Lead Essay

“In a country where art has been a part of life since earliest days of civilisation, professionally run art galleries came into existence post-independence.”

‘I travel to places. I live
the years. This is a book about keeping rendezvous… each account begins with an image which conjures up something of where the meeting took place. Some would not be easy to find on a map, others would
be. All of them, of course, have been visited by other travelers. I hope readers too will find themselves saying: I’ve been here… Keeping a Rendezvous, John Berger [1]

Urban living has made the city-dweller crave for fantasies, for something so magical that it will astonish our senses and sensibilities, jolt us into the realization that we aren’t inured to circumstances around us but can still be alive to aesthetic emotions. Life in the metro has dulled our sensitivities to a point where apathy is the answer to almost every experience unless it is a deeply personal one.

It was early December 1999, when we showed Manjit’s miniatures and drawings in the idyllic settings of Santiniketan’s Rabindra Bhavan. The idea was to present his works to students/artists/art lovers who would find it difficult to visit Delhi or Bombay to see an exhibition otherwise. In a collaborative effort,
I and Manjit along with students and some veteran artists- K G Subramanyan, Somnath Hore, Dinkar Kowshik, Jogen Chowdhury and others, had set up the show not only for Kala Bhavan but also for Patha Bhavan.

I was reminded of the Santiniketan show a decade later, when Arun Vadehra spoke of an era when ‘it was such a romantic world, full of idealism…’ referring to the passionate involvement of artists Husain, Tyeb, Ram Kumar with the cause of art and artists. Shows happened as soon as the paint had dried on the canvas sometimes, such was the excitement to share works with friends/viewers, since collectors were few and
far between. As university students in early ‘80s, I remember Academy of Fine Arts as the one venue where we could catch great exhibitions in the city as well as theatre, while in Bombay, it was Jehangir Art Gallery where one spent hours looking at works of people we had occasion to view but infrequently in Calcutta. Then, of course, Gallerie 88 opened in Calcutta, Vadehra in Delhi, Chemould in Bombay, Dhoomimal and Kumar in Delhi and Pundole in Mumbai… and in no time at all, opening cool art spaces became the trend. While a number of these galleries played vital roles in establishing contemporary Indian art globally, taking the level of showcasing art seriously to international standards, the rest continued as commercial business houses. The democratization meant all genres of art had now an opportunity to be promoted, leaving the choice to the collector. Equally important, art spaces offered the city-bound aesthete, a chance to see art, follow trends as a casual spectator or otherwise.

In a country where art has been a part of life since earliest days of civilisation, professionally run art galleries came into existence post-independence. In these 60 years, India has some of the best art spaces today, run by teams of experts and professional managers who are responsible for putting the nation on the world map. In my dialogues with gallerists, I was happy to discover that I was, in a sense, revisiting spaces I’d known intimately down the years. Queries specific to each gallery’s disposition was addressed to them in order to garner appropriate responses. The systematic submissions vis-à-vis market, artist choices, representational pattern, collectors have summoned
a validated ground for mapping the gallery scene in the
Indian art scenario. Leading gallerists of the country
who were approached are
Geetha Mehra (Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai), Renu Modi
(Gallery Espace), Sangeeta Chopra (Art Musings, Mumbai), Shalini Sawhney
(The Guild, Mumbai), Mortimer Chatterjee (Chatterjee
& Lal, Mumbai), Sree Goswami (Project 88, Mumbai), Shireen Gandhy (Chemould Prescott, Mumbai), Sunitha
Kumar Emmart (GALLERYSKE, Bengaluru),
Peter Nagy (Nature Morte,
New Delhi; Bose Pacia,
Kolkata), Arun Vadehra
(Vadehra Art Gallery, New
Delhi; Grosvenor Vadehra, London), Sunaina Anand
(Art Alive, New Delhi),
Mamta Singhania (Anant
Art Gallery, New Delhi),
Rakhi Sarkar (CIMA,
Kolkata) and Prateek and
Priyanka Raja (Experimenter, Kolkata). The responses
rather weave a narrative
into a territory dearly familiar. The memory enlivened
through the read will bring
back recollections of many
a past exhibition one had
attended. I hope readers too
will find themselves saying:
I’ve been here.

[1] Berger, John, Keeping a Rendezvous, Vintage (first published 1991), Paperback, 256 pages

—

Vadehra Art Gallery, 1988, New Delhi

Arun Vadehra

“In my opinion, the art market doesn’t quite qualify as a real market because it deals with specifics that is unique to itself. Let me explain, individual prices on two paintings may differ even if it is the work of the same artist, even if is of the same period and has the same size, because the work
is different, qualitatively so…”

The Vadehra art Gallery located in the heart of the national capital with two branches in New Delhi and one in London, has promoted contemporary Indian art through exhibitions, retrospectives, publications and educational programmes. Acting as doyen of Indian art from more than 20 years, Arun Vadehra has established his space as the locus through which both modern and contemporary artists have reached the public.

IP: what in your opinion propelled the dramatic upsurge in prices and subsequent crash? The glory and the downfall in the art market that we witnessed recently?

