Art sales are not like sales of consumer goods, in general. The collectors neither buy in bulk nor do they follow fashions like decorators. The turnover is generally for decoration. And all galleries, to some extent, cater to this market by keeping in touch with interior decorators, architects, banks and hotels. Such art is generally not expected to appreciate with time and will in all probability become bric-a-brac or junk over the years.

Only a small percentage of such art will become investment. And the canny collector must be present with a sharp eye when hotels, offices and galleries offload stocks to restock.

Not all of it is rubbish. More than that, as art sales are generally slow, galleries such as the Espace, run by Renu Modi in Delhi, plan discount sales of even investible art to attract new buyers into becoming future collectors.

Seeing the results, the recent sales of works at Espace by 40 artists, one can say the move is successful. The method itself teaches one a lot about sales procedure. First, not all the works are discounted, so it is not seen as offloading stocks entirely. In this exhibition, for example, the works of Nalini Malani, Babu Xavier, Sanat Kar, Akbar Padamsee and Anwar, were not discounted. But then, they did not sell either, with the exception of Nalini Malani. Collectors preferred to buy the discounted works.

The works that sold on a 15 per cent discount were those of senior artists such as Laxman Goud, Sakti Burman, Krishna Reddy, Suhas Roy, Badrinarayan, Amit Ambalal and DLN Reddy. Among the younger artists whose work sold, we have Anju Dodiya, Satish Chauhan, Manish Pushkale, Karunamoy Sur, Fawad Tamkanat, Michael, Owais Husain and Somenath Maity. In many of these sales, one can see the mind of the art investor at work, especially where sales of works of Mickey Patel and Jangarh Singh are concerned, while bulk sales (such as those of Chauhan) suggest a decorative buyer interest.

The gallery Espace then has succeeded in attracting both decorators and investors. This is largely because the exhibition had included both discounted and undiscounted works, works of senior and junior artists, well-known and lesser-known artists on equal discounts, with a bottom limit of Rs 2,000 and a top limit of Rs 25,000. So, the art was both affordable and worth investing in.

And investors did not let the gallery down. Moreover, of the works still left there were many that were well worth buying. There were small mixed media works of Kishore Shinde, who with Nataraj Sharma, is one of the few who handles our industrial landscape without making it appear trite.

These works, priced at only Rs 8,500 are a good buy, as is a large wood-cut by the Japanese-trained artist Sukhvinder Singh and a painting of bridegroom by Hyderabad-based Sajid Bin Amar, both selling at the same price.

Among the senior artists, Sakti Burman?s prints at Rs 5,950 each, a drawing by Paramjit Singh at Rs 1,700 and Krishna Reddy?s etchings at Rs 21,250 each should interest collectors, though, in my view, none of these are bargains.

Other artists who catch the eye and whose works are worth looking out for are Rajneesh Kaur, Barun Choudhury and Vikas Dogra.

Also, the drawings of Akbar Padamsee at Rs 25,000, Badri Narayan at Rs 12,750 and Anju Dodiya at Rs 8,500 should be of interest to collectors.

From the point of view of investment though, the works of Jangarh Singh Shyam, Mickey Patel, Kishore Shinde, Nataraj Sharma, Sukhvinder Singh, Rajneesh Kaur, Krishna Reddy, and Akbar Padamsee appear to be the best of what is there.

Despite the temporary ups and downs of the present stage in history, collectors would do well to look for works that are perceptive and rooted in our folk tradition, irreverent and original, and reflect the radical and independent stance of the national movement.

If we are to globalise our products and creativity to our advantage, then we must be prepared not to compromise with the fads and foibles of the market but be prepared to sell our goods that are tested and tried at prices that are competitive. That is what Renu Modi has done with her latest sale. That is why it has been successful.