GENERATION NEXT
Art auctions held under the aegis of international auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christies have always generated a lot of interest as well as speculation whenever a European or South Asian artist has attracted an extraordinary bid. Internationally art auctions have played a vital role in price discovery of artists, in fact, the Impressionists and post Impressionists started receiving extra attention after collectors started buying their works at exorbitant prices in the latter half of the 20th century.
The only reliable way to acquire collectibles, especially particular pieces such as a painting of an individual artist or from a phase of his/her work, and antiques is through auctions.
In India, after the initial boom and flourish, the nascent art market reflected by the auction circuit went back to the masters and moderns leaving the established contemporaries’ way behind. International art market studies have doubtlessly proved that the established contemporaries now need a period of maturing as assets.
It is investing in younger artists that will garner greater returns on capital. This is because young artists are the assets of any art market as many of them who grow up into matured contemporaries with their own sought after styles and signatures. The best way to hedge one’s bets are to invest in the affordable younger lot and hope that some would be established at a higher price range in the years to come. It is these artists that would not only carry forward the legacy of contemporary Indian visual culture but also be known for their bold experimentation.
Art Bull India, the latest auction house initiated by Siddhartha Tagore, Art Konsult gallery and Amanpreet Singh, an expert in the art market is trying to create a new space in the Indian contemporary art through auction and promotion of very new artists. The results of the forthcoming auction of Art Bull India in November will demonstrate whether the Indian art market has evolved beyond the masters, and permeated into the urban professional middle class.
— Dr Seema Bawa is an art historian, curator
and critic
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