AV: In my opinion, the art market doesn’t quite qualify as a real market because
it deals with specifics that are unique to itself. Let me explain, individual prices on two paintings may differ even if it is the work of the same artist, even if is of the same period and has the same size, because the work is different, qualitatively so…

The Vadehra art Gallery opened in 1988. The opening reception had all the important artists of the day in attendance and the show was spectacular and so was the art we showed and the response we got. Yet despite the appreciation not a single canvas sold. There was no market for art in those days! Eventually we decided to keep one work each of the artist’s (this despite the artist’s protests) and from there began our gallery’s private collection with works of Tyeb Mehta, M F Husain, Ram Kumar, Raza, Akbar Padamsee, Krishen Khanna, stalwarts we have been associated with since those days.

IP: Will it be the correct to assume then, that with art, it is the emotional quotient that plays the crucial role between the artist and the gallery/ the artist and the collector?

AV: Absolutely! In retrospect, I feel it was such a romantic world, there was so much idealism. Artists met and exchanged ideas about life, art, philosophy often
in the gallery over cups of tea. I recall how Husain Saab rode a three-wheeler to our space then and Ram Kumar walked half way before taking a bus, to save a few paise. When we offered Ram Kumar a solo
in 1991, he was worried and asked us if we knew that in the last show he had with Alkazi, not a single canvas had sold! A work by Ram Kumar at that point of time was Rs. 15,000 and we gallantly ‘faked’ sales
so that the artist wouldn’t ever know that it wasn’t a collector who had bought the work, it was us! And it was all fine till Tyeb Mehta fetched millions at the auction and suddenly, the romance went out of the window, equations changed and it was all about money.

Admittedly, behind Tyeb’s meteoric rise, Vadehra Art had a decisive role to play. Since the 90s, as a consultant with Air India, I visited London very frequently
and each time, I would pay a visit to Christie’s. My purpose was to get them interested in Indian art. I had witnessed the works of Jeff Koons, Rothko’s fetch astronomical sums in auctions. I was persuaded that Indian art too had a future if it could be promoted seriously. That first year when Christie’s had their auction, in 95’, they made 1/2 million dollars, in 1996, the auction did dismally and Christie’s decided not to promote Indian art as a consequence but I pursued them till they agreed to hold another auction in 1998 and lo-and-behold, in 2000, Tyeb fetched a staggering amount and we never looked back. The work, Celebration belonged to the Times of India collection and the estimated price was 40 lakh. It went for $300,000. The fact that we had released Tyeb’s book just before that helped, and also Tyeb’s presence.

IP: How would you assess the present?

AV: Well, T V Santhosh fetched $ 250,000 today! [25th May 2010] Subodh, Atul, T V Santhosh are all doing very well. Subodh has been fetching top prices throughout the recession.

IP: Atul Dodiya’s show
I know was a great commercial success, as was Ramachandra’s earlier solo, but is this a sign of things looking up? There have been dubious dealing, surely as an industry there has to be confidence-building exercises now to reassure the investors?

AV: Yes, that is true but things can now move only one way, upwards! Earlier we had reached a $600 million peak that has now come marginally down to $350-400 million; it is a matter of time before things pick up. Indian economy/ the GDP is showing healthy signs of recovery and the prices of art should soon reflect the growing confidence the nation is experiencing. The downturn was largely sentiment-driven, post the Lehman Brothers debacle. People lost faith in assets/stocks/gold/art. Yet even then, Husain, Raza, Tyeb, Manjit’s prices never toppled, unlike the crisis in the West.

IP: After the Bodhi debacle, Forbes expose warns of a similar fate awaiting the house of Osian’s, will this affect the current buoyancy?

AV: Bodhi and Osian’s can
happen anywhere like Lehman Brothers. Collectors will be extra cautious, for
sure, not to speculate but
their overall confidence will
not be dented.

—

Nature Morte, 2002, New Delhi – Berlin & Bose Pacia, New York – Kolkata

Peter Nagy

“The relationship between an artist and a gallerist is rather intimate and fraught with pitfalls and psychological conundrums. One has to tread lightly with artists and treat each one as an individual.”

Nature Morte has very steadily established itself as one of the most successful in the country with collectors choosing to depend
on its advice even when it came to matters like buying art works. Peter Nagy was daring enough in promoting his coterie of artists, ignoring for most part what other art business houses saw as the safe/bankable artists.

IP: Despite the dichotomies interfacing your image/ profile as a cutting-edge
art space in sync with the international art scenario, you have also been able to make commercial sense. How does this work?

