Picasso, Chagall, Dali: Bringing international artists to Indian buyers

[CAPTION]Marc Chagall - Résonances De Vitebsk Pour La Famille (Sounds Of Vitebsk For The Family)Medium - Gouache, tempera, India ink, pastel and graphite on paperYear - 1980

On July 19 and 20, online auction house AstaGuru will be hosting its fourth auction of international artists, with names such as Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Amedeo Modigliani going under the virtual hammer. What makes this auction, called ‘International Iconic’, stand apart from earlier ones is the fact that the artworks will be on display for the first time at the AstaGuru auction house in Mumbai prior to the event.

The fact that AstaGuru is putting these artworks—some with eight-figure opening bids—on display and following it up with a private exhibition of comparable works later in the month speaks volumes about how far the India art market has come in the last few years. Known as a market primarily for Indian artworks—whether they are Modern or Contemporary—a growing interest in iconic international artists is a more recent phenomenon in the country.

“Although there is substantial liquidity in India and Indian artworks have fetched millions of dollars, the exposure to international artists is restricted to a few who manage to take time off to travel and visit international galleries overseas,” says Tushar Sethi, CEO, AstaGuru. “So, our thought process was to try and cater to this audience, and get them artworks that are easily accessible, and pieces that they can like and acquire.”

He adds that with Indian art reaching impressive heights, buyers can acquire serious international art at similar price levels. “Art is about acquiring good brands. Today, at a global level, there are fantastic brands that the wealthy Indian would like to acquire for their collections, and we would like to cater to that audience.”

Amedeo Modigliani - Tete De Cariatide (Head Of Caryatid) (AP IV - IV + Edition OF 8)Medium - BronzeYear - Conceived 1906 (cast later)

International artists per se are not new among Indian buyers, with collectors and enthusiasts buying artworks from within the subcontinent, Asia, and even Europe and the US. Several India galleries represent artists from other countries, while events such as the India Art Fair (IAF)—now in its 14th year—have always had an international section where foreign galleries represent their artists from other countries.

However, sales from galleries and the IAF are mostly primary sales—where the artwork is being sold for the first time—while auctions cater to the secondary market, where pre-owned artworks are sold. Even among auctions, AstaGuru’s upcoming event is an exception for putting these high-value artworks up for display at their gallery.

The Indian market for international art is at a very young stage, with a limited number of buyers, and limited exposure to global art. “Top-end international art can sell for millions of dollars. For instance, one painting can sell for Rs 400 crore. I don’t think the Indian audience is ready for that right now,” says Sethi. “In the price bracket that we are catering to, there are a lot of Indians who would spend Rs 2-3 crore on an artwork, and sometimes Rs 10-15 crore.” By starting at these price points AstaGuru is working on building more confidence among its clientele as well as its supply chain so that it can gradually move to larger and more valuable artists for its audience.

Pablo Picasso - Homme Assis (Seated Man)Medium - Pencil on cardYear - 1971

The market has already evolved since AstaGuru held its first auction of international artists two years ago.  “We have a much more diverse range of mediums. This auction is focussed on paper works and editions. The first time we did it [in 2022], it had a lot more traditional bronze medium, and now we have a resin sculpture and a concrete sculpture,” says Larissa Guimaraes, international art consultant at AstaGuru. “The selection of the lots is more mature as opposed to just the brand names, such as Picasso.”

She adds that the auction has introduced artists who are equally important but are lesser known. For instance, in the July auction, there is a piece by 20th-century French painter Georges Braque, who worked very closely with Pablo Picasso, and has had as important an influence and impact in the history of art but might not be such a big brand name. “This is important, because our buyers are getting exposed to these names, and we will be able to respond to that,” adds Guimaraes.

Price points have also varied a lot between the first auction and the upcoming one. “We are catering to both, very seasoned collectors who are committed to expanding their collections of international art, and also to younger clients with new purchasing power.”

Figures from AstaGuru’s sales of international artists are testament to the heavier price tags of the artworks going up for auction. In its first auction of international artists, sales totaled more than Rs 38.24 crore, while the sales from its second and third auction of international artists in 2023 totaled close to Rs 70 crore.

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Also read: Singapore: A hub for the art market in Southeast Asia

Targeting this new purchasing power, and also the new interest, among Indian buyers are international galleries that are heading to the country. “In comparison to Western markets, we are young, although we are not nascent anymore,” says Jaya Asokan, director of IAF. “At the IAF we have Modernists, Contemporaries and international artists. We had the biggest contingent of international exhibitors in 2024, with 12 of them. This shows there is interest in India as a market, owning to the economic growth in our country, as opposed to the West. But it is also because there is a growing interest among Indian audiences to purchase international art.”

Asokan elaborates that while there is no specific type of international art that Indians prefer to buy, there are two broad subsets of buyers. The first subset is the global buyer, who travels a lot, who has homes in London, New York, and Paris and is getting access to international artworks in their home country and does not have to travel to purchase art. This is for the top tier of contemporary artists like Anish Kapoor or Olafur Eliasson, where the benchmarks are quite high; a piece by Kapoor, for instance, fetches seven-figure prices.

