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ARTS COLUMN: INDIAN ART SALES

The South Asian art scene appears to be thriving despite slow economy

By: Parimal M. Rohit
June 15, 2010

 

By: Simran Mody, India Correspondent

The founder and chairman of OSIAN’s Connoisseurs of Art made a bold prediction of the Indian art market, saying late last week his group’s published report anticipates a strengthening of sales of South Asian-based artwork by the end of 2010 due to a consolidation within the industry.

 

Speaking to the press via e-mail, OSIAN’s Connoisseurs of Art founder and chairman Neville Tuli said he expects an increase in demand for Indian art, with his organization publicly publishing a detailed report about the niche market in its quarterly dossier, Art Market India Report (AMIR).

 

“In the coming months, buyers will witness a resurgence in demand for the best of art works by the leading masters in India,” stated to the press from Mumbai. “However, the volumes and liquidity regarding the rest of the market is still relatively low.”

 

The published report analyzed the Indian art auction market during the first quarter of 2010 and found leading art auctioneer company Christie’s witnessed a market share increase to 38.7 percent, up from 27.2 percent for the same three-month period in 2009.
Similarly, the analysis reported that Sotheby’s first quarter market share for 2010 was 23.7 percent, up from 22.9 percent for the same period in 2009. In a distant third, Saffronart’s first quarter market share reportedly increased to 19.8 percent for 2010, up from about 17.5 percent in 2009.
All the increased market share statistics were specifically for each company’s holdings of Indian art, according to the OSIAN report.
That same report found that total auction sales during the first half of 2010 more than doubled the revenue figures of 2009, with Rs 1.05 billion ($21 million) worth of Indian art sold via auction so far this year, compared to about $450 million ($9 million) in 2009.
In addition, the report and journal comprehensively analyzed the Indian art market as a whole, providing financial analysis and focusing on international reception of world renowned Indian artists such as M.F. Husain, Akbar Padamsee, Raja Ravi Varma and F.N. Souza. It also broke down specific industry trends, art financing and conservation approaches. Also, art connoisseurs were provided a forum to share their respective thoughts.
A section of the magazine lists gallery ratings and analyses the trends, spotlights on infrastructure, art banking perspective, conservation and provides writing space to connoisseurs.
“Many fundamental changes are expected within the infrastructure of the Indian art market in the coming months as the responsibility grows about becoming a major player and market at the global level,” Tuli explained in his statements to the press. “China has become the world’s third largest market. India is not yet among the Top 20 at present.”
According to the report, the current value of the Indian art market is more than Rs. 20 billion ($400 million)
The informative report is one of the first of its kind, as so few organization take the time analyze the Indian art market – especially considering its previously tumultuous state and overall lack of organization, leadership and vision, many have stated.
However, Tuli believes OSIAN may be of significant value in assisting the Indian art market becoming a major player in the world, what with the recent reports of industry consolidation and increased auction sales that accounted for a majority of the data in the AMIR analysis.
“(The published report is” an attempt to bridge the gap between two worlds – business and aesthetics – that pose a major civilization building problem today, not exclusive to India,” Tuli stated. “The journal has been in the pipeline for over two years, but passing through the first major crisis in the Indian art market has been a major trigger. (The) crisis made one realize the infancy of the art market and its lack of regular access to authentic information and how easily half-baked information and hearsay passes off as knowledge and facts.”
Accordingly, Tuli says the group hopes to use its published reports and analyses to bring a level of respect, legitimacy and accurate reporting to the Indian art market.
“No long term development of India’s art and culture is possible without clear transparent facts on the market transactions, understanding institutions in an objective manner through rating programs and providing clear access to the public of all important players within an integrated infrastructure-building vision,” he told the press. “We plan to focus on new areas of art and cultural journalism which today are not given serious attention by the media.”

 

osians_100615_350wThe founder and chairman of OSIAN’s Connoisseurs of Art made a bold prediction of the Indian art market, saying late last week that his group’s published report anticipates a strengthening of sales of South Asian-based artwork by the end of 2010 due to a consolidation among industry leaders such as Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Saffronart.

 

Speaking to the press via e-mail, OSIAN’s Connoisseurs of Art founder and chairman Neville Tuli said he expects an increase in demand for Indian art, with his organization publicly publishing a detailed report about the niche market in its quarterly dossier, Art Market India Report (AMIR).

 

“In the coming months, buyers will witness a resurgence in demand for the best of art works by the leading masters in India,” he stated to the press from Mumbai. “However, the volumes and liquidity regarding the rest of the market is still relatively low.”

The published report analyzed the Indian art auction market during the first quarter of 2010 and found that leading art auctioneer company Christie’s witnessed a market share increase to 38.7 percent, up from 27.2 percent for the same three-month period in 2009.

 

Similarly, the analysis reported that Sotheby’s first quarter market share for 2010 was 23.7 percent, up from 22.9 percent for the same period in 2009. In a distant third, Saffronart’s first quarter market share reportedly increased to 19.8 percent for 2010, up from about 17.5 percent in 2009.

 

All the increased market share statistics were specifically for each company’s holdings of Indian art, according to the OSIAN report.

 

That same report found that total auction sales during the first half of 2010 more than doubled the revenue figures of 2009, with Rs 1.05 billion ($21 million) worth of Indian art sold via auction so far this year, compared to about Rs 450 million ($9 million) in 2009.

 

In addition, the report and journal comprehensively analyzed the Indian art market as a whole, providing financial analysis and focusing on international reception of world renowned Indian artists such as M.F. Husain, Akbar Padamsee, Raja Ravi Varma and F.N. Souza. It also broke down specific industry trends, art financing and conservation approaches. Also, art connoisseurs were provided a forum to share their respective thoughts.

 

A section of the report lists gallery ratings and analyzes the trends, spotlights on infrastructure, art banking perspective, conservation, and provides writing space to connoisseurs.

 

“Many fundamental changes are expected within the infrastructure of the Indian art market in the coming months as the responsibility grows about becoming a major player and market at the global level,” Tuli explained in his statements to the press. “China has become the world’s third largest market. India is not yet among the Top 20 at present.”

 

According to the report, the current value of the Indian art market is more than Rs. 20 billion ($400 million).

 

The informative report is one of the first of its kind, as so few organizations take the time analyze the Indian art market, especially considering its previously tumultuous state and overall lack of organization, leadership and vision, many have stated.

However, Tuli believes OSIAN may be of significant value in assisting the Indian art market in becoming a major player in the world, what with the recent reports of industry consolidation and increased auction sales that accounted for a majority of the data in the AMIR analysis.

 

“(The published report is) an attempt to bridge the gap between two worlds — business and aesthetics — that pose a major civilization building problem today, not exclusive to India,” Tuli stated. “The journal has been in the pipeline for over two years, but passing through the first major crisis in the Indian art market has been a major trigger. (The) crisis made one realize the infancy of the art market and its lack of regular access to authentic information and how easily half-baked information and hearsay passes off as knowledge and facts.”

osians1_100615_350w

Accordingly, Tuli says the group hopes to use its published reports and analyses to bring a level of respect, legitimacy and accurate reporting to the Indian art market.

 

“No long-term development of India’s art and culture is possible without clear transparent facts on the market transactions, understanding institutions in an objective manner through rating programs, and providing clear access to the public of all important players within an integrated infrastructure-building vision,” he told the press. “We plan to focus on new areas of art and cultural journalism which today are not given serious attention by the media.”