Rendezvous with N S Harsha

N S Harsha, an artist who lives and works in Mysore has firmly imprinted the city on the global map. At the Christie’s auction of Asian contemporary art held in Hong Kong last month, Harsha’s painting ‘Mass Marriage’ went for a hammer price of HK$ 6.4 million, the highest among the Indian works. Harsha is currently busy completing his painting for the third Artes Mundi Prize, a prestigious award, for which he has been nominated along with seven other artists from all over the world. His entry called ‘Come give us a speech’ is a metaphorical painting that he is still working on. Art consultant Nalini S Malaviya catches up with him, to find out more about his art and community projects.

You have set a record of sorts at the recent Christie’s Hong Kong auction. How does it feel?
It feels strange to be pulled into such a situation that my painting managed to set a ’monetary record’ and I am answerable to it. Frankly, I was shocked. For me, the equation hasn’t changed at all. I sold this long ago and it feels different to see it again in its present context after such a long gap.
Will you get any financial benefit from the sale?
Actually, no. I sold it in 2003, so for me it ended there.
Where have you studied art?
I did my BFA in CAVA in Mysore then MFA in Faculty of Fine arts in Baroda.
How difficult has it been for you to establish yourself?
For me the artistic journey is not a career. I never worked with an intention to establish myself in the art world. It has always been a deeply-rooted personal activity for me. My struggle was more about believing in myself and realising or executing these thoughts. The best thing a small town can offer is ’personal time and space’ which I feel gets a little compromised in a big city. So I do try and balance between my travels abroad and my time here in Mysore.
Along with art, you are also involved with a lot of community projects. Tell us more about that.
I have worked on community art projects for the last 10 years in several different countries. It has been a rich learning process for me. It has enriched my understanding of different cultural practices as well as the new challenges we are facing as a global community. I focus on bringing many different voices and expressions on a single platform to understand the complexity of our times. Every workshop is designed according to the context and place where it is held, so I do a lot of homework before designing the project. This also gives me the freedom to work in public spaces along with conventional gallery and museum spaces.
What is the future of art as an investment avenue?
Oh! I don’t have any knowledge in this field. For me, collecting art is about collecting a ’thought’. So it is best if this is answered by an investment banker.
(Published in Mysore Plus)

Chitra Santhe - Art Fair (Bangalore) Dec 30, 2007

Most of the 'artists' this year too were hobby painters et al. However, there was a sprinkling of fine arts students from other districts of Karnataka. According to official figures there were 1,700 art stalls and at least a 100,000 people attended. I also heard that more than Rs 1 crore changed hands!

There were very few works that I liked, amongst them were pen and ink drawings by an artist from Chikmaglur and a couple of paintings by an artist from Hassan. Unfortunatley, there were many reproductions right from SL Haldenkar's 'Glow of Hope' painting (please visit Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore to see the original), to John Fernandes to even SH Raza! The different versions of Glow of Hope, which incidentally is on sale at every Santhe, was truly pathetic this year. At least all the copies I saw had no resemblance to the original except for the fact that they featured a woman holding a lamp. The magic created by Haldenkar was completely missing!


Prices were as high as Rs 5 lakhs (the painting of an elephant was priced at Rs 5 lakhs - see below). Here are a few images from the Santhe.








If you visited the Santhe, what did you think about it? Did you like the paintings on display? Did you buy anything? Were the prices reasonable? What is the best part of an event like this? Mail your comments to me.

Should artists get royalty?

Once again there is a lot of discussion on whether an artist should be given a royalty or a percentage of the sales, when one of his artworks does exceptionally well during a resale, for instance, at an auction. There is mixed feeling towards this. While most artists feel that a certain percentage of the sale proceeds should be given to the respective artist, gallery owners and collectors feel that the issue is debateable. In practical terms it is very difficult to track each and every artwork that is sold or resold, unless it is at an auction. Art collector Harish Padmanabha asks, “when I invest in real estate and I sell the property a few years down the line, should I give a percentage of the profits to the previous owner?” He says that once an artwork leaves the studio, it becomes a commodity and gets bandied around in the market. An artist’s job should be to give vent to his creativity and give enjoyment to the viewer and himself. He brings out the point that when the artist is no more, who should benefit from the percentage? Therefore, it appears that implementing such a plan is full of loopholes. Artist Ravi Kumar Kashi also admits that the idea has its benefits, but wonders how the mechanism would really work in practical terms.

On the other hand, Indian artists who have struggled a lot in their career and have only now begun to make a mark at international auctions are unfortunately not getting any share of the proceeds. We have seen in the past that legends from the fields of music and sports have languished in abject poverty in their last days. One wonders, when the modern and contemporary Indian art market is thriving so well, is there a way to acknowledge the contribution of its key players? Giving a royalty to the artist may or may not be the answer, but a solution that aims at long term benefits rather than short-term gain is much needed.

Contemporary art market draws more buyers

There is a general feeling in the art market that the focus has shifted somewhat from Indian modern artists to contemporary artists. In fact, a trend that has become more noticeable now is that buyers and investors are backing younger talent. There are even reports that some senior artists are not finding any takers at all. Whether this is true it is difficult to say, but prices of some of these artists have definitely gone down. Paintings by a few well-known artists that were selling for Rs 12-15 lakhs (market price and not their auction price) are now barely holding out in the Rs 5 lakh range. It appears that there is a greater confidence in the contemporary art market.

There could be many reasons for this downward trend. According to an art collector, quality is a prime factor. As all works by the same artists are not of the same quality, the poorer works are now being reflected in their prices. Another theory is that the buyers are simply bored and find art from younger artists more exciting and refreshingly different. Contemporary artists are more open to experimentation when it comes to medium or concept. Brands and signature styles seem to be getting outdated. The new buyer now wants something ‘different’. Originality of thought is also considered to be one of the parameters that is now defining the art market.

Again, one must remember that the buyer profile has also changed in the last few years. Investors and collectors are getting younger every day and probably that is why they relate better to works by their contemporaries. It is also believed that contemporary artists have a greater international appeal as compared to modern artists. Having said that there is no guarantee that all contemporary artists will continue to perform well. Some of them are bound to lag behind over time when it comes to their investment potential. Similarly, it is very unlikely that Indian modern art will continue its downward trend, but how long it will take to bounce back it is difficult to predict.

(Published in Financial Times)

Season's Greetings!

Season's greetings & best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year!