Art market picking up

After crumbling under the heavy club of recession a year ago when at least one gallery, Lakshana, was shut down, the art market seems to be finding its feet again. Galleries are slowly picking up in terms of queries about the paintings on sale, though limited in their promise of profit or patronage.

“The market had been totally down for a year. There were hardly any sales. But, for the past couple of months, it has been gradually picking up though people are very cautious in spending huge amounts,” says Prashanthi from Alankritha Art Gallery in Kavuri Hills. Largely, the demand is from business people, though Non-Resident Indians too are picking up a few.

Some say, this is the perfect time for real art to bloom. Earlier, people with no eye for art too bought paintings in huge numbers, as they considered it an “investment”. Not anymore. “Not all are keen on buying these days. We are getting selective enquiries from art collectors and if the work is good, they are ready to encourage budding talent too. The trend is beneficial for artists to produce good work,” says Ramani Nambiar from Srishti Art Gallery. She says that the prices had to be cut down by 10 to 15 per cent due to slowdown.
Win-win situation

It is a practice among galleries to acquire young artists’ works at low cost and put them for sale.

It is a win-win situation as the artists would get the much-needed initial publicity. However, with the slowdown, galleries are becoming choosy in picking works of new or amateur artists.

Masters’ works don’t enjoy advantage either, as pricing has become a criterion, says Prashanthi. “People are not going for very expensive paintings. The maximum they are ready to spend on an art work is Rs.1 lakh. Earlier, it hovered in the range of Rs.3 lakh to Rs.4 lakh each,” she says.

Eminent artist Lakshman Aeley, whose paintings are a prized possession, says that the number of invitations from art galleries for organising exhibitions has come down.

“The monthly orders have reduced by half. NRIs, who used to splurge earlier, are not coming now as they are severely hit by recession,” he says.