PN: Any commercial gallery (or non-profit venture, for that matter) must balance idealism with practicality. Of course, I (like most gallerists) would like to run my programming as if it was a museum, planning shows based on artistic merit alone. But that, of course, is not realistic and one has to sell works in order to survive and keep the doors open. So one has to look for works that, ideally, strike the right balance between intelligence, art historical awareness, progressive aesthetics and popular appeal (or at least popular in the sense that art collectors will find them appealing, which is not so hard to do because the best collector’s judge works of art along the same guidelines as I do). If one has money to start with, he or she can buy works by established artists to bring into the gallery, for a quick fix of both legitimacy and recognition, and some of this glory will rub off on to younger artists that are also exhibited. I was not so fortunate, so I had to start with just my wits and build a gallery in New Delhi based on my own discernment and the support of promising artists that I was able to work with. Patience and perseverance are then the keys to success. I had the advantage of having come from New york, with a good deal of experience in the art scene there and in Europe, so I could see a larger range of possibilities for the artists I was showing in New Delhi and was not limited in scope to thinking only about a local Indian market to find buyers for their works.

IP: Would you agree that
a gallery must nurture its relationship with the artist, building a long term association whether he/she is successful or not- Subodh Gupta, Dayanita Singh, Bharti Kher, Thukral & Tagra, Mithu Sen, Jagannath Panda, to name but a few of your success stories? Alongside, some others who are not quite as successful, but your gallery artists nonetheless?

PN: The relationship between an artist and a gallerist is rather intimate and fraught with pitfalls and psychological conundrums. One has to tread lightly with artists and treat each one as an individual. I try not to lay down blanket rules that have to apply to them all, as they are all very different personalities, make very different types of works (with very different potentialities), and have very different career trajectories. I do think that a great deal of my success as a gallerist has to do with the fact that during my years in New York (1982-1992) I functioned
as both a gallerist and an exhibiting artist (in other people’s galleries). This gave me the unique experience of learning about the commercial art world from both sides of the fence. Also, the role of the gallerist encompasses the role of editor, art director and marketing agent. Art making can be
a rather lonely endeavor in the studio and the artists require intelligent feedback and direction, even
in maturity. It is important to be able to articulate to
an artist why some works may be successful and why others are not, how will be the best way to present the works to the public in the gallery, and how best to represent their works through residual materials such as catalogs and our website. The question of why one artist will be more successful than another is determined by a wide range of factors. Certainly luck and being in the right place at the right time do have something to do with it. Also, it is important to take advantage of opportunities when they are first presented to you, as they may not come around again. And, of course, some artists are hell-bent on success while others have
a more laid-back attitude. Any gallery, by its very nature, will work with a range of artists that are at very different levels in their careers and the market.

—

Sakshi Gallery, 1985, Mumbai – Taipei

Geetha Mehra

“The relationship both personal and financial between the artist and the gallery enables each to negotiate situations. If that is weak, then the artist will seize opportunities elsewhere.”

Sakshi Gallery in Mumbai is celebrating its 25th year, showing some of the best artists down the decades, with some like Surendran Nair, Jehangir Sabawala choosing to show exclusively with them. When galleries like Bodhi had contracted some of the top artists to show only with them, creating hype about the availability and prices, Sakshi stood firm.

IP: How would you respond to the current optimism about the art market? Is it wishful thinking, speculation or reality?

GM: The markets are recovering just a little. But then we have (as other old galleries) seen the cycle at least twice.

IP: In retrospect, was it difficult to deal with artists at that period when Bodhi was giving all of them such a cushy deals?

GM: Most of the galleries do have their own list of artists who show with them exclusively. Of course this is not an exclusive contract but an unwritten agreement. The relationship both personal and financial between the artist and the gallery enables each to negotiate situations. If that is weak, then the artist will seize opportunities elsewhere.

IP: In times of recession, you started a new space in Taipei, tell us what its aims and objectives are?

GM: As for our gallery in Taipei, I have wanted to have a presence in East Asia, as I feel there is a lot of potential in this part of the world. Since the collectors are well aware of art from across the globe, our program there includes a lot of artists from Asia as well as the West. My vision is to see Indian collectors begin to enjoy and buy works from across the worlds without been fettered to only India. That will be a truly remarkable step.

—

Gallery Chemould, 1963, Mumbai

Shireen Gandhy

“I only believe in long term relationships that have a future. Sometimes you might be in
a relationship that is going nowhere. How fair is it to the artist if the gallery is beginning to loose interest and how fair is it to the gallery if the artist is flirting with other galleries?”

Gallery Chemould Prescott Road was launched as
a branch of Gallery Chemould, one of India’s oldest (est. 1963), leading contemporary art galleries, based in Mumbai. Founded by Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy, the gallery has exhibited and represented the works of major artists, emerging from the waves of India’s modernist
and contemporary art movements, in their solo shows. Shireen Gandhy, Chemould’s director since 1988, through a dialogue builds a chronicle of the journey of her expanding space housed in a hundred year old British colonial building with high ceilings and a spectacular view
of Mumbai’s heritage architecture.

IP: Elaborate a little about Chemould then and now, artists/initiative, attitude/audience.

