A tribute - artist V Balu

Dr V Balu was a noted artist and a peace activist who was killed in a road accident yesterday evening, in Bangalore. Almost 80, he was full of life and bursting with ideas, it is hard to imagine he is no more.

Although, he began his artistic career as a cartoonist he found his calling in paper collages. Vivid collages made out of scrap paper transformed magically into works of art. These were often abstracts but sometimes recognizable forms also crept into his imagery. In any case his workmanship was always flawless. All his collages had an underlying message - peace. ‘Rhythms of Peace’, a brilliant collage with girls dancing amidst a swirl of ribbons is a fascinating piece of work. His art always brought a sense of calm and tranquility to the viewer.


He was not a conventional artist in the true sense but he found huge acceptance and encouragement everywhere. The Dalai Lama and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu also had words of praise and appreciation for him. Strangely enough, some people from the art fraternity did not consider him mainstream, but I don’t know if that bothered him at all. An endearing quality about him was that his visiting card invariably carried an image of one his collages and a calendar at the back! Passionate about peace, he was man on a mission. He wrote books and traveled extensively to propagate this message.

I met him last at a book launch and promised to visit his studio soon. Unfortunately, that will not happen now.

Gaining ground with investors - Sculptures

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

There is an increased awareness about Indian contemporary art and with the maturing of the market, art collectors and investors have become more discerning. As a result there is a growing interest in forms of art other than paintings. Sculptures are a centuries old art form, which were created in various mediums such as wood, stone, clay, and bronze. Ancient sculptures are representative of that era and form an important link in understanding the living conditions, values and other concepts of that period. For instance, Greek sculptures focused on the human form and the freestanding statues were detailed and life-like. Gods and goddesses were also given form through sculptures. All of Michelangelo’s statues depicted muscular bodies that symbolized power and strength. His ‘David’ is a fine example in marble from this period and is perhaps the most famous statue of all times. Art collector, Porus Vazifdar laments, "Sculpture has for long been the second cousin of other art media (read painting). This part of the art market is still unspoiled - fewer fakes, less hyped prices, higher entry barrier. It would be heartening to see galleries and dealers promote more works of established sculptors than of new and untested painters.”

In the contemporary art scene, more and more artists are turning to sculptures. Sculptures offer ease in experimentation and multiple choices in mediums. Art Consultant Umesh UV explains, “Sculptures are picked up selectively by real collectors and not by everyone like paintings.” The only problem with sculptures is the amount of space they take up. Umesh says, “Place is a big criteria! Where do I keep just one head of Ravinder Reddy? Also, often price bands are low when there are 9 editions. Some consider this as a 'factory made' concept and do not like it.”

Prices of sculptures are considered to be low compared to paintings. Vazifdar believes, “Like in painting, there is a revolution waiting to happen.” Sculptures are coming into their own is obvious from the fact that in the upcoming Sotheby’s auction, a Subodh Gupta mixed media life size sculpture has been priced between 200,000 – 250,000 USD, a G Reghu bronze sculpture between 8,000 – 12,000 USD and a Sudarshan Shetty mechanical sculpture with dentures is priced between 18,000 – 22,000 USD.

(Published in Financial Times)

Indian Contemporary Art – Trends

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

Till a few years ago most people bought paintings to either decorate their homes or as part of their investment portfolio. Interest in other forms of artworks such as sculptures, digital art, and installations was limited and the number of buyers even more limited. Now, the trend seems to be slowly changing. There are many more people who are aware of the various forms of visual art and they do not hesitate to invest in sculptures, graphic art, and even conceptual art to some extent.

Traditional art such as paintings has its own set of loyal collectors, who insist the advantages with buying one are numerous. A painting can be put up easily on the walls, and although size is important, it is not crucial, and even larger works can be accommodated relatively easily. With newer forms of art, space requirement is one factor, which deters buyers. Often, one needs a larger space to display sculptures or installations. The latter in fact can take up an inordinate amount of space and may also require special considerations in terms of lighting, sound etc. With new media art, preserving it is one issue which unless addressed will not find buyers. But, then most new media artists are not looking at creating permanent art.

