Who sold what at India Art Fair

Featuring its highest number of exhibitors yet, at 109, the 15th edition of India Art Fair, which concluded in Delhi on February 4, also reportedly saw a record number of VIP attendees and robust sales to boast.

“Galleries have been making sales at all price points to both established collectors and a new millennial generation who will be instrumental in shaping the art market of the future… As the art world continues to expand beyond its traditional centres and looks to the global south, we remain laser-focused on our mission to amplify the voices of the most exciting artists from the region and to support the expansion of South Asian creativity,” noted Jaya Asokan, Fair Director, India Art Fair, in a statement.

Sharing the sales details, a report released by the IAF noted that Nature Morte sold 85 per cent of its stand at the VIP preview, including a sculpture by Subodh Gupta for €250,000. Galleria Continua sold several Ai Wei Wei works in the range of €300,000, a Nari Ward in the range of US$400,000, and several Eva Jospin works in the range of €55,000 and €85,000. Salomé Zelic, Associate Director, Galleria Continua, which has galleries in Paris, Beijing and Dubai, among others, stated: “From institutions to private collectors, the response has been terrific. We can confirm acquisitions of work by Eva Jospin both by private collectors and institutions in India. There were also acquisitions of works by Nikhil Chopra, Ai Weiwei, Shilpa Gupta, Nari Ward, Osvaldo González, Anish Kapoor and José Yaque.”

Featuring 15 new commissions by 15 artists, celebrating 15 years of Experimenter and IAF — including works by Ayesha Sultana, Biraaj Dodiya, Prabhakar Pachpute, Sahil Naik and Sohrab Hura — Priyanka Raja, co-Founder, Experimenter, also noted that that the booth was “well-received”. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)

Participating in the fair for the first time, as part of its extension into collectible design, global art-design house Carpenters Workshop Gallery also made sales totalling excess of €1,500,000, including Nacho Carbonell’s Coffee Table Tree (2021) for €350,000. Speaking to The Indian Express, Henri Charreau of Carpenters Workshop Gallery noted: “We have been working in India for some time and given that we have collectible design, which is also art, this was ideal… We have had good sales, including Fragile Future (light sculpture), Nacho Carbonell work and some other pieces.”

At Vadehra Art Gallery, Tyeb Mehta’s 1999 canvas titled Falling Bird reportedly “sold to an important institutional collection for a price in line with auction results which are currently upwards of US$1.8 million”. The gallery also sold a number of Atul Dodiya cabinets for US$80,000 and a work by Rameshwar Broota for US$200,000. Speaking to The Indian Express before the fair began, Roshini Vadehra, director of Vadehra Art Gallery, stated: “We want to have a wide representation of most of our artists and also something for everyone with regard to the audience that comes to the fair, which includes seasoned collectors, important curators from abroad and also new collectors and young buyers who are starting to buy art.” The booth also included works of A Ramachandran, Anita Dube, photographer Gauri Gill and architect Balkrishna Doshi.

Salomé Zelic, Associate Director, Galleria Continua, which has galleries in Paris, Beijing and Dubai, among others, stated: “From institutions to private collectors, the response has been terrific.” (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)

Featuring 15 new commissions by 15 artists, celebrating 15 years of Experimenter and IAF — including works by Ayesha Sultana, Biraaj Dodiya, Prabhakar Pachpute, Sahil Naik and Sohrab Hura — Priyanka Raja, co-Founder, Experimenter, also noted that that the booth was “well-received”. She said, “We had a fantastic preview day as we always do but this year it felt even more energised and a much wider audience attended… From a sales perspective we are very happy, we sold over 80% of the booth on the first day of the fair, many of these to new institutions and collectors, some of whom we met at the fair for the first time. We have sold to both international and domestic institutions.”

Ashish Anand, CEO and MD, DAG, said: “The familiar collectors are all here but we’re also seeing growing interest from younger viewers. It is heartening to note that Indian art now has new generations of patronage and custodianship. Of course, it is also a platform for curators, scholars, writers, gallerists, art-lovers, collectors and so many others who make up the art firmament at a time when Indian art is at an inflexion point and becoming a global force.”

At the DAG booth, the curated showcase, “India Past and Present” explored the evolution of Indian art through the 18th to 21st centuries through the works of modernists such as MF Husain, FN Souza and Krishen Khanna alongside Western artists who travelled to India, such as Thomas Daniell and Marius Bauer, and pre-modern artists. The highlights include Sewak Ram’s Muharram, R Regunatha Naidu’s Kaliya Daman and a MF Husian self-portrait.

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