SG: You are right, it is very much a case of Chemould ‘then and now’. I think
the shift in space created a major shift in many ways the gallery functioned. The old space was a case of feeling constrained and constricted for
many reasons. Our little Chemould had served its term, had been the historic little (w)hole in the wall as I like to call it. Wholesome while it lasted, but loosing steam in the last few
years that we were there.
It became imperative to look for a new space as I was getting the feeling my head was beginning to dip deeper and deeper into the water. An example here was that I was approached by Subodh to have his show in Bombay as far back as 2003. Of course my little hole was too small for his already growing (in scale) works. I was looking for
a space adequate enough
to house this, but wasn’t coming to any successful conclusions. I let the matter lie, thinking it will come when it comes, and Subodh will have to wait until such time!

IP: You don’t think that Subodh had the patience for this, did you?

SG: Before I knew it, Sakshi Gallery had his show, and this was decided way back in 2004! (The show finally happened in 2005 in Bombay). I think this was the first jolt. Not that Subodh had decided to show elsewhere, but the possibility that people are not going to wait for you if you are not ready. Artists were thinking big, scales and work output increased and if we, the older galleries did not upscale, there were others waiting in the wings. It was only in 2005 that I started actively looking for a space and two years from then that I actually found one. The interim period between the search and actually moving in, was an important time. The time around me in the art world had changed, expectations had been raised, artists had demands and expectations that had shifted. If they worked round the clock to produce work that might have stretched their means, they expected the same from you.

Audience expectations
were beginning to change, collectors were increasing and the demands were growing. While there was
a lot that got sold in the name of art, several artists produced work of fantastic quality that collectors began to wait for with baited breath. It was a giddy time, and the only thing I felt I could do was to be able to grow with the time without getting swamped by the madness around. I was aware that I had a potential, the eye and the interest to grow, but what I was also aware was that my capacity was limited beyond which I could not push myself. I was also in the advantageous position of having a legacy and a history to back me. I decided to keep a focus and be aware of who I wanted to work with (not over expanding in that area). And I also knew, expanding did not entail creating branches around the country or beyond. If that had to happen, that should have happened a long time before. Now was already too late.

IP: What has it been like
to redefine a space so dramatically that its earlier image is completely erased from collective memory?

SG: Do you think its earlier image has been erased out of memory? That would mean all that my parents did and how we operated
in times where there were almost no galleries (or clients) to speak of! I hope that, that collective memory will never be wiped out.

IP: Do you believe in long-term relationships with artists? Chemould shows both Mithu Sen and Nilima Sheikh amongst a range of others. What are the criteria behind the shows you put up?

SG: I only believe in long
term relationships that have
a future. Sometimes you
might be in a relationship
that is going nowhere. How
fair is it to the artist if the
gallery is beginning to loose
interest and how fair is it
to the gallery if the artist is
flirting with other galleries?
In respect the stable of
artists, I think there is an
interesting dynamic that
its one eye that picks the
artists, so hopefully there is
a sense of homogeneity in
the programme. Each artist
comes with his own point of view, and that difference
in each of their works then
adds up to making a holistic
story, which I hope the gallery is able to project in one way or another. And thus the disturbing, quite hardened, yet wondrous work of Mithu Sen and a compositionally beautiful work of Nilima Sheikh that speaks of the sadness and stillness of a lost land can indeed co-exist within a single gallery programme!

IP: Has the overall crisis post-recession shown signs of improving? What is your take on auctions as a whole?

SG: The crisis does seem to be improving. There
are new inquiries for
work everyday. Art Fair sales have begun to pick
up again. Payments too generally tend to be slow, but steadily getting there. I am breathing, able to pay my bills so I think times are getting better!

IP: How has the Bodhi debacle affected the psyche of the collectors?

SG: The Bodhi debacle has passed now, and if you ask me that was short-lived enough to be erased out
of public memory. Bodhi created a space where changes were necessary and also created rumbles. No one is indispensable. Tomorrow if Chemould shuts shop, the art world is not going to fold up!

IP: Where do you see Chemould ten years hence?

SG: Today a majority of the artists who work with the gallery are between young and mid-career. My joy in this world of art is the relationships I share with each of them. I have built on these relationships and share an openness, which allows me to voice discontent, allows me to share in their joys and allows me to speak about the uncertainties in their work. I hope to use this as my strength to be able to sustain each of their careers along with other parallel events in their lives) and be able to sustain and hold everything that we have built over the last many years. I do not see myself spreading myself thin
going into different regions as I do believe galleries
are very personal and the relationships are really sustained as a one to one. Today with the internet, the art fair circuit, one is able
to revolve around the globe with a single gallery in the mother country. While today I have a programme that is concentrated on only Indian contemporary art,
I would like to be able to diversify within the gamut of what fits into the gallery in bringing in artists from other parts of the world. Artists that interest not only collectors but who interest and are able to coexist with my own existing stable of artists is something I would be happy to dive into.

—

Chatterjee & Lal, 2003, Mumbai

Mortimer Chatterjee and Tara Lal

“Our programming is almost exclusively in the context of solo shows. This is something we feel strongly about only because it seems to us that solo exhibition is the best environment for an artist to push through new ideas.”

Chatterjee & Lal, another vibrating space in Mumbai formed in 2003 by husband and wife team Mortimer Chatterjee and Tara Lal is a site of exciting projects. Over the years the gallery has matured in the selection of its artists, concentrating on experimental genres.

