| ART:Despite some contemporary artists slowing down other young artists and the moderns remain buoyant
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| Online auctions can be both frustrating (because the bidding stretches on and on) and exhilarating (because at the end of it, the pace of bids can still catch you unawares).
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| When the Saffronart site opened for bids last week, the start was seemingly slow, and while the number of bids for Anju Dodiya remained at a peak throughout the two-day process, there was a stunned ennui at the low bids for Surendran Nair and Shibu Natesan.
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| Early apprehensions had hinted at a slowdown in prices. Was this already proof that the market had burned itself out? That fear, at any rate, was not in evidence when the auction ended buoyantly.
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| Dinesh Vazirani must have sighed in relief, though, yes, there did seem to be a plateauing of earlier contemporary stalwarts like Chittrovanu Mazumdar, Atul Dodiya and Jittish Kallat, the last two coming off less successfully than their spouses.
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| Anju Dodiya did brilliantly at the auction, and Reena Saini Kallat held her own. And at the end, both Nair and Natesan delivered on the ball. But the auction belonged to a new range of contemporary stars, among them Jayashree Chakravorty, Justin Ponmany, Sudhanshu Sutar, Manish Pushkale, while the stars continued to shine on G R Iranna and Jagannath Panda.
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| "There was an indication that prices for Chittrovanu Mazumdar and Atul Dodiya are levelling out," agreed Dinesh Vazirani on its conclusion, "but there was high interest in Surendran Nair, Jayashree Chakravarty, G R Iranna, Jagannath Panda and Anju Dodiya."
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| And on Sunday, at Osian's auction of 40 masterpieces in Mumbai, the masters gained impressive averages. F N Souza fetched Rs 1.7 crore, Rs 1.4 crore and Rs 1.3 crore for his works at the auction.
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| M F Husain managed Rs 1.6 crore, S H Raza and Akbar Padamsee sold at Rs 1.3 crore each, K G Subramanayam managed Rs 1 crore, and Rumkumar's highest was Rs 90 lakh at hammer prices.
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| A buyer's premium of 20 per cent plus taxes took the final prices higher. Among artists who set new records were Subramanyam, Prakash Kormakar, Ambadas, K S Kulkarni and Laxman Pai.
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| Observers have since indicated that Saffronart and Osian's may have concluded successful sales on account of their early mover advantage - later this month four international auctions of Indian art will pump in a huge body of art in the marketplace.
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| "What these analysts forget is that there are new buyers who are looking to purchase works in the Rs 5-25 lakh bandwidth," said Vazirani.
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| "Some of their sensibilities are different from earlier buyers, as they have narrowed in on the artists and the works they want."
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| According to Vazirani, the new buyers "have a quantum of money to spend, and have done extensive research on artists." And those who've bid at the Saffronart auction are unlikely to be at the Christie's and Sotheby's auctions in New York later this month.
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| "There was a lack of understanding about where the market would land up with so much product in the market," he pointed out, "but with new buyers alongside earlier buyers concentrating on quality works, the momentum will keep on."
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| Neville Tuli of Osian's couldn't agree more, insisting that "the market is maturing well". He points out that there have been sceptics at every surge in prices, and says "the process of growth is now irreversible".
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| Next checkpoint: Bonham's auction on Indian and Pakistani art in London on September 14. |
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