Playing to the Gallery

We spotted photographs by Delhi-based artist Manu Parekh,a medium never seen before in an exhibition. Surprised by the response,Parekh says,“Most of the people did not know I click photographs”; artist Manisha Jha,also based in Delhi,who brought with her goddess-like figures with the intricacies of Madhubani art,reiterates the same sentiment. “Each artist had a wall dedicated to his/her work,” she says.

However,when it comes to artist-customer interaction,there wasn’t much going on. “People came asking about my work. But I don’t have any idea about sales. The sales representatives here are taking care of that. I just come every morning to see if there’s a red dot (to represent sold lots) under my work,” says

Israeli artist Ayelet Albenda. Parekh looks at it differently. “As a painter,I cannot go and sell my paintings. I cannot waste so much time. I believe in the gallery system and I operate through them”.

An artist is expected to give 50 per cent of their sales to UAF. In addition,each artist has to present a minimum of three works,of which one goes as a donation-cum-commission to the organisers. “Fairs like India Art Fair require galleries to pay a fixed sum for the booths,irrespective of the sales they make. That’s a guaranteed income. Here,Annurag Sharma (the director of UAF) has taken a financial risk by putting his money on the artist,” says Rahman. He admits that the fair inevitably becomes the middleman as they take charge of aspects such as mounting works and shipping. “That’s not defeating the purpose. It’s like a giant gallery,the model is different from other fairs in just technical terms,” says Rahman.

Sharma sounds a little discouraged as he talks about the footfall this year. “It’s 45,000-50,000.This time,the buyers are selective but enthusiastic,” he says. There are people still booking artwork,with an initial payment of five to 10 per cent of the normal sum. Sharma informs that sales will continue until the first week of November on UAF’s online portal.