IP: The Indian art market recovery, is it real or a speculation? How do you see your space vis-a-vis the Chemould/Sakshi?

MC: The Indian market has seen new and interesting young collectors come into the market in the last one year. At the same time some amount of speculation continues. Speculation is an inherent part of any emerging market and it would be naive to believe the Indian scene will be free of it in the short to medium term. We would be wary about making comparisons between ourselves and other galleries simply because our decision to show artists is quite without reference to the programming of other galleries. There is, at present, a good deal of collaboration between galleries and this is something we hope will continue.

IP: Do you work exclusively with the artists?

MC: Yes, we work exclusively with many artists including: Nikhil Chopra, Minam Apang, Kabir Mohanty, Rashid Rana, Chitra Ganesh, Shumona Goel, Rajesh Pullarwar, Sadanand Shirke, Ashish Avikunthak, Kaushik Mukhopadhyay, Piyali Ghosh.

IP: How would you set a calendar of annual shows, what would be your criteria in selecting works? There
is a dearth of art spaces in India that dedicates itself
to showing any one genre, would you say Chatterjee & Lal differs in this?

MC: Our programming
is almost exclusively in
the context of solo shows. This is something we feel strongly about only because it seems to us that a solo exhibition is the best environment for an artist to push through new ideas. We are not a space that shows only one genre and we revel in the heterogeneous nature of the art scene in India, which allows us to explore multiple themes and practices without losing sight of the inherent quality each show must possess.

—

The Guild art Gallery, 1997, Mumbai – New York

Shalini Sawhney

“Given the dearth
of institutions in India, galleries certainly have a wider responsibility to society for creating those platforms that institutions have not been able to.”

The Guild Art Gallery, a second-generation gallery run by Shalini and Renuka Sawhney in Mumbai too has its second space in New York. Sawhney articulates that The Guild in New York, has a slightly different mandate than The Guild in Mumbai. Indeed the space in New York works to expand The Guild’s narrative to include Middle Eastern and Iranian artists, along side South Asian. This in some ways is reflective of NYC as well as of the changing nature and role of art.

IP: How does The Guild NYC operate? Would you say it has a younger, edgier identity?

SS: To say simply that The Guild NYC has a younger edgier identity is a bit of a simplification. We have always worked with thinking artists, whose works reflect their narratives and ideas and on going concerns, we continue to do so in New York as well.

IP: The Guild has been a brand promoting cutting-edge, post-modern art long before it became a trend. What has been your objective as a gallerist?

SS: As a gallery we have always looked to the outer edges of narratives, and
the artists that look beyond a subset of an existing system. In that we have been fortunate to have worked with distinguished artists such as Sudhir Patwardhan, Reji K.P., Riyas Komu, Santhosh T.V., K.G. Subramanyan, N.N. Rimzon, A. Ramachandran, Gieve Patel, Sathyanand Mohan, Iranna G.R., Pooja Iranna. As the artists have continued to evolve so has the gallery and so has the objective of the gallery, though our core values remain the same.

IP: Do you feel a gallery has responsibilities to society; to creating a serious platform for the arts?

SS: Given the dearth of institutions in India, galleries certainly have a wider responsibility to society for creating those platforms that institutions have not been able to. Independently galleries also perform that function, shorn of all the realities of the market, we add more than just economic value to art.

—

Project 88, 2006, Mumbai

Sree Goswami

“When Gallerie 88 started it had a view to be relevant to its times. Project 88 too reflects the
times we live in. Project 88 has inherited the good will, reputation, and strong business ethics from Gallerie 88.”

Project 88, an inheritance from Gallerie Project 88 is another second-generation exhibiting space headed by Sree Goswami in Mumbai.

IP: Yours is a second-generation association with the Indian art scene, what are the affinities and differences between Gallerie 88 and Project 88?

SG: I think there are a lot of affinities. When Gallerie 88 started it had a view
to be relevant to its times. Project 88 too reflects the times we live in. Project 88 has inherited the goodwill, reputation, and strong business ethics from Gallerie 88. The main difference is the space. Ours is not a traditional white cube and so our space lends itself to more experimental and new media works. Also being located in Mumbai influences our program. The city, its artist and collector communities are more open to the kind of work we are doing. I am not sure if Project 88 was located in Kolkata, we would have shown what we do. Finally, if there are differences, that is because of the personal aesthetics
of the two gallerists. This is only natural. Good gallerists have their own strong individual tastes. I have mine, and my mother has hers. We don’t interfere in each other’s choices.

—

GALLERYSKE, 2003, Bangalore

Sunitha Kumar

“As far as we are concerned, uncertainty is inherent in the art business because the creative process is not something that is without risks. But our vision has been to allow the artist the freedom to explore their interests without compromise to the dictates of the market.”

A specific number of artists that fall within the realm
of its conceived agenda
of cut-edge art forms, GALLERYSKE has been one of the first galleries to have dared to go against the grain and encourage cutting-edge art. It is revered as one of the most dynamic commercial spaces in Bengaluru.

