary Indian art. As art market watchers would know, contemporary art - denoting art created by younger generation of artists ranging from fresh graduates to those in their 50s as opposed to modern masters who are older and roughly born pre-Independence - has generally been considered a rather volatile territory with prices of artworks seeing sharp ups and downs

If the results of the recently concluded Astaguru auction focusing only on contemporary Indian art are anything to go by, then good quality art of the genre is slowly beginning to ascend once again and perhaps, even reach an apogee in foreseeable future as it had done a little over a decade ago.

As expected, works by perennial market favourites performed well at the online auction by Astaguru - titled 'Present Future' - on February 10-11 and were mostly picked up for more than their pre-auction estimates. Unsurprisingly, the star signatures of the husband-wife duo of Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher commanded the sale.

Top Performers

Subodh Gupta's installation made of stainless steel utensils, Untitled (Ed: Unique), was the top selling lot of the auction. It fetched Rs1.79 crore against the pre-auction estimate of Rs 1.30 crore – Rs 1.50 crore. This work was followed in the second and third position by signature Bharti Kher works done in 'bindi' - the circular dot in various colours (primarily red) applied by Indian women on their foreheads. Kher's work, titled A Letter to My Love, made of 'bindis' pasted on painted board, fetched Rs 1 crore against the pre-auction estimate of Rs 60 lakh – Rs 80 lakh. Another of Kher's Untitled 'bindi' work, estimated same as the previous one, went for the same figure of Rs 1 crore.

'Bindi' as a motif started appearing in Kher's work from 1995 and since then, has remained her most well-recognised medium of expression.

Raqib Shaw's Henry VIII, a signature work - made in acrylic, glitter, enamel, rhinestones and mixed media on paper - was expected to be a star performer from right before the auction; it lived up to the hype and fetched Rs 88.74 lakh over the pre-auction estimate of Rs 40 lakh – Rs 60 lakh. It is the artist's reinterpretation of a masterpiece by the German artist Hans Holbein the Younger, considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. This work was also part of Shaw's solo exhibition held at Tate Britain in London in 2006, titled 'Art Now: Raqib Shaw'.

The other six works that made the top 10 list were: Anju Dodiya's acrylic on mattress work Cloud Hunter, which fetched Rs 39.44 lakh (estimate: Rs 15 lakh – Rs 20 lakh); Nataraj Sharma's Air Show (Diptych) went for Rs 37 lakh (estimate: Rs 30 lakh – Rs 35 lakh); Jitish Kallat's Aircraft Waiting In Wings fetched Rs 32 lakh (estimate: Rs 12 lakh – Rs 15 lakh); Anju Dodiya's Surge, a work in watercolour, charcoal and soft pastels on paper, fetched Rs 30 lakh (estimate: Rs 15 lakh – Rs 20 lakh); L. N. Tallur's bronze work with industrial paint, "?Graphite Black)" (Ed: Unique), fetched Rs 25 lakh (estimate: Rs 15 lakh – Rs 20 lakh); and Thukral and Tagra's Phantom II (Diptych) went for Rs 25 lakh (estimate: Rs 20 lakh – Rs 25 lakh).

The Measure of Success

Out of the 115 lots on offer in the auction, 113 - or an impressive 98 per cent - were sold, in a strong indication of not just an enhanced interest from the market in buying art, but a strong interest in buying contemporary Indian art. As art market watchers would know, contemporary art - denoting art created by younger generation of artists ranging from fresh graduates to those in their 50s as opposed to modern masters who are older and roughly born pre-Independence - has generally been considered a rather volatile territory with prices of artworks seeing sharp ups and downs. Moreover, it has not often generated the same faith from the buyers as modern art has done, for various reasons, primary being - maturity of artists and artworks, and comparatively easy availability of artworks due to careers in progress as opposed to rare modern works most of whose creators are no longer around. However, the Astaguru auction indicates that a good, robust and informed selection of contemporary artworks will perform as strongly as the best of modern works.

A closer look at the top selling artworks reveals that the demand remains high for superlative works by artists in mediums and styles for which they have earned renown globally, and have been shown in prestigious museums and institutions worldwide. In short, these are the works that have acquired value for the artists who have shown consistency in their practice, and have earned appreciation on various platforms for being groundbreaking in some or the other way. Therefore, a Subodh Gupta work made of stainless steel utensils, or a Bharti Kher work in her signature 'bindi', or a Raqib Shaw work embellished with rhinestones and enamel, or an Anju Dodiya work on a mattress, will command the market, irrespective of the season.

Ankita Talreja, senior specialist (contemporary Indian art) at AstaGuru, said: "It is extremely important to AstaGuru to present the robust offering of contemporary Indian art in the auction arena. The auction included the largest selection of contemporary artworks by some of the most celebrated names in India… The results of this contemporary auction only demonstrate the demand for such auctions among serious as well as budding collectors."

The results also buttress the long-standing market truth etched in stone - a good, quality work of art will always command a deserving price irrespective of the state of the market and will always attract serious buyers who collect art primarily for what it means to them and not just for its market value alone, even though the latter is not a dishonourable intention.

The 2008 recession had hopefully weeded out wild speculators from the market of contemporary Indian art, who had heated up the proceedings inorganically, resulting in unprecedented, inflated prices. Though the phase was short-lived, it had proved detrimental to the pricing of contemporary art works.

Zooming back to 2022, the auction season has just begun, and hopefully, the faith of the market will only get strengthened with more contemporary art auctions through the year.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based journalist, editor and arts consultant. She blogs at www.archanakhareghose.com)