Art galleries full and values surging: 2024 could set a new record

It is the season for art. Galleries are busy, and so are connoisseurs and collectors. The number of these cultural hubs and those who throng them is on the rise, as is the value of Indian art. The expectation is that 2024 will outperform the record breaking 2023.

The season opened with the four-day annual Mumbai Gallery Weekend on January 11. More than 30 galleries, from Colaba to Juhu, and popup and offsite spaces such as Kathiwada City House and Artisans Centre at Kala Ghoda, had the visitors spoilt for choice.
 

The action has now shifted to New Delhi, where India Art Fair is underway. The 15th edition of the fair, which has got bigger in scale and ambition after the pandemic, has brought 109 exhibitors, 31 of them new, including 72 galleries and art institutions, to the sprawling NSIC Grounds in Okhla. Among them are those exhibiting in India for the first time.

The reach of the fair and the growing influence of the India market can no longer be ignored.

Australian connection

Contemporary Australian indigenous artist Sarrita King, who is making her India debut, admits that she is nervous about what the market desires (see Q&A). She hopes to introduce the people “to the beauty of Australia’s Aboriginal art” and open the doors for herself and other Aboriginal artists. 

King’s artworks are personal and carry a story of connection to family, land or culture. Her paintings, titled “Ancestors Dry Season”, represent the landscape during months so parched that old landmarks and features are revealed. Her “Lake Eyre” series evokes the vast expanse of the glistening salt pan, which gets transformed into a thriving oasis by desert downpours.

At the Indian Ceramics Triennale in Delhi, too, a group of Australian Aboriginal artists is at work, creating vibrant handmade ceramic pots that express their lived experiences. These Hermannsburg Potters are here for the second edition of the triennale, which is on until March 31. Titled “Common Ground", it is showcasing 34 clay-based projects by more than 60 artists from 12 countries, and celebrates the idea that we are all keepers of the Earth. 

With the definition of what qualifies as art expanding, the art fair has also widened its scope over the years. 

Works by Hayley Coulthard and Rona Rubuntja of Hermannsburg Potters at the Indian Ceramics Triennale

Digital to design
 

After digital art, this time a section on design has been included with seven studios participating. Featuring here is an exhibition on Jawaharlal Nehru University. Titled “The Masterplan” and curated by artist Vishal Dar, it turns the spotlight on the university designed by late architect CP Kukreja in a manner that the buildings appear to be incidental in how they are placed around the elements of nature.

It is a busy time at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art as well, where a new exhibition, “Raghu Rai — A Thousand Lives: Photographs from 1965-2005”, turns the lens on the enigmatic and lesser-known side of the photographer. While this exhibition is on at KNMA’s Saket gallery till May 15, at its Noida location, a show featuring 24 artists from the museum’s collection has been put up. Among them are Anish Kapoor, Marina Abramović, Sheba Chhachhi and Sudarshan Shetty.
 

In a detour from traditional galleries, the second edition of Artix, a unique hotel art fair, will begin on March 16 at Hotel Park in Hyderabad, Telangana. Beds will be removed from the hotel’s rooms, which will be turned into art salons and galleries. Last year, Artix had converted the entire second floor of Taj Mahal Palace in New Delhi – more than 40 rooms and suites – into an art district for displaying Indian and international masterpieces. 

The year has opened with a bang. As aficionados soak in the art, auction houses are watching the scene closely. They will soon get busy.

Exhibit by Dhruv Malhotra, Courtesy of KNMA

Influx of millennials

“India has seen a substantial increase in spending from new millennial buyers in recent years,” says Francis Belin, president, Christie’s Asia Pacific. Last year, new millennial buyer spend increased more than 18 times compared to 2022.
 

Christie’s, which has had a permanent presence in India for nearly three decades, plans to empower collectors from the country to participate in sales internationally.  “In 2023, we saw an increase in appetite from Indian buyers in global sales, notably from new buyers,” says Belin. “The bought value saw an increase of 20 per cent when compared to 2022. The bought value from new buyers has gone up 10 times.” 

Christie’s, he says, intends to turn the spotlight on South Asian modern and contemporary art at the New York Asian Arts Week (March and September), “which provides the strongest global platform for Indian art”. 

Tushar Sethi, CEO of AstaGuru Auction House, which saw a few white-glove sales (all lots sold) last year, says the art world in 2024 “is poised to set new records, especially in the realm of modern masters”. 

Amrita Sher-Gil, who set a new record for Indian art last year, will be among the keenly watched artists. Sethi expects a surge in interest for works by contemporary women artists as well: Bharti Kher, Yashika Sugandh, Vibha Galhotra, Mrinalini Mukherjee, and Arpita Singh.

AstaGuru, which had 12 auctions in 2022 and 16 in 2023, intends to “maintain this upward trajectory,” says Siddanth Shetty, its chief administrative officer.
 

Shireen Gandhy, spokesperson for Mumbai Gallery Weekend and director at Chemould Prescott Road, also has big hopes from 2024. She expects “to see wider audiences visiting galleries, new artists presenting their work, and a new generation of art collectors making their early purchases”.
 

For art, the season has only just begun.

Australian indigenous artist Sarrita King

A brush with Australia

Australian indigenous artist Sarrita King tells Veenu Sandhu about her hopes from her India debut in an email interview. Edited excerpts:

How does your work navigate the intersection of indigenous Australian narratives and India’s diverse cultural tapestry?
 

I would like for the Indian audience to recognise similarities, not only in the presentation of artworks, but also in the cultural stories that they deliver. The use of pointillism and repetitive patterns in my work show a connection of expression when it comes to knowledge sharing. I hope that my artworks are received as a cultural offering to draw a line of direct solidarity for our tribal heritage and ongoing respect for our ancient past. 
 

How do you perceive the current state of the Indian art market?
 

I cannot wait to see the diversity and beauty of what Indian artists offer. It is a nerve-wracking time for me as I am not aware of what the market desires, but I am hopeful that my fine and detailed works will bring the viewers into my stories and give them connection to a culture that they may not know much about. I am hoping to introduce the viewers to the beauty of Australia’s Aboriginal art and capture their imagination with my stories and artistic process. 
 

What messages or themes from your heritage are you keen on conveying?
 

Every artwork of mine comes with a story of connection to family, land or culture. By sharing these messages in art form, I hope to increase understanding and appreciation for Australia’s rich Aboriginal culture. With this fair having such a great reach, I am hoping that it opens doors for myself and other Aboriginal artists to showcase the world’s longest surviving culture in its full beauty and artistic expression.