Sculptures, installations and digital prints are increasing in popularity both amongst artists and collectors. The advantage with sculptures, and for that matter, even some installations is that due to their three-dimensional nature the impact on the surrounding space is heightened. Again, different mediums than can be used in a sculpture for instance glass, stone, steel, copper, bronze and so on singly or in combination create an enhanced effect that alter the ambience dramatically.

The new age art buyer and collector insists that what moves him to own an artwork is irrespective of the medium. As long as he can relate to it at an emotional or intellectual way that is sufficient motivation to own the work.

(Published in Financial Times)

Indian Contemporary Art – a look at the market

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

The fall in the art price index as reported in leading newspapers, and the affected sales of certain artworks at international auctions created quite a stir in the art market. Despite this, several art collectors and investors are optimistic and feel such temporary lulls in the market are just that – temporary.

There are several online and offline networks formed by art lovers. One such online network comprises of collectors, investors, artists, dealers, and gallery owners who exchange information on art - price trends, upcoming artists, hot favorites, major shows and so on. Art collector Porus Vazifdar explains, “Art has always been a multifaceted activity - technical to the artist and sensuous to the collector. The art scene in India is not a 'financial market' in the true sense. Most of the ills of the commodity-style market continue to persist, e.g. lack of liquidity, reduced transparency, fake products, high transaction costs, non-standard products, difficulty in valuation, cash transactions etc. The efforts of a few people and increased disposable income have lead to the emergence of a pseudo-financial market. Price-disclosure is that much easier now due to the bold steps taken by a handful of people to publish prices. Hence, I do not believe that terms like, 'bullish', 'bearish', 'correction' etc can apply to art. Yes, prices of art will move in tandem with market factors, especially those unique to art.

There is general consensus that quality plays a major role in determining price trends of an artist. Artists who have sustained their quality have continued to do well even in recent times. Art collector Mehul Patel elaborates, “Chintan Upadhyay's artworks were available for Rs 1.50 lakhs in 2002, and now nothing is there for even 15 lakhs. Vaikutam's small charcoal works were available for Rs 30,000 about fourteen months ago and now cost almost Rs 100,000 each! Laxma Goud’s etchings, which were Rs 25,000 – 40,000 about a year ago are in the range of Rs 60,000 – 200,000”.

Upcoming artists appear to be a safe bet - since investment is low it also reduces the exposure. Whether art prices have actually ‘corrected’ or not is debatable, but what emerges is that it is a good time to buy for the discerning art collector or investor.

(Published in Financial Times, Bangalore)

Protect your Art Investment- Care of sculptures

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

Just as paintings require specialized care and attention so do other forms of artworks such as sculptures. Sculptures are commonly made of materials like stone, metal, glass, wood, ceramic, terracotta and bronze. Care and handling of sculptures depends on the kind of material that has been used. In general it is advised that sculptures be handled wearing soft cotton gloves. Repeated touching can cause finger marks that can gradually affect the surface of the sculpture. Always display the sculpture indoors or in the open according to the material of the sculpture. This is especially true if an indoor sculpture is kept in the open and is thereby exposed to sun and rain, which will inevitably damage the sculpture. Outdoor sculptures are especially treated to withstand environmental elements.

A constant temperature environment is ideal for sculptures as well. Heat, excessive humidity, too much light can cause damage. A sculpture should be dusted regularly to avoid accumulation of dust on it. A light feather brush is ideal for this purpose. One should never use cleaning agents, strong detergents, sprays and polishes to clean or attempt to give a sheen to the surface. Some sculptures have a coating of wax on them for protection and the wax layer can be re-applied periodically, but one must always consult an art conservator before doing this. The kind of stone and metal will determine how the sculpture should be cleaned; hence it makes sense to take expert advice before embarking on such a project.

Glass sculptures look beautiful but require special care just as most other glass objects do. Their fragile nature makes it imperative that they be displayed on stable shelves away from inquisitive hands and out of reach of children. The glass surface should be kept clean for that extra sparkle, and most of them can be washed with mild soap and water. One must handle them carefully and take all precautions that are normally associated with this delicate medium.

(Published in Financial Times)