Art Sales: will Saatchi's investment in Indian art pay off?

A new show of contemporary Indian art at the Saatchi Gallery has sparked hopful talk that the market's fortunes will be revived.

By Colin Gleadell

Charles Saatchi bought this untitled painting by India's most highly rated young artist, Subodh Gupta, for a triple estimate $646,000

In the build-up to the Saatchi Gallery's new exhibition, The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today, which opens on Friday, there has been much hopeful talk about how it will revive the fortunes of the market for contemporary Indian art.

This is a market that, for a select band of artists, saw one of the most dramatic rises of all during the art boom of 2006 to 2008. According to ArtTactic, a company that monitors the progress of emerging markets, average prices for contemporary Indian art at auction rose by 140 per cent between March 2006 and September 2008. But between September 2008 and September 2009, they fell by 75 per cent.

While the older generations of modern artists held the fort, demand for younger contemporary artists – a generation on which Saatchi has focused – spiralled downwards. In New York, consignments for sale were so thin last year that Sotheby's combined modern and contemporary Indian art with South-East Asian antiquities and miniatures to boost their catalogues. Global sales of modern and contemporary Indian art at Christie's rose from $650,000 (£403,000) in 2000 to $45 million in 2008, but fell back to approximately $12.5 million last year.

So what has been the effect on Saatchi's investment? For one thing, this is a collection that was largely formed two years ago – just before the boom peaked, but without the advantage of buying in a downturn. It is unlikely that the top prices paid at auction would be recovered at this moment. Atul Dodiya's decorative painting Woman of Kabul (2001) cost $156,000 when it was bought in May 2008 – not a record, but above the high estimate. However, since September 2008, hardly any of the more expensive works by Dodiya offered at auction have sold.

In the same sale, Saatchi bought a painting of kitchen pots by India's most highly rated young artist, Subodh Gupta, for a triple estimate and record $646,000. In the months that followed, several Gupta paintings and sculptures broke the $1 million mark at auction. Sellers looking to cash in during the autumn of 2008, though, were disappointed when the majority of his works at auction went unsold.

In contrast, where he bought new work direct from galleries in the early stages of boom, and was able to negotiate prices, Saatchi appears to be in profit. In 2007, for instance, he bought a set of three photographic collages by Pakistani artist Rashid Rana. Made up of tiny pornographic photographs, the collages were arranged to look from a distance like a veil, a symbol of modesty. The price for the set, direct from Rana's gallery, was about $20,000. In June last year, in spite of recessionary conditions, another example from the edition of 20 sold for £61,000 at Sotheby's.

Gupta's bronze sculpture UFO was bought in 2007 from the Bodhi Gallery for about $160,000, but would be priced at double that amount since the artist signed up with international heavyweight dealers Hauser & Wirth.

Then there is T V Santhosh, whose paintings Saatchi again purchased direct from the