IP: What has been your success mantra?

SKE: If I had to attribute success to anything in the gallery it has to be our representation of Krishanraj Chonat, Sheela Gowda, Sakshi Gupta, Abhishek Hazra, Zakkir Hussain, Bharti Kher, Susanta Mandal, Srinivasa Prasad, Sreshta Premnath, Sudarshan Shetty, Anup Mathew Thomas, Navin Thomas, Avinash Veeraraghavan. The gallery’s identity or success lies in the artists we work with and the programme we run.

IP: What is your take on the recession? How did it affect you?

SKE: Our gallery seeks to maintain a modus operandi in which pricing is consistent and an increase in pricing needs to be the result of factors like quality of work, bio-data of the artist, a long term vision of the artist, and the careful nurturing of patronage. This vision operates without regard to the temporary swings in the market including during the boom that preceded the current period. The recession did create a momentary freeze factor in some of our clients but that continues to thaw.

IP: I remember seeing your stall in Frieze Art Fair, the year before last, at a time when the crisis was peaking, you seemed rather cool and the Sudarshan Shetty works in your stall & installations in the park looked great. Nothing quite indicated that we were in the midst of a global crisis!!

SKE: The excitement at being the first ever Indian gallery selected to be at Frieze Art Fair and having ‘History of Loss’ by Sudarshan Shetty chosen for the curated section overrode everything else.

IP: Do you feel we are out of the woods now, or is all hype?

SKE: As far as we are concerned, uncertainty is inherent in the art business because the creative process is not something that is without risks. But our vision has been to allow the artist the freedom to explore their interests without compromise to the dictates of the market. Irrespective of boom or bust we (GALLERYSKE) have been in the woods every now and then for the type of work we show.

—

The Centre for International Modern Art, 1993, Kolkata

Rakhi Sarkar

“Art is closely linked with money and a flight of capital results automatically in flight of talent, of talented artists. I do believe Bengal is still producing talented artists but there is an exodus to Delhi or Bombay where the career prospects are brighter.”

The Centre of International Modern art (CIMA) opened in 1993 under the auspices of
ABP Ltd., (Ananda Bazaar Patrika) a leading Indian media group known for its moorings in culture. It has established itself as a vital art force based in Kolkata providing a comprehensive data base and evaluation and publication facilities.

IP: What are the reasons you would attribute to Kolkata’s present crisis as an art centre, why this fall from grace?

RS: Art is closely linked with money and a flight of capital results automatically in flight of talent, of talented artists. I do believe Bengal is still producing talented artists but there
is an exodus to Delhi or Bombay where the career prospects are brighter. Lack of commercial prospects
is the sole reason leading
to artists moving away to greener pastures, otherwise, think about it, it is still Bengali artists or artists educated at Kala Bhavan who are doing so brilliantly in the contemporary art scene.

IP: What has CIMA’s
role been in shaping
the aesthetics of the present generation? Does the gallery have artists dedicated to working with CIMA?

RS: Before we thought of starting CIMA, I made several trips to museums
of repute, liaisoned with them, took tips about the viability of opening such
a centre that was not a mere profit-seeking gallery, before we took the plunge. I had gathered by this time enough know how and was aware of the latest art management related issues to ensure that we were capable of running our centre professionally, keeping our dealings at all times transparent and clean. Pace Wildenstein was our chief advisor and helped us right from inception with formatting and programming. We were sure that it was not commerce alone that we were looking at and so included a number of non-commercial activities, gradually building up a reputation as a serious art centre over the years. Art & Heritage supports Studio 21 hosting annual exhibitions, dialogues, interfaces in collaboration with artists/ Jadavpur University/ Satyajit Ray Film Institute. We also
have affordable art shows making art works available at very reasonable prices to encourage people to collect. This is CIMA’s commitment to the city’s emerging young artists to whom it provides a nurturing ground.

—

Gallery Espace, 1989, New Delhi

Renu Modi

“As regards to the collectors in India who
I think are far and few, the culture of collecting is sadly lacking in our country. Most of the buyers have looked at art from the investment point of view.”

Primarily built around
the vision of its Director, Renu Modi, Gallery Espace opened in 1989 with a grand exhibition
of autobiographical works of M.F. Husain. Since then the endeavour has been on representing artists who concern themselves in dealing with issues reflecting contemporary society’s concerns; documenting today’s reality. In its journey as a vast entrepreneurial enterprise, Espace has also had the pleasure of collaborating with leading institutions in India as well as promoting conventional as well as cut-edge art.

IP: Magic realism and beyond, Espace is clearly redefining its role as an art space, seeming to emerge
as a front-runner with a spate of new exciting shows. Elaborate.

RM: Gallery Espace over the past 2 decades has constantly strived to look into the future instead of only dwelling in the present. In face of globalization and concurrent economic excesses, we at Espace have reinvented ourselves both with regard to the physical space and as well as diverse genres promoted. From one floor, the gallery expanded to a 3-tier structure. The space has especially been designed keeping provision of appropriate display of sculptures and new media art in mind.

