Demonetisation will not affect the auction market, say Saffronart owners

Vandana Karla speaks to co-founder Dinesh Vazirani about the changing dynamics of the market and the affect of government regulations on the art auctioning industry.

4 min readNov 14, 2016 02:03 AM IST

Dinesh Vazirani

When Mumbai couple Dinesh and Minal Vazirani established the auction house Saffronart in 2000, the market was inching towards the much-talked-about boom. Now, 16 years hence, and post the historic rise, fall and plateau of the Indian art market, the couple can claim to be a close witness to the various altercations. Their business, though, has expanded manifold with several auctions through the year of art and collectibles. Less than a year after Saffronart opened its 10,000 sq ft space in Mumbai, the auction house has a new 3,000 sq ft space in Delhi as well.

Last year it was Mumbai. Now, you have opened another space in Delhi, which is bigger than your earlier outlet at The Oberoi. Are you considering entering the primary market?

We wanted to create spaces where we can hold exhibitions and previews for our auctions, where people can come and refer to our library, research and learn about art. It’s more like a meeting place. We’ll be conducting auctions too. Since we started, we have worked with partner galleries to present our shows, so we don’t intend to enter the primary market.

Since you began in 2000 have you seen a change in the profile of the art collectors in India?

There has been a lot more participation from tier-two cities. Professionals from the age of 30-40 are also starting their collection. Some are buying smaller works of the modernists while some are focusing on the contemporaries. Of course, the top-end is ruled by people who are really successful, and have that kind of an income. Almost half our sales come from international buyers, people from New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, London among others; 80 per cent of them are Indians. A lot of international museums are looking at collectibles and folk and tribal art seriously.

In 2012, you had an auction with the works of international masters such as Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso. Would you be doing more of those?

We will do a little bit. But right now there is so much as far as Indian art is concerned. The online auction that we are having at the end of November has Sri Lankan, Nepalese and South Asian art. When we did the impressionist auction four years ago, I don’t think India was ready for it. Most people have not yet built their collection of Indian art, so they are looking more towards that than Western art.

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When your business was down, FN Souza encouraged you to continue.

We knew him quiet well. Unfortunately, he passed away a year and a half after we met him. Souza had told us that we should keep going, the thing that we were doing was pioneering. He said do what you want, as long as you are credible, and people trust you, go ahead — that was very encouraging.

Do you think the recent the demonetisation will impact the art market in India?

It’ll not affect the auction market because everything is done through cheque. Maybe, immediately, the sentiment will affect the market but that will be short-term. I don’t think it will affect the top end where there is no issue of paying by cash. The galleries may be impacted, depending on the kind of transaction they do. I don’t think it’ll be long term.

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Do you think the government needs to take specific steps to promote the art market? There have been several demands from the art industry to change the existing rules with regard to import duties and antiquities act.

I think to promote art in the country, like China did, you need a drastic overhaul. For instance, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), I don’t know what slab is it going to fall into. If we want to preserve our culture, and keep it in India, there has to be a drastic change in indirect taxes. Otherwise, over time it will all go overseas. Look at what happened with the antiquities, most of them went overseas over the last five-six decades because there were such onerous laws with regard to antiquities. But now that the processes are easier, we already see the market recovering in India.

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

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