In a special summer issue of Art+Auction, which will be published in installments on ARTINFO this month, we bring you the information you need to navigate the vast auction market. We’ve assembled the top 250 houses, along with some of their most notable sales, as well as insider takes from 50 CEOs and specialists on the past year and the changes ahead. Below you’ll find Q&As with auction house leaders based in India. To see other installments from the special issue, click here.
ART BULL
New Delhi, India
ESTABLISHED: 2012
SPECIALTIES: Indian modern and contemporary art
CONTACT: bidartbullindia.com, +91 4107 7020
Kiran Mohan, Chief Planning & Operations
What was your most successful auction in the past year?
Pre-Independence Modern & Contemporary Masters, held at Hotel ITC Maurya, New Delhi, on February 22, 2014, our fourth auction, and Indian Modern & Contemporary Art Auction, held at the Oberoi Hotel, New Delhi, on November 16, 2014, our fifth.
Which lot was the most exciting or surprising?
Top sellers at the fourth auction were a late 1970s oil painting by M.F. Husain, Untitled (Horse); Kundalini Painting, an acrylic on canvas by Syed Haider Raza; and an untitled oil by Somnath Hore. Artworks by Sanjay Bhattacharya and sculptures by B. Prabha also created a stir in the room, on the floor, and among telephone bidders. The only artwork of a folk/ tribal artist also fetched a reasonable bid. The most successful lot at the fifth auction was [a piece by] Paritosh Sen, which invited unprecedented bidding on the floor. [Pieces by] Ram Kumar, Sakti Burman, and B. Vithal and sculptures by Pradosh Dasgupta were also actively bid for on the floor.
Is there an artist, market, or medium you think is overlooked right now? Something you’d invest in?
Artists like K. K. Hebbar, George Keyt, Sohan Qadri, O. P. Sharma, and Paritosh Sen. Sculpture has been a prominent art medium but has been overlooked. Investing in sculptures could be more engaged and enthusiastic.
How have online auctions changed the way you do business?
Online auctions have a greater influence on the art business today. The reach is manifold and accessible to any time zone. However, the face-to-face interaction with the individual client is missed out on completely. A physical presence to initiate discussion of artworks and sharing of knowledge does get disregarded while doing online auctions. However amicable we may be in accepting the virtual era of the online auction, the physical auctions have their own appeal and distinction.
What other trends do you see influencing the market?
Art connoisseurs have become more aware and like to do their bit of fact finding and research before they decide on any particular work of art. Secondly, international auction houses conducting live auctions in India have managed to create a swing in the art market.
Where would you like to take the company in the next several years?
We look forward to doing auctions every quarter. Charity auctions for a cause are also something we’ve begun and wish to continue with more fervor. We also wish to explore and promote talented artists who have not got their due in the past.
What one thing do you wish more collectors knew?
We wish that collectors were aware of the challenges an auction house faces in sourcing and documenting artworks, doing their due diligence, and the authentication of the artworks. The passion and the drive with which the auction team moves to identify rare, exclusive artworks from the best years of the artist.
Do you have a collecting obsession? If so, what purchase are you most proud of?
I collect what I like. The idea is not to hoard artworks but build a good body of Indian modern and contemporary art which complements my taste. Modern Indian art is something I am particularly fond of.
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OSIAN’S
Mumbai and New Delhi, India
ESTABLISHED: 2000
SPECIALTIES: Antiquities, modern and contemporary art, books, Indian film memorabilia, sports memorabilia
CONTACT: osians.com, +91 22 6156 3100
Neville Tuli, Chairman
What was your most successful auction in the past year?
The June 19, 2015, Modern & Contemporary Indian Fine Arts auction. A relatively small auction value-wise, it was organized on the day when all of Mumbai was flooded, and yet we continued with our telebidders and completed nearly 90 percent of lower estimates as sales.
Which lot was the most exciting or surprising?
Many, such as the small Tyeb Mehta and the wonderful Nandalal Bose, but nothing spectacular on a global scale.
Is there an artist, market, or medium you think is overlooked right now? Something you’d invest in?
The whole Indian modern and contemporary fine arts market has barely any depth, as the top 15 artists account for nearly 80 percent of all global sales. The Indian film memorabilia market is set for a major boost after nearly 15 years of steady infrastructure building, and naturally once the vintage and classic automobile market is launched in India, a whole new energy, collector, and knowledge base will be placed into an inevitable momentum. The antiquarian book, print, and photography market pertaining to India and Asia is as strong as ever. The scarcity of good-quality material is evident for India.
How have online auctions changed the way you do business?
We have unfortunately not taken any positive decision toward online auctions, as all our online energy has been devoted to building the world’s largest knowledge base on India’s cultural civilization. Osianama.com will be fully open to the public by August 2015.
What other trends do you see influencing the market?
A redefining of all knowledge bases and the opening up of genuine world-class learning and education platforms which fuse online and offline models will be critical in transforming the public’s awareness and the public’s sensibility and respect for creativity, especially for countries such as India, where the base has been relatively low and of poor quality. This will hopefully lead to a strengthening and deepening of the market within the next four to five years.
What part of your business saw the most growth in 2014?
Liquidity-crunch-driven private sales!
Where would you like to take the company in the next several years?
Regain leadership with a 30 percent market share in the Indian fine and popular arts and antiquities market by 2016, as we had established from 2001 to 2008. With top-quality auction houses such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Pundoles, and Saffronart.com now in the fray, Osian’s will have a good challenge in front of it. It will be good to see how things unfold.
What one thing do you wish more collectors knew?
An understanding and respect for the history of art in the best possible sense.
Do you have a collecting obsession? If so, what purchase are you most proud of?
Too many. The Osian’s Archive & Library Collection still sits on over 200,000 wonderful artworks, rare memorabilia, and cultural artifacts from all over the world, despite going through five very difficult years post 2009.