‘Video Wednesdays’, the one year long programme, curated and conceived by Johny ML has been a path-breaking project in the Indian art scene enabling us build an extensive collection of video art. The motto is to render a contemporary, experimental programme for the gallery and exciting solos by Karl Antao, Vishal Dar are in the pipeline. More so, another first of its kind project will be undertaken by Manjunath Kamath in the gallery where the artist converts the gallery space into a studio for a week, inviting the public to the gallery space. This is an extension of our vision for contemporary art to blend into the fluid space of the city and be part of everyday life. Being part of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Committee set up, it is my earnest effort to get art projects commissioned for public spaces. Subodh Gupta is the first one to be commissioned for the same.

IP: You were the first gallery in India to promote much ignored realms like sculpture, photography
and printmaking i.e. Ravi Agarwal, Zarina Hashmi, Tanuja Rane, Anupam Sud, Madan Lal and more recently Mrinalini Mukherjee. Do you think there has been any change in the attitude of collectors towards these mediums over the years or is still preference to big names and not the intrinsic artistic value of the work?

RM: I am very proud to
say that the large medium based shows, a few done at a national level, have been instrumental in moving these ignored mediums as regards to both awareness and sales although print making is still not looked
at as a highly collectible medium. As regards to the collectors in India who I think are far and few, the culture of collecting is sadly lacking in our country. Most of the buyers have looked
at art from the investment point of view. Having said that, collectors presently have started collecting more of different mediums. The younger lot is looking at experimental mediums too. Institutional buying is practically nil in the country. Auction lists do matter to buyers and they mostly go for these artists. I strongly believe that at the end of the day it will be the intrinsic value of the art itself not fads that last.

—

Experimenter, 2009, Kolkata

Prateek and Priyanka Raja

“The idea was never to wean away the Bengali babu/bibi away from the abovementioned obsession. The Bikash/ Jogen/ Ganesh have had an exceptionally successful career out of Bengal.”

Doing much to bust up
the conventional pattern
of viewership in Kolkata, the husband-wife duo of Prateek and Priyanka Raja of Experimenter in Kolkata stand strong to Ina Puri’s round of questions enquiring around the geographical potency of his space.

IP: Don’t you feel geographically challenged sometimes, given the near comatose condition the city is in where its art scenario is concerned?

PR: Geography of a place is becoming more and more irrelevant in today’s world. Most of our shows are viewed by collectors online; we provide video as well as image documentation of every work we put up at the gallery. What is challenging is the mindset of the art community in the city. And that is an exciting angle
for us. It gives us immense pleasure to stir things up in the minds of the viewers, confront him with work and experiences that he has not seen or felt before.

IP: What is your take on
art viewership? Have you been successful in weaning the Bengali babu-bibi away from his-her Bikash/ Jogen/ Ganesh obsession?

PR: The idea was never
to wean away the Bengali babu/bibi away from the above-mentioned obsession. The Bikash/ Jogen/ Ganesh have had an exceptionally successful career out of Bengal. They are extremely important in the development of art practice in the region and will continue to have their own place in the minds of the viewer. What we are doing is introducing a new genre altogether. And what better city than Kolkata to introduce something new, especially work that fuels debate and discussion

IP: How many genuine takers are there for video art in the city?

PR: There is lot of interesting work happening in India on video, photographs, installation, light and sound. The artist just has to find a binder. Of course one important aspect is, it has to be seen by the right people. That’s why I also believe that the success of an artist does not just depend on his work but also on the kind of person he/she is.

—

Art Alive Gallery, 2000, New Delhi

Sunaina Anand

“Contemporary Indian art is a richly layered field which is constantly evolving, and these books are a great way of understanding and documenting those developments.”

Contribution to the present art scenario through
a sustained interest in art publications is a factor that drives the vision of the Art Alive Gallery in New Delhi.

IP: Unlike others who choose to be discerning with their exclusive artist/ collectors only previews, your shows are regarded
as extravaganzas. They are well announced, attended and written about, especially by the popular media, this even in lean times of recession. Is it a deliberate decision?

SA: We take special interest in announcing our shows, because we hope that the media attention will help in garnering an interest amongst the larger audience as well. Through the immense reach that the popular media has, we attempt to make the world of high art accessible to a greater section of the public. This helps greatly in bridging the gap between the art world (consisting of the artists, critics and collectors) and the layman. Contribution to the present art scenario through
a sustained interest in art publications is a factor that drives the vision of the Art Alive Gallery in New Delhi.

IP: Unlike others who choose to be discerning with their exclusive artist/ collectors only previews, your shows are regarded
as extravaganzas. They are well announced, attended and written about, especially by the popular media, this even in lean times of recession. Is it a deliberate decision?

SA: We take special interest in announcing our shows, because we hope that the media attention will help in garnering an interest amongst the larger audience as well. Through the immense reach that the popular media has, we attempt to make the world of high art accessible to a greater section of the public. This helps greatly in bridging the gap between the art world (consisting of the artists, critics and collectors) and the layman.

