The four-day “India Art Summit” that concluded at Pragati Maidan here on Saturday saw a big turnout of visitors and, enquiries about art works translated into sale as Indian and foreign buyers evinced interest in the works of acclaimed and contemporary artists.
According to India Art Summit associate director Neha Kirpal, the second edition of the show saw a turnout of 40,000 art aficionados. “More than 50 per cent of the galleries sold at least one or two paintings, sculpture or installations. Support from the art community was unprecedented with 54 leading galleries participating compared with 34 last year. From just three international art galleries last year, 17 prominent galleries from the US, Europe and Asia put up their stalls this time.”
Visitors from 32 countries turned up at the art show including “top buyers from New York, London and Hong Kong”. “Chinese and Korean art collectors also bought art works. Galleries from the U.S., Middle East and Japan registered brisk sale. In fact, one gallery from Thailand sold off all its art stuff.”
The art summit acted as a catalyst for educating the public about renowned artists like Jamini Roy and F. N. Souza.
“All the buzz and enquiries about art works is encouraging. The art summit acted as a knowledge disseminator and students and grown-ups fondly collected colourful hand-outs of artists like F. N. Souza, Sohar Qadri, Jamini Roy and Himmat Shah, whose works we showcased. The market scene looks bright, ” said Delhi Art Gallery director Ashish Anand.
Christian Hosp, proprietor of an art gallery in Berlin, said he was exhibiting works of Indian artists in his country. “Therefore, it made sense to give a platform to artists from here. We showcased works of Suhasini Kejriwal, Vishal Dar and Parul Thacker. While in Europe the art market is not stable, Delhi saw an unbelievable response. Moreover, the Europeans want top-quality work at lower price range and take a lot of time before investing in any art work. Recession is a thing of the past as things are picking up. I have faith in the Indian economy.”
Artist Anjolie Ela Menon said some of her works was purchased and the show acted as a meeting point for the artistic community to engage in serious discussions on how to give a fillip to the art scene.
