S P E C I A L  F E A T U R E

india Art Fair
Art for mart’s sake
India Art Fair saw visitors in droves, new-age artists pushing boundaries and seasoned ones experimenting with new mediums. With works selling for a few lakhs to crores, it was a furious trade show.
By Nonika Singh
AT first glance it seems like an art overload, almost an art attack — 3,000 works by nearly 600 artists under one roof in the specially created space designed by the well-known designer Sumant Jayakrishnan and spread over 20,000 square metres at the NSIC exhibition grounds, New Delhi. Goodness, isn’t there a limit to what your eyes can see and senses soak?

Moving beyond the canvas
REAL chicken heads are carefully, almost rhythmically, lined across the length of the work “Glimpse of Thirst” by Shine Shivan, an artist from Kerala who challenges notions of masculinity. “The Cubic Meter of Infinity” by Michelangelo Pistoletto finds a place of prime importance. The work comprises glass and wood cube and its mirror image which has been deliberately broken with a hammer to emphasise the thesis of infinity.

india Art Fair
Art for mart’s sake
India Art Fair saw visitors in droves, new-age artists pushing boundaries and seasoned ones experimenting with new mediums. With works selling for a few lakhs to crores, it was a furious trade show.
By Nonika Singh

Replacement by Mahbubur Rahman — AFP A space specially created for India Art fair by designer Sumant Jayakrishnan. — AFP Memory Cache by Anoli Perera Delhi 7 by Paresh Maity Photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

AT first glance it seems like an art overload, almost an art attack — 3,000 works by nearly 600 artists under one roof in the specially created space designed by the well-known designer Sumant Jayakrishnan and spread over 20,000 square metres at the NSIC exhibition grounds, New Delhi. Goodness, isn’t there a limit to what your eyes can see and senses soak?

Indeed, the knee-jerk reaction to the fifth edition of India Art Fair, which concluded last Sunday, as with the previous ones, is to dismiss it as an art mela or, at best, a high-profile celeb event where artists and who’s who of the art fraternity come together.

But just as the VIP purview moves on and opens to the general public, the art fatigue fades away and soon is awash with the visible enthusiasm and energy of the viewers. So misgivings about the fair’s commercial razzmatazz translate into a grudging nod of approval. The organisers succeeded in holding the seamless event together without any major hiccups.

Security is in place, shuttle service ferries visitors from the main gate to the exhibition hall, and there is art all around, right from the entrance door to the exit. Too much of it perhaps, yet the discerning viewer, amid the melee of in-your-face works, is able to find his or her way to discover the aesthetics and wonderment of art.

Creative synergy

A lovely dancer stands in animated conversation with gifted painter Seema Kohli whose layered works have triggered her imagination enough for her to try and understand the artists’ creative process. In fact, it’s this dialogue that holds the key to the fair and makes it far more than a selling and buying proposition.

A group of school students stand in front of an exhibit of Scream Gallery, London, and observe minute details and pinpoint known and unknown images and metaphors within the mesmerising work of Chinese artist Ye Hongxing created out of decorative stickers.

In another part of the exhibition hall, as part of a special curated walk, socialites try to follow the art scholar as she lets them into why artists like Paresh Maity use experimental mediums like trunks to pour their creative energies. And this earnest couple move from one gallery exhibit to another trying to fathom the knowledge that the cut Burberry coat is actually Pakistani artist Ruby Chishti’s comment on brand values and materialism.

Of course, as hordes of viewers stand by larger-than-life creations, especially Replacement comprising an Ambassador car and heap of black Army boots by Bangladeshi artist Mahbibur Rahman, and get their pictures clicked, it’s doubtful they actually understand the concept behind his take that defies known definitions of aesthetics. Or for that matter, those who pass through a tunnel-like work of Jitish Kallat can fully comprehend his artistic assertion behind the fog screen projection titled Covering Letter.