IP: Amongst the other galleries, Art Alive is amongst the few publishing books. I see your art books in almost every major bookstore in the country and in some instances, abroad. What prompted you to undertake such an expensive project? Do these books sell, given their prices? Who are the takers? What purpose does it serve?

SA: As I mentioned previously, it is no longer enough to simply put up shows, one has to be able to generate a critical discussion around it as well. I have often felt that there is more to the artists and their works, which isn’t always explained entirely by the shows. This is where a book comes in handy, and for those who wish to go deeper into an artist and his oeuvre, the accompanying books fulfill that lacuna. Contemporary Indian art is a richly layered field, which is constantly evolving, and these books are a great way of understanding and documenting those developments. Yes the books sell very well and we have received very favorable responses to them. Their takers come from all quarters, starting from the private collectors, to museums both in India as well as abroad, artists and curators.

—

1 x 1 Art Gallery, 1996, Dubai

Malini Gulrajani

“In my opinion, the art market doesn’t quite qualify as a real market because it deals with specifics that is unique to itself. Let me explain, individual prices on two paintings may differ even if it is the work of the same artist, even if is of the same period and has the same size, because the work is different, qualitatively so…”

Besides looking within
the construed borders of our geographical space,
it is pertinent to consider spaces that lie in esoteric corners of the globe, but are continually striving to promote Indian artists at their transnational spaces as well as fairs. 1×1 Gallery, based in Dubai is one of the exhibiting hubs, which acts as a vital as well as sustained platform for artists based in the Indian Subcontinent to exhibit in the transnational locations.

IP: What led to 1×1’s coming into existence in the first place?

MG: It stems from the love for visual art that over a period of time translated to a deep commitment that enabled me to work in this sphere. I’m lucky
to be located in a city that functions as a platform of convergence and hence has extreme cultural diversity and global access. Ultimately I do not see my audience limited to only Dubai but
to be located more in the region and beyond.

IP: What would you say has been your contribution to the burgeoning art scene in Dubai?

MG: There was not much happening here in terms
of artistic activity when I started the gallery. Art was not foremost on the mind of the locals as well as the expat population. I have been showing Indian art for the last two decades; spread awareness through art camps, talks, bringing in artists to Dubai etc. Slowly with deliberation I have built a market for Indian artists in this region.

IP: Unlike other galleries, you have focused on showcasing the work exclusively of Chittrovanu Mazumdar’s in lavish exhibitions across the country and even internationally. Personally, I have been deeply impressed by the solidarity your gallery has shown towards Chittovanu Mazumdar who is undoubtedly one of the finest, but commercially has it been a wise/prudent decision?

MG: I have to agree with you Ina that he is one of the finest, and hence the commitment from my side. I believe that it is the job of the gallery to stick by their beliefs and faith. Galleries worldwide have been known to focus on a limited set of artists. It is no different with me, instead of working with 50 artists and not being able to do justice to any one. White cube with Tracey Emin and Chapman’s, Guggenheim with Murakami and Lisson with Anish Kapoor are some examples of galleries who have worked with a small set of artists and ridden highs and lows together. I have been showing artists in varied group shows and other solos as well, including working very closely with major local artists in the UAE. But as a gallery one makes a huge commitment like this only if the same is reciprocated by the artist. It is built with years of working together and a huge level of trust. The idea is not to limit an artist’s freedom, a gallery takes care of the practical and logistics aspects apart from promotions and sales, so that the artist can concentrate on developing his artistic practice.

—

Anant Art, 2004, New Delhi

Mamta Singhania

“From Bireshwar Sen’s miniscule to Atul Bhalla’s monumental photographs, Anant Art has showcased a range of art. Summoning the trend of multiple spaces in the capital and the recent closure of them subsequently hasn’t hindered it being counted as one of the most active spaces in the capital. Ina Puri seeks answers to some very curious questions.”

IP: What audience and artists has Anant really addressed itself to? What is Anant’s USP as a gallery?

MS: The audience that Anant Art is addressing itself to is anybody interested in art; whether they respond to it intuitively or after analysis. Established in 2004, Anant Art supports national and international artists with diverse practices, providing them an opportunity to exhibit new works at critical points in their career. Many artists that we represent were unknown when we first exhibited their works and are subsequently offered shows by galleries and museums internationally.

IP: You started other spaces in Noida and Kolkata, which were later closed down, why did these ventures fail, in your opinion?

MS: We started spaces in Noida and Kolkata, which we closed down. There are multiple reasons for this, which include – in addition to managing our erstwhile artspace in Lado Sarai, the time commitment and infrastructure required was too much for both Kolkata and Noida, especially when one is personally required to look into every detail. Our Kolkata space received great critical appreciation and enthusiastic art viewers, but collectors for the artwork that we displayed were few and it did not make sense to continue in terms of feasibility; as for our Noida space the distance did seem a deterrent to some collectors and to the art-viewing community and we decided to focus on a centrally located gallery space which we now hope to open by early 2011.

(The gallery is currently relocating to a new location in Delhi)