Faking It

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

Last week, I was asked to look at a book, Faking It, which is an art crime novel, written by Amrita Chowdhury. Currently, Amrita is working as the Associate Director of the India Research Center division of Harvard Business School and this is her first foray into fiction. Passionate about contemporary Indian art, Amrita has set her fast paced novel in the art corridors of Mumbai. According to Amrita, she herself is an avid art collector, and as Indian art is doing so well across the world, this was a good time to set her fictional story around the Indian art scene.
The novel is about a finance expert, Tara Malhotra, who, against her wishes, is uprooted from the United States to Mumbai. Struggling to find her footing in Mumbai, indulging in extensive party hopping and high-end shopping, she ultimately decides to set up her own art gallery. But, for that to happen she needs to have that perfect piece of art in her personal collection to impress her social peers. So, when an opportunity presents to buy a newly found work by Amrita Sher-Gil she succumbs hook, line and sinker, spending all her savings in the process. And, as luck would have it, the painting turns out to be a fake. The second part of the novel is a chase around town (car chases to the airport included!) to nab the forgers, and eventually, to trap the kingpin behind this multi-million dollar racket.

The book turns out to be quite informative about the business side of Indian art and is full of little details on how the market functions, but I’m not sure how an art-unfriendly reader will respond to it. The vacuous life of a socialite as she flits from one party to another and buys every designer label in sight, paints a pathetic picture of a returned-from-abroad Indian who tries to compensate for the sense of isolation and displacement. While, the second part of the book portrays how the protagonist evolves and comes into her own.

It would not be fair to compare this book with Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code or even Jeffrey Archer’s False Impression – both of which have art as the basic premise. Nevertheless, Faking It is a perfectly enjoyable read that focuses completely around Indian art. A breezy, easy going style of narration manages to keep the reader sufficiently interested to keep turning the pages to the very end.

After reading the book, it is very likely that you may want to take a look at some of the works by Amrita Sher-Gil or by one of the numerous artists mentioned in the book (from the Bengal school or the Progressive art group), in which case you could take a walk through NGMA, Bangalore and you are sure to find most of these artists there.

(Published in Bangalore Mirror)

Auctions indicate uptrend in art market

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

Several auctions of Indian art held in the last few days indicate that there is a perceptible change in scenario now. The mood is upbeat and sales indicate that there is a definite demand for rare and quality works.
The Saffron Art online auction saw 72% of the lots being sold where 54% of the lots were sold above the higher estimate. The sale of 85 Modern and Contemporary Indian works sold, grossed a total of Rs. 10.4 crores (USD 2.2 million). Works by V.S. Gaitonde, Subodh Gupta, M.F. Husain, Akbar Padamsee, Ram Kumar and F.N. Souza were amongst those that fetched the highest bids. Similarly, the Christie’s auction in London grossed $2.43m sales where an oil on canvas work by M.F.Husain painted in 1960 from his Ragamala series, fetched the top hammer price of £330,000 (approximately US$539,000), although it was significantly lower than the pre-sale estimate.

At the Sotheby’s sale of Indian art held in London last week, an ink and pastel work ‘Day Dreaming’ by Jogen Chowdhury fetched a record £373,250 (Rs 2.9 crore). Another work by Francis Newton Souza ‘Orange Head’ also fetched three times the pre-sale estimate at the auction. The auction reports indicate that the market for modern artists appears to be going strong as compared to the contemporary artists. At both Christie’s and Sotheby’s sales, the number of works were fewer as compared to earlier auctions and estimates were also on the conservative side for many of the works. These auction reports show that there is a positive mood in the market and buyers are willing to spend on good art. It may be too early to predict if the trend will continue but for the moment the situation looks encouraging.

Next in line is the Indian auction house, Osian’s with its ‘Select Masterpieces of Indian Modern and Contemporary Art’ sale on June 30. The auction brings together a range of historically important works comprising 58 lots with a total estimate of Rs 22-28 crore. The results from this auction too will help in clarifying the picture further.

(Published in Financial Times)

Is the art market on a recovery path?

