The missing Indians

Power lists are always fun, argument-provoking and subjective, for all of which reasons ArtReview’s Power 100 makes for great reading. Begun in 2002, it maps the highs and lows of the global world of art. While some collectors (such as French billionaire Francois Pinault, No. 1 in 2006 and 2007) or usually gallerists (Larry Gagosian, No. 1 in 2004 and again in 2010), have been constants on the list, others such as powerbroker collector Charles Saatchi (No. 1 in 2002) have fallen completely off it. This year’s No. 1, David Zwirner of the eponymous Zwirner galleries, made his debut in 2003, while once-favourites Damien Hirst (No. 1 in 2005 and 2008) and Jeff Koons no longer feature on it. Serpentine’s Hans Ulrich Obrist, also a feature of the list, made it to the top of the heap in 2009 and 2016 (the same year that the controversial artistic director of Documenta 14 followed at No. 2). Activist artist Ai Weiwei, another regular, featured right on top in 2011.

Now in its 17th edition, the rankings draw attention to major developments in the art world through the people most closely associated with them. Who are the primary movers and shakers of the art world — the artists, their promoters, institutions and museums, or the collectors who provide the patronage? This year’s list is a pointer that the market, to a large extent, is shaped by gallerists, with a little over 25 per cent making it to ArtReview’s Power 100. Zwirner, who heads the list, had a reported turnover of a half billion dollars in 2018. 

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The basic content providers —  artists who practice across various mediums — make up just under a quarter of the list. And collectors are surprisingly fewer — at a mere 12. This is, of course, not a definitive figure, because roles in the art world are remarkably fluid. Directors of foundations, or institutions, can also be collectors. For instance,  Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani from Dhaka (one of only two inclusions from South Asia this year) are collectors foremost, and are developing a museum, but they make it to the list as the founders of the Dhaka Art Summit, which is very highly regarded internationally and has raised the image of Bangladesh as an art as well as tourist destination around the world. 

The other South Asian entry is for Bose Krishnamachari and Anita Dube. Both are artists, of course, but they are on the list for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the former as a founder, the latter as the curator of its fourth edition. Co-founder Riyas Komu of the biennale finds himself knocked off the list for being named in the #MeToo maelstrom, though Krishnamachari and Komu were previously included on the list in 2016 and 2017; and in the latter year RAQS Media starred on it for their international curatorial projects. 

#MeToo makes it to the list too, more as a reference to reports and insinuations in regard to sexually offensive conduct. Another ArtReview lister who has been shamed by the movement is previous entrant Subodh Gupta, who was on the 2007 and 2008 lists. In 2007, with Indian art at its peak, Neville Tuli and Anupam Poddar figured on it too at the 99th and 100th spot respectively, and gallerist Peter Nagy made it in 2008 and 2009. Pickings from India have been scant since then. The other exception has been collector Kiran Nadar with her private museum, who made it to the tail-end of the list in 2017, but is no more on it in 2018. Will there be changes to the entries in 2019? Some people I know are counting on it.

Kishore Singh is a Delhi-based writer and art critic. These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which he is associated