Georges Braque - Les Soleils (The Sunflowers)Medium - Oil on paper laid down on canvasYear - 1946

The second subset of buyers are those who are buying art from Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, which are more affordable in comparison, but also more diverse. “So, for instance, we had a Japanese gallery at IAF, and the works did exceedingly well,” she adds.

“It’s not just the top 1 percent of wealthy people who are buying this kind of art. Yes, they are buying the more expensive and collectible works, but there is also this whole new generation that is interested and wants to explore this aesthetic, which is new and outside of what they are familiar with.”

Highlighting this interest is the number and range of international galleries that were present at the 2024 edition of the IAF. These galleries included Bruno Art Group from Tel Aviv and Singapore, Saskia Fernando Gallery from Colombo, Marc Straus from New York, Grosvenor Gallery from London, Neugerriemscheider from Berlin, Galerie Geek Art from Tokyo and New Delhi, 1x1 Art Gallery from Dubai, and Galleria Continua, which has offices in Italy, Rome, Beijing, Sao Paulo, Paris and Dubai.

“What they bring to India is largely contemporary artwork,” says Asokan. “For instance, we would not call Anish Kapoor a Master, but definitely a veteran artist. Also, Ai Weiwei, who is in his 60s, is one of the most renowned artists of Chinese origin. Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson is probably the world’s most popular artist for climate change. They are all very contemporary in aesthetic.”

Buyers of international artworks in India can be wealthy individuals—all very discreet and unnamed—or art galleries and museums. While some are motivated by their personal choices and preferences, others choose to build platforms for the promotion of art and become a catalyst and influence in the sector.

Ai Weiwei and Olafur Eliasson-Visitor at neugerriemschneider Booth At India Art Fair 2024. Image: Courtesy of India Art Fair

For instance, the Kiran Nadar Museum (KNMA) of Art in Delhi—started by Kiran Shiv Nadar, an art collector and philanthropist, and wife of Shiv Nadar, founder of HCL Technologies—has works from foreign artists as diverse as Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama, and Karachi-born, London-based conceptual artist Rasheed Araeen, to Icelandic artist Ragna Róbertsdóttir and Tsherin Sherpa of Nepal. The KNMA was started in 2010, and now has more than 13,000 pieces of artworks.

Then there is the Kolkata Centre of Creativity (KCC), which was started in 2018 by Radhe Shyam Agarwal and Radhe Shyam Goenka, founders of the Emami Group. Richa Agarwal, chairperson of KCC, says, “We have a diverse array of internationally renowned artists in both Mr Goenka’s and my personal collections. These include Anish Kapoor [British-India], Do Ho Suh [Korea], Rana Begum [Bangladesh], Nassia Inglessis [British-Greek], and from closer to home, SH Raza, Jogen Chowdhury, Ravinder Reddy, Satish Gujral, and Madhavi Parekh. Our approach to collecting art is pragmatic, focusing on pieces we want to see and enjoy daily, enriching our living environment. Some acquisitions continue to inspire enthusiasm, even after several years.”

Agarwal adds that KCC functions differently and does not acquire artworks for its own collection. “The personal collections of the Emami Group family are curated with a mindful approach, taking into account the preferences of all family members across three generations,” she says. “Our selection process is deliberate and thoughtful, ensuring that the art we choose is enjoyed collectively.”

Agarwal says that Indian collectors place significant trust in their galleries and have a clear understanding of their investment goals. “There’s a strong sense of sensibility regarding whether an investment in art is prudent, particularly since the realm of collecting international art is relatively unexplored in India.”

Echoing Sethi of AstaGuru, Agarwal says that exposure to international art within India remains limited, and despite platforms and efforts such as IAF, overall exposure to international artists is still nascent. “I believe this limited exposure is the biggest challenge. However, I see great potential for growth. With a more approachable stance towards international galleries and increased confidence in the process, we can enhance the presence and appreciation of international art in India.”

Working towards increasing this exposure, Sethi has lined up a private exhibition following the July auction. “We are doing exhibitions to increase the exposure of Indian buyers to international artists, and plan to have these events three or four times a year, where we will showcase artworks that may be for sale or exhibition or educating the audience,” he says. The exhibitions will be an invitee-only event, and top collectors can come and see the artworks one-on-one, by appointment. July’s exhibition will include works by Dali, Andy Warhol and Pierre-Auguste Renoi. “In India if we import something that is more than 100 years old, it cannot be exported again. From an exhibition point of view, we are not having the Renoi because of this challenge. But it is still available for viewing on video,” explains Sethi.

“The biggest market for global art in the 1980s was Japan, in the 1990s was Russia, in the 2000s it was China, and 2010 onwards it was the Middle East,” says Sethi. “Given the current trajectory in the next 10 years, a lot of Indians will be getting into the global markets and buying good Picassos and Chagalls and Monets. So, we would like to have an early-bird entry into this picture.”