RAJ S. RANGARAJAN
At the contemporary art sale in New York in mid-September, works by Indian artists held center stage at Christie's and Sotheby's with two artists creating auction records for their work. Bhupen Khakhar's Muslims Around a Mosque II, 2001(180 cm x 120 cm - oil on canvas depicting a mosque's environs) sold for $650,000 at more than twice the high estimate and Arpita Singh's Munna Apa's Garden, 1989 (158.1 cm x 173.4 cm - oil on canvas that shows the artist's milder side) was bought by an Indian collector for $506,500 at three times the high estimate. Singh (73) was born in West Bengal and studied art in New Delhi. She painted Bengali folk paintings in the '80s and took up oils in the '90s.
Auctioneers, collectors and galleries are upbeat about the vibrancy in the art market in spite of a sluggish recovery in other areas of the economy. With provenances for quality art items being recognized and appreciated, newer clients are seen investing in art. Lately, international institutions have gotten into the act of collection.
S. H. Raza and F. N. Souza were the $1 million-plus artists this Fall season with younger artists, Rashid Rana and T.V. Santhosh (both 1968-born) also creating a buzz among art lovers. Rana's Red Carpet III, 2007 (chromogenic print and Diasec mounted: 133 cm x 183 cm), in pixels of thousands of tiny digitized images, initially tends to crowd one's thoughts but soon, with concentration, one comprehends vividly what the artist is trying to convey. An American bought it for $182,500. Santhosh's Untitled oil, 2008 (122 cm x 183 cm.) that sold for $110,500, depicts in his customary red-and-green a common subject such as war with contemplative imagery.
In keeping with his signature installations dealing with everyday images such as stainless steel pans in households, Subodh Gupta's Two Cows that shows bronze, aluminium and chrome milk cans was bought by an European bidder for $542,500 against a high estimate of $350,000. Says the artist, "The bicycle is like a mechanized cow in the city.?in the country if I wanted milk, I would go to the cows to get it; in the city it is delivered to you by bicycle."
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(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market and auto shows and reviews films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; and India.)