The fair, despite the speakers’ forum (too academic), isn’t the best place to understand art. Except for solo booths (18 in all out of 103 exhibits) which provide a perspective on individual artists, it’s almost impossible for the uninitiated to delve beyond the obvious. Yet compliments fly thick and fast. Rekha Rodwittiya can’t help but smile. An admirer flatteringly lauds both her and her work and wants to take her picture. Suitably humbled, she says: “It’s this enthusiasm that I love about the art fair. Imagine, people are ready to pay Rs 300 to come and see art works. That in itself is invigorating.”

Sidharth, alumnus of the Government College of Art, Chandigarh, feels the advantages of the fair are manifold. The artist, who turns visual raconteur in “Kathakari”, curated by none other than well-known film producer Bobby Bedi, doesn’t really need the fair to sell his works. For him the biggest advantage is how the fair has filled the vacuum and provides international exposure to budding artists. He says: “It provides a barometer against which artists can evaluate their own worth.”

But the fair is far from being a flawless affair. International galleries not only complain of steep taxes and Indian rules, but also lobbying. Artists like Jean Paul Guiragossian from Turkey believe art brokers are doing the rounds and taking collectors only to booths from which they stand to gain by way of commission.

Not quite there

In this jamboree, one can’t help but wonder how can a collector, many of whom come in private jets, find works that interest them, let alone ones that they would like to purchase? Of course, some VIP galleries are right in the first hall and collectors get personal invites from gallery owners.

The fair is growing and many feel greater attention is now being paid to artists and the art than the mere business of selling.

For Neha Kirpal, the founding director of the fair, education and outreach are vital aspects of the fair. Yet even the co-owner of the fair, Sandy Angus, won’t give it a 10 on 10, saying it has a long way to go. As he lists out Basel as the best art fair in the world, he is candid enough to admit he doubts India Art Fair will ever get there. And one of the reasons is that the fair can’t spend as much money on collectors as the organisers of Basel fair do. He also fails to understand the economics behind works of Indian-origin artists selling at exorbitant rates in India Art Fair as they do at international platforms.

Yet none of these can take away heartening dimensions like the presence of Robert Storr, Dean, Yale University, School of Art, and Barbara London, Associate Curator Department of Media and Performance Art, Museum of Modern Art, New York. Storr seemed interested in photographs and those of young lenswoman Dayanita Singh in particular.

Indeed, it’s to the credibility of the fair that important galleries like Chemoudl Prescott, Volte Gallery, Nature Morte, Art Alive and the Delhi Art Gallery, the house of great masters, keep coming back. Even international ones like Galrie Krinzinger, Vienna, have been here three times in a row.

Add to it that 23 museum delegations were at the fair, many of whom made multiple purchases, and that at least 30 per cent of the buyers bought art for the first time. Surely, the credibility of the fair which Neha has so carefully built is not at stake.

Though Indian art prices may not be booming right now, galleries like Experimenter, Kolkata, whose works were in the reasonable price range of Rs 1 to Rs 15 lakh, may have done better than others. The strength of the Indian art market, however, can’t be undermined. Compared to other art markets it might be smaller, but as Jannis Markopoulos of Frida Fine Arts Gallery, Germany, puts it: “It is going to develop in the next five years.” And when that happens, India Art Fair can take a bow for being both the trigger and the catalyst.

Still Life by Subodh Gupta	A Tale to Tell by Farhad Hussain
Parikrima by Seema Kohli & Untitled by Laxma Goud	Aashi by Sidharth
	Fibre glass sculpture by Nantu Behari Das Photos: Manas Ranjan Bhui

Moving beyond the canvas

Glimpse of Thirst by Shine Shivan, using real chicken heads

REAL chicken heads are carefully, almost rhythmically, lined across the length of the work “Glimpse of Thirst” by Shine Shivan, an artist from Kerala who challenges notions of masculinity. “The Cubic Meter of Infinity” by Michelangelo Pistoletto finds a place of prime importance. The work comprises glass and wood cube and its mirror image which has been deliberately broken with a hammer to emphasise the thesis of infinity.

