Red Dot Rush

If you try hard you can still spot the veterans whose 8216;treasures8217; are too private to share, but these days it8217;s easier to see the ones who love the limelight that comes with the tag of 8216;art patron8217;. The flash of the camera as they pose with the artist, the hushed reverence and guided tour of the show that a dealer bestows upon a 8216;special8217; client, is quite a trip. Something that few admit to.

Dealers are quick to celebrate the arrival of new clients in the market but the required homework and contemplation required to graduate to serious buying quickly get swept under the carpet in the excitement of a 8216;sales pitch8217;.

At the recent wine-and-cheese opening of Nikhil Chaganlal8217;s show at the upmarket Artist8217;s Centre in Mumbai, socialite Chhaya Momaya strolls in with father-in-law Vinod Momaya in tow. 8216;8216;I8217;m trying to persuade him to buy Midnight Siesta,8217;8217; she says a little petulantly. Chaganlal8217;s depiction of a nude woman basking in the moonlight seems an impulsive buy since most are picking up the landscapes and interiors. However it8217;s on Momaya8217;s list of must-haves.

8216;8216;What was the name of that artist who had done a long queue of women that I really like, papa?8217;8217; she says, roping the seasoned collector in. 8216;8216;You mean Suresh Aware?8217;8217; replies a media shy Vinod, who says he mostly collects artists like Laxman Shreshtha and Paresh Maiety. He quickly adds, wagging a warning finger, 8216;8216;I never speak about my collection.8217;8217; Chhaya candidly admits she has no time 8216;8216;to appreciate the finer points or become a serious collector.8217;8217;

Mumbai gallery owner and art dealer Dadiba Pundole is often approached by the red dot brigade for his opinion. 8216;8216;The danger is in providing names to a new collector. They should come with their own. On the other hand, there are many who8217;ve been brainwashed by dealers peddling bad art. Not just decorative but horrendous stuff. Those who just look at art as an investment tend to fall into this trap,8217;8217; he declares.

After all, the serious collector spends at least a year visiting exhibitions, reading, tracking auctions and meeting artists, before actually untying the purse strings.

If the rich and famous love to be seen at cultural dos, it8217;s also true that the opening night just got more exciting with the rise in celeb quotient. While Jaya Bachchan doesn8217;t claim to collect Gogi Saroj Pal, or Hema Malini doesn8217;t profess to know scratch about Ved Nayyar8217;s work, Pooja Bhatt not to be confused with Pooja Bedi who only attends openings but isn8217;t a collector yet is one celeb who actually collects. Not just that, she has loads of opinions too.

8216;8216;Souza! One of the artists I love to collect. He8217;s like an overgrown, mad child and all his work possesses that energy,8217;8217; she says flippantly. But just in case you thought she was another of those Bombay Progressive collector types, she quickly clarifies, 8216;8216;I mostly collect younger artists. Like Satish Gupta, Chintan Upadhyay8212;loved his Stamp Series8212;and Nikhil Chaganlal,8217;8217; she adds.

It8217;s true that buying at openings and auctions has its flashy side. But some hard-nosed corporates quietly trawl the galleries after hours. Like businessman Amarjeet Vidyarthi, who has been collecting for 15 years.

While earlier he would collect 8216;8216;pretty art8217;8217;, over the years he8217;s 8216;8216;outgrown a few predictable names8217;8217; and become more discerning. 8216;8216;The word investment has become important to me as a collector and I am excited that a painting I8217;d bought years ago has doubled or tripled in value.8217;8217; Although he8217;s yet to sell any of these 8216;assets8217;8212;possessing them has its own energy. He reasons, 8216;8216;With auction houses putting a price on art, I8217;ve become a little brand conscious.8217;8217;

Lavesh Jagasia, who owns a garment outlet in Bandra, has a collection of over 100 paintings. 8216;8216;Almost everyone starts buying art to go with their furniture. But then it8217;s addictive and gets more serious,8217;8217; says Jagasia who started putting 8216;8216;an art budget8217;8217; aside a couple of years ago. 8216;8216;My friends thought I was whacko.8217;8217;

Souzas, Razas, Shakti Burmans, Ram Kumars and Laxma Gauds form the crux of his collection. Now that all these paintings have doubled in worth, does he feel vindicated? 8216;8216;It is good to hear that I8217;ve made a good investment,8217;8217; he says. 8216;8216;But one has to collect with a bit of heart8212;not just to make money!8217;8217; Spoken like a true patron.