Open play

It is admirable when an artist today can actually stick with the gallery that nurtured him or her when they were just starting out.

Gallery loyalty is changing as artists swap galleries and display works across the globe

It is admirable when an artist today can actually stick with the gallery that nurtured him or her when they were just starting out. Someone like TV Santosh, who does not even give his work out for group shows and only displays with Guild Art Gallery when there8217;s much demand for his work by other art dealers,8221; says Farah Siddique, who recently launched her own gallery, Farah Siddique Fine Art Centre, with a selection of budding artists. 8220;I hope that my artists remain loyal to me,8221; she adds with a laugh.

Recently one has seen big names like Atul Dodiya and Jitish Kallat, who were nurtured by Chemould Art Gallery, showing in other big spaces like Bodhi Art Gallery and other galleries in Seoul or Berlin.

8220;The loyalty to partners on projects is a two-way unwritten code and is central to the ecosystem of the art world at large. Given the bandwidth of my practice with simultaneous projects in Seoul, Sydney, Berlin and New York, it8217;s necessary that galleries representing me work in a spirit of symbiosis,8221; says Kallat.

With the globalisation of art and its widening circumference, the politics of exhibiting is going through a change. Kallat and Dodiya are of the opinion that galleries in India are adapting to being seen on par with their Western counterparts-the current prices that Indian art fetches makes it possible. 8220;Hence my gallery in Mumbai, Chemould Prescott Road, can interact with my Berlin Gallery Arndt Partner or my Korean-Chinese gallery Arario for instance,8221; says Kallat.

8220;Actually the idea of showcasing in many galleries is a privilege that a few 8216;golden8217; artists enjoy. Over time though, the hierarchy of things will change. Right now artists are at the top of the pyramid when it comes to taking decisions but I foresee toppling since the clients are limited,8221; says Chemould8217;s Shireen Gandhy who takes the switching galleries in her stride as an inevitability of market forces.

An artist like Hema Upadhyay is clear that she would not showcase her solo in Mumbai with galleries other than Chemould, instead she collaborates only with galleries in Europe. Riyas Komu now follows a similar mantra though he is known to have built relationships with Sakshi, Guild and Bodhi Art Gallery.

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8220;It all depends on your personal equation on how you represent yourself to the galleries. My relationships with galleries are rather emotional-I still work with Sakshi since I started my career with them. They supported me for large-scale installations,8221; says Komu who is showing with Sakshi in September 2009.

8220;Bodhi gave me a space to showcase when I was still adapting to the new environs of Sakshi, which had moved from their ideal Lower Parel gallery. Now I have made it a point to have my other solo with Bodhi Berlin and not have it in Mumbai,8221; says the prolific Komu who also showcases photographic works at the Guild.

That way everyone is kept happy.