Private,Limited

Take the case of Niten Mehta,34,and Rajiv Gambhir,55,who are putting their collection on display at Lalit hotel in an exhibition titled “Golden Opportunity” that is on till September 2. “I love art and enjoy looking at it. But over time one’s taste changes. So I’ve put some of my pieces in the market,” says Mehta who runs an ad firm YaWeDo International,Barclays’ creative partner. The exhibition at Lalit offers 34 reasonably priced artworks by artists like Nikhileshwar Barua,Kamar Alam and Heeral Trivedi.

Mehta first spotted the commercial potential of art at a private exhibition of his collection in 2006 in the India Habitat Centre (IHC). “The sales were humdrum but I found the concept interesting,” says Mehta. His show “Collectors Corner” at Lodhi restaurant turned out to be a big hit,as he sold 18 works out of the 29 on display. “Our prices are 10 per cent lower than galleries,” adds Mehta who determines the current price of the work with the artist,before the show.

Meanwhile,34-year-old Neetu Ambwani,who also runs an online gallery,Ishat art,has sold four works from her private collection. In an exhibition at IHC recently,a small paperwork by Paresh Maity,an acrylic on canvas by Thota Vaikuntam and a work by Arup Das was sold. “I began by collecting small paperwork as it was easy to store,” says Ambwani who has been holding exhibitions since 2004. Her Hauz Khas living room has works of Manu Parekh,Arpana Caur and Sunil Das. Ambwani also offers 10 per cent discount.

Though there is enough hype around art,there is not enough intellectual engagement with it,says businessman Ajay Gupta who is a veritable bank of information when it comes to art. His collection has spilled over from his Hauz Khas residence to his Green Park office and even his factory in Noida. Gupta,58,who has been collecting works for 12 years,has held exhibitions strictly for viewing. “There is a strong need for art literacy which can be addressed through exhibitions,” shares Gupta as he shows us three figurative works from Arpana Caur’s Yoga series on the second floor of his residence. The exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi in 2005 was a huge hit while another at Hyatt Regency in 2007 had work of younger artists like Manoj Kachangal,Meenakshi Kasliwal and Ajay Kumar Sami. Up next,Gupta is thinking of holding a solo of Kachangal’s work. “I have enough works to do so,” smiles Gupta.