[1]Kochi: A hand-painted Tata Nano car, pegged as the country's first "art car" has gone under the hammer for over Rs 13 lakh in a recent online auction. The outlandish-looking multi-colour "Maximum Nano" fetched the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) a total of Rs 13,01,402 (USD 22,438) after a 24-hour-long online bidding by Saffronart on July 30.
"It is so gratifying. I am thrilled to help raise money for this worthy cause," Bose Krishnamachari, president of the KBF, which organised the 96-day Kochi-Muziris Biennale in Kerala from December 12, 2012.
Krishnamachari, a noted artist himself, used automative paint to paint on the white car that bore the signature of Malayalam superstar Mohanlal. "I can't disclose the name of the buyer but the car has been bought by an art collector," Krishnamachari told PTI.
The auction proceeds would go into generating funds for the KBF, which is a public charitable trust registered in 2010. "The whole experience of organising the art show and, now, learning the auction result, has been wonderful! The challenge was unique," Shwetal Patel, Head of Programmes and Digital Development at KBF said.
The auction was set for zero reserve price which permitted the bidding to start at Rs 100. "This was keeping in line with Bose's well-known abstract idiom, this vivid, drivable installation evokes the myriad colours and emotions of India," Shivajirao Gaekwar from Saffronart said.
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