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The Art market is buoyant with a new wave of soles happening in galleries and auction houses all over India. Currently, the contemporary art market is seeing action building up around seasoned pointers who were lying low for past 2-3 years. This phenomenon also encompasses a large number of artists spread out countrywide. By a rough estimate, the rise in prices of such works is pegged at 2-10 fold. According to an art market source, "quite a few senior painters whose prices were hovering at modest levels 2-3 years back, has shot up in the lost three years. Artists like Krishen Khanna, Ara, Gade, Paritosh Sen, K.G. Subramanyam, Shyamal Datta Ray, Manjit Bowa, Hebbar and K.C.S. Panicker now have their equity spiralling".
Here is a rough estimate of the increasing price trends prevailing in the art market. Take for example, a large Krishen Khanna canvas which was worth Rs. 2 lakhs in 2002, has now catapulted to around Rs. 20-25 lakhs. Similarly, Ara has risen from Rs. 2-3 lakhs to about Rs. 8-12 lakhs. Gade's big works priced at Rs. 2-3 lakhs three to four years ago have now improved to Rs. 15-20 lakhs. A large creation by Paritosh Sen has gone up from Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 10-15 lakhs in 2006. Manjit Bawo's canvases have jumped from Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 25 lakhs. Triggering the fever, a watercolour by Shyamal Datta Ray now fetches Rs. 8 lakhs which is a five-fold increase, while his acrylics and oils sell at Rs. 10 lakhs a steep rise of 9-10 times !
There is a sudden spurt of interest around sculptures too. This could have been sparked by the growing number of sculpture shows at galleries and their inclusion in illustrious auctions houses. Although limited, one is also coming across a few publications on well-known sculptors.
Here again, according to the art market source, "over the last one year, we have been witnessing a burgeoning interest among art buffs to collect sculptures. This has triggered on increase in demand, which in turn has pushed up sculpture prices. Till now, the focus was only on paintings, in spite of the fact that we have had top-notch sculptors like Ram Kinkar Baij and Somnath Hore".
The source also added, "the sculptures are really undervalued compared to the price levels of sculptures in the West. However it's heartening that the number of sculpture shows at galleries has gone up. Besides, they are also fetching tidy prices at the auctions. All these factors combined are playing a vital role in popularizing the sculpture medium".
Around 2-3 years back, bronze sculptures were being sold at a price range of Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 2 lakhs, while fiber glass pieces were hovering at Rs. 10,000-40,000 and terracotta sculptures as low as Rs. 3,000-7,000. The appreciation in prices of sculptures has been actually visible in the last 8-9 months when the price levels have risen 5-10 times on an average. On the higher end, a bronze sculpture which was earlier worth Rs. 1 -1.5 lakhs, has now increased to approximately Rs. 6 lakhs.
It is interesting to note that much earlier the equation was not very different for paintings too. But somehow it always had an edge over sculptures as far as commercial viability was concerned. That is, they managed to fetch a better price than their counterpart.
Against the backdrop of the current turnaround in the sculpture market, a bronze work may be worth between Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 15 lakhs, while a fiber glass sculpture is likely to be pegged at Rs. 1 to 25 lakhs. "Of course, prices hinge on the artist's brand name and naturally the quality of the work," the source added.
In the present scenario, some sculptors who hove hit the growth curve are Ravinder Reddy, K.S. Rodhakrishnan, Daroz, Himmat Shah, Mrinalini Mukherjee and Laxma Goud.
Alternatively, painters who were fetching not-so-fancy prices around 2002, like Prakash Karmakar, Loxma Goud, Rabin Mandol, Suhas Roy, G.R. Santosh, Kartick Pyne and Manu Parekh, have appreciated phenomenally today. Prakash Karmakar who was selling at Rs. 1.5 lakhs is now valued between a range of Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 10 lakhs. Rabin Mandal has touched Rs. 5 lakhs-plus. For a large canvas of Laxma Goud, the price has swelled from just Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 5 lakhs. Manu Parekh is hitting Rs. 5 lakhs and G.R. Santosh has appreciated 10 times to Rs. 10 lakhs.
In tandem, a work by Jogen Chowdhury which was selling at 2 lakhs is now fetching 20 lakhs. Sanat Kar has shot up from Rs. 35,000 to 3 lakhs. Suhas Roy is up from Rs. 4 lakhs to Rs. 10 lakhs, Kartick Pyne is scaling Rs. 4.5-6.5 lakhs while till last year he was selling at not more than Rs. 50,000-75,000. Other artists like Arindam Chatterjee, Chhatrapati Dutta, Samindranath Majumdar, Tapas Konar and Amitava Dhar are seeing varying degrees of demand with prices ranging from Rs. 1-4 lakhs. Partha Pratim Deb too is enjoying a fair bit of demand.
According to the art market source, "several artists who are or were active for the last 30-40 years are seen to be competing at market value in their own ways. The popularity of their work depends on exposure, luck and the collectors' whims. But, the market normally catches up with quality painters who have not appreciated for some reason." The source also added that "people are now looking for a variety of artists' labels, with the frontline painters touching astronomical levels".
In conclusion, Indian contemporary art has arrived as a credible capital asset. A time may come when financial institutions will be willing to invest in art as port of a diversified portfolio! However, it is essential for an art lover or art collector to come to grips with the subject, do one's homework and buy an artist who has a resale brand value.
--ART BUFF
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