Light And Shade

Hammer up, hammer down
Perhaps the biggest downer for 2008 was when Subodh Gupta8217;s work did not find any takers at the Sotheby8217;s auction in Hong Kong in October. Gupta had previously netted 480,000 Rs 2 crore in a contemporary sale hosted by Christie8217;s and his paintings were fetching almost Rs 7 crore at other auctions. However, many art pundits said Gupta was not a marker of the market, since his works were priced exceptionally high. Gupta went on to say he was 8220;glad of the correction8230; people had become too greedy8221;. Gallery owners say they have seen a serious deflation in the market of buyers who hoped to cash in quickly on their purchases and are now looking forward to serious and meaningful collectors. Indeed.

A li8217;l global buzz
While Indian artists took part in exhibitions across the globe, back home the shows were bereft of foreign names. 2008 changed that a little. Delhi galleries looked global even if it was for replicas of Salvador Dali sculptures. Gaurav Assomull brought them along with small Picasso lithographs and some lesser-known European artists for the inaugural exhibition of his company Marigold Fine Art. Religare Arts Initiative had a solo of American artist James McGarrell at Arts.i gallery, while Khoj organised the Capital8217;s first public art festival that included installations from Argentina and the US, and even Slovenia and Canada.