26 Indian artworks part of Christies auction

In a sign of the increasing recognition of the Indian art on world canvas, 26 works from contemporary Indian artists would go under the hammer at the International auction house Christie's Spring 2008 sales of Asian Contemporary Art.

Tagged with hefty sums, the paintings of a host of Indian artists would be auctioned in Hong Kong on May 24-25.

Among others, top-tier works by Subodh Gupta, Jitish Kallat, Anju Dodiya, and Atul Dodiya will be up for grabs on the opening day.

On the next day, selection of works from these and other noted Indian artists including Thukral Tagra, T V Santhosh, Shibu Natesan, Justin Ponmany, Jagannath Panda, Hema Upadhyay, Baiju Parthan and Talha Rathore will be available.

The auction would also feature a selection of significant works by many Pakistani artists besides the ones drawn by their counterparts from China, Japan and Korea.

The Indian modern and contemporary art category has grown exponentially, with increasing global demand seen in every one of Christie's sales in New York, London and Hong Kong.

Since launching Modern and Contemporary Indian Art sales in New York in 2000, Christie's sales in this category have grown from $656,000 to $36 million in 2007.

Among the highlights is Atul Dodiya's 'Woman from Kabul', which is estimated to sell between $114,400 and $153,800.

Regarded as one of the leading artists of his generation, Mumbai-born Atul Dodiya's works show influence of culture and history of India.

Created soon after the US declared war on Afghanistan, 'Woman from Kabul' comments on the suffering and devastation borne by the common Afghan during that time.

Another known artist Subodh Gupta draws heavily from his own experience in culling material for his art, recasting traditional objects of Indian culture in contemporary media and context.

In Untitled work, Gupta documents the daily life of the bazaars with his photo-realistic rendition of a vessel stall. It is estimated to fetch between $192,300 and $256,400.

Also from him is 'Saat Samundar Paar' (Across the Seven Seas), a series of works undertaken by the artist on the theme of migration and the return home (estimate: $192,300 to $256,400).

Besides, Jitish Kallat's 'Rickshawpolis 9', a cacophonous rendition of the artist's urban environment in Mumbai is meant to convey pure sensory overload (estimate: $64,100 to $89,700).

The rickshaw in Kallat's title symbolises the old India. Though in the new 21st-century order, with a rapidly changing India marked by rampant consumerism, environmental decay and over-crowding, these ubiquitous vehicles compete with buses, trucks, people, cows and cars in an ever-growing swell of traffic.