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

There are faint indications that interest in art is once again on the rise. With the stock market improving in the last few weeks, there is a perceptible change in the financial situation and buyers are now showing a renewed interest in art. As financial markets are invariably interlinked, it is not surprising that once again attention is shifting to art. Although, the change is marginal, yet it is a good sign compared to the past several months where conditions had worsened to the extent that footfalls and sales in galleries were close to negligible. Most auctions that took place in this interim phase too performed poorly.

At least now, there are enquiries about interesting shows and specific artists. Although, this is still very early to predict if the market is on the revival path, there is a strong possibility that things could improve. It is still early days and how much of this interest translates into financial tractions one will have to wait and watch.

It also appears that this time, buyers are likely to be more cautious in investing heavily in art. In the recent past, there were several instances where investors found it difficult to off load their artworks at the prices at which they had bought. Readers will remember that in the last couple of years, art prices were at an all time high and it was not easy for investors to exit during the recession that followed soon after. Investors who had held onto their works are in fact in a better shape, as with the improvement in the financial markets, art prices too will rise.

Investors who have gone through this ‘boom and bust’ period will now tread cautiously. According to most analysts, it is unlikely that art prices will witness a similar short term surge in the near future, but as a long investment art should still be a fairly safe option.

(Published in Financial Times on Jun 14, 2009)

Is the art market on a recovery path?

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

There are faint indications that interest in art is once again on the rise. With the stock market improving in the last few weeks, there is a perceptible change in the financial situation and buyers are now showing a renewed interest in art. As financial markets are invariably interlinked, it is not surprising that once again attention is shifting to art. Although, the change is marginal, yet it is a good sign compared to the past several months where conditions had worsened to the extent that footfalls and sales in galleries were close to negligible. Most auctions that took place in this interim phase too performed poorly.

At least now, there are enquiries about interesting shows and specific artists. Although, this is still very early to predict if the market is on the revival path, there is a strong possibility that things could improve. It is still early days and how much of this interest translates into financial tractions one will have to wait and watch.

It also appears that this time, buyers are likely to be more cautious in investing heavily in art. In the recent past, there were several instances where investors found it difficult to off load their artworks at the prices at which they had bought. Readers will remember that in the last couple of years, art prices were at an all time high and it was not easy for investors to exit during the recession that followed soon after. Investors who had held onto their works are in fact in a better shape, as with the improvement in the financial markets, art prices too will rise.

Investors who have gone through this ‘boom and bust’ period will now tread cautiously. According to most analysts, it is unlikely that art prices will witness a similar short term surge in the near future, but as a long investment art should still be a fairly safe option.

(Published in Financial Times on Jun 14, 2009)

Is the recession affecting art?

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

Now that the recession has become a hard reality and has hit the art market also significantly, one wonders if this will change the way we look at art. One reads of efforts where cadavers stripped of skin and coated with resin to preserve them are displayed as art, or when butterflies pinned on a canvas and dead animals preserved in formaldehyde solution are presented as art or when an unmade dirty bed is paraded as a work of art, one wonders what next? And, in fact, some very bizarre and sensational artworks have sold for millions of dollars at auctions. Art that generates controversy has become a surefire way to make a name.

What is amazing is that people have come up with these ideas and have managed to market it so well that they have persuaded others that it is art. And, what is more surprising is that people have not only been convinced about its credibility as a form of art, but have also spent good money on it. The fact remains that till just a few months ago practically anything and everything could be paraded as art and it would succeed in finding a gullible buyer.

Well, art happens to be one area where hype seems to play a major role. It is noticed that most people are drawn to the name of the artist rather than the artwork itself. It appears that the trend seems to be reversing, one finds that there are hardly any takers for artists such as Damien Hirst now. Prior to the recession the contemporary art market seemed to have gone completely haywire. Speculation, manipulation and hype were some of the causes that inflated the market substantially. At the moment, whether it is good judgment that is affecting the sale of such works, or whether it is a genuine lack of funds that is affecting the market - to know that one will have to wait and watch.

One hopes that in the current phase as most artists and buyers have become quality conscious there will be a change in trend for the better. However, as long as there are vested interests and a hyperactive media, hype will never go away, but surely with time buyers will become more evolved and will be able to separate art from the chaff.