India Art Fair returns — to new home,new faces

The global art mart is still battling the recession blues but at the India Art Fair,the counting of the red dots has begun.

The global art mart is still battling the recession blues but at the India Art Fair,the counting of the red dots has begun. In its fourth edition,even before the fair opened to the public,gallerists were addressing enquiries and registering bookings,asserting that the fair is both an opportunity to view Indian and international art and a platform for brisk business. The turnout is overwhelming, said Neha Kirpal,founding director of India Art Fair. Artwork worth between Rs 50 crore and Rs 70 crore will be displayed at the exhibition,which has shifted its address from Pragati Maidan to the NSIC Exhibition ground in Okhla.

The five-day fair,opened to select invitees on Wednesday,features over 1,000 works from 20 countries a huge leap from the inaugural year in 2008 when the then India Art Summit had less than 50 galleries. This year,the total number is 98,out of which 43 are based overseas.

The talking points include works of British contemporary artists Damien Hirst and Marc Quinn at White Cube; Lisson Gallerys solo of renowned performance artist Marina Abramovic; recent work of Bharti Kher and Subodh Gupta showcased by Hauser & Wirth; Pablo Picasso,Marc Chagall and Salvador Dalis canvases at the Frida Fine Arts Gallery stall and Damien Hirsts prints exhibited by Other Criteria.

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New collectors from India have approached us last year,and the rising interest led to our participation in the art fair, said Cathy Lanigan-OKeeffe,sales assistant at Other Criteria.

It is refreshing to see Indian art alongside international artists creating a global dialogue in art, said Maithili Parekh,director of Sothebys India.

If photographer Dayanita Singh was seen pushing a trolley stacked with her books,also in attendance were collectors Lekha and Anupam Poddar and artists Velu Viswanadhan,Anjolie Ela Menon,Madhvi,Rashid Rana,Subodh Gupta and Manu Parekh among others. Showing in the stalls are the contemporaries as well as the masters from Shilpa Gupta,L N Tallur,Reena Saini Kallat and Rashid Rana to F N Souza,S H Raza and M F Husain.

There were security threats when we showed M F Husain last year,but we are hoping all goes well this time. The sales should also be better. The market is looking up, said Ashish Anand,director of Delhi Art Gallery.

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