In another corner, fly swatters with “Insha Allah” written on them not only qualify as art, but also have takers as the work has been picked up by a French collector for Rs 2 lakh.

New language

While the layman clearly stands baffled, wracking his brains and decoding his senses to grasp the new language of art, artists are persistent in their endeavour to break new ground. More and more are moving away from the conventional definitions of what traditionalists understand as art. Boundaries are not only being broken, but also being stretched to ludicrous and bizarre extremes, redefining the lexicon of art with each passing moment.

You name it — nails, ‘ghungroos’, computer mouse, keys, velvet, bulbs, industrial material, glass — it’s all there as the artistic expression gets longer and longer and by no means exhaustive. No one knows where it will stop. Few years ago when celebrated artist Subodh Gupta came up with large sculptural installations made of kitchen utensils, he had raised many an eyebrow.

Strange mediums

Today as Anoli Perera an artist of Sri Lankan-origin based in Delhi uses bundles of cloth, cups and plates and adds moving images to it, viewers (buyers too) seem more than interested. It’s only when people stop by the work of Shine Shivan who has mastered the technique of taxidermy to create unusual works using animal skin the question pops up — what is art? More importantly, can anyone live with this work? While the artist informs us that he has sold a similar work for Rs 2 lakh to a leading interior designer of the country who has put it up in his own abode, a majority of new-age artists are busy experimenting and don’t care about the market.

When Smriti Dixit creates a seemingly fragile work, a trap out of industrial material that is used in price tags to impress upon the dynamics of materialism, she understands the reservations of buyers. Even though her last work was picked up by Mumbai International Airport for a steep Rs 25 lakh, she insists price is the last thing on her mind.

The compulsion to try out new mediums stems simply from the desire to challenge the artist within them. Working in the same medium, chorus artists, gets monotonous. Attention value syndrome, the desire to shock, could also be a part of this new-found language.

Shivani Aggarwal, who has created two long needles in fibre glass with part-knit woollen, is upfront. “All said and done, though I have worked equally hard on my paintings, it’s these works that draw attention and make people stop by,” she says. That is not to say the unusual mediums are easy to work in or come cheap. The kind of effort that must have gone in Nantu Behari Das’s nail sculptures speaks for itself.

It’s not just young artists who want to experiment, even seasoned ones like Manu Parekh and Gulam Mohamed Sheikh use innovative methods. When Sheikh paints Kawads or Manu Parekh uses utensils and agricultural implements, the result is spectacular, but equally aesthetic.

With the times

But not all work is meant to be possessed. “Certain expressions simply provoke the viewer,” says Sunaina Anand, owner of Art Alive Gallery.

Shobha Bhatia of Gallery Ganesha agrees: “Aesthetics is subjective, more so in the art world.” While her gallery might be exhibiting more conventional mediums, she can relate to the new vocabulary and finds no reason to reject it.

Bhavana Kakar, a young galleriest, has gone out of her way to promote artists like Siddhartha Karanwal who use unconventional mediums like reflectors and cloth.

Not surprising, celebrated artist Ranbir Kaleka developed video projections on canvas long time ago and Sheba Chhachhi is creating moving images in light boxes. It’s the presence of technology in all spheres of life that determines the art of today. US-based video artist Surabhi Saraf says: “The world we live in is the world we are projecting.” Using intangible sound as part of her creations, she lends a lyrical quality to the mundane act of folding clothes.

In the new world where idea and concept are supreme, mediums are irrelevant. They merely facilitate the creative concept and provoke thought, as in the case of Atul Dodiya, who has begun using good old shop shutters to express an artist’s lament over issues like the recent gangrape incident.

Whether the trends are fuelled by the new pope of art that is corporate and chugged along by the economics of bazaar, an artist’s desire to push the envelope is not going to diminish. Call it confusion of the times or heartfelt response to the world these artists have inherited, art has entered a zone where lines between bafflement, awe, surprise and shock are going to blur. The mystique of art was never simplistic and in the modern world, its complexity is going to be raised to the power of infinity.