?This is the energy we were looking for.? Arpana Caur perhaps puts it succinctly but accurately. Rarely in Indian art has one event done more to bring the smiles back for the gallerists and artists. For the major part of this decade, the valuation of Indian art had gone up, up and up. Then suddenly, since the beginning of this year, terms like downturn and corrections were most used and almost every buyer waited for the prices to go further down.
But now, headlines such as ?Indian art market gets a reality check? or ?Has the modern Indian art market found its bottom?? or even ?Is it time to get into the Indian art market?? look to be in the past. Closer examination in the coming weeks will reveal whether the smiles are momentary or not, but what is definite is that the India Art Summit, 2009 has given the much-needed fillip to the sector. The summit has drawn over 40,000 visitors in little over three days, marking a four times increase over the first edition. 250 works, worth Rs 26 crore were sold. Most participants had no expectations and mouthed the ?we are here to show our art? or ?we are here for the long term? but have been thrilled by the immediate sales. Given that the Indian art market is estimated to be about Rs 500 crore, this is no insignificant statistic.
The bonhomie from the galleries was unprecedented, perhaps realising that interrelations need not be just about poaching artists from each other.
?There has been great camaraderie,? says Bhavna Kakar of Latitude 28, who sold Rajesh Ram?s Ghar Ki Murgi Dal Barabar to a Seoul-based gallery for over Rs 2 lakh. Galleries are happy about the buzz the fair has generated. Sharan Apparao of Apparao Galleries says she has decided to participate in next month?s Art Expo in Mumbai after seeing the response here.
The presence of the 18 international galleries created the right buzz, and even though no top works from any international star made it to this edition of the fair, even ?lesser? works by Pablo Picasso or even Anish Kapoor created a lot of interest. Thomas Erben, owner of the New York-based Thomas Erben Gallery, says, ?India is not a strong art market but it can build one. International artists can sell here, but there will have to be a resonance for people here, they have to relate to the buyer, and that?s just like any other market in the world.?
The sombre mood of the market seems to have lifted, but whether the introspection and bloodletting of the past few months will actually lead to better art infrastructure in the country remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Indian Art Summit can pat its back for being in the right place at the right time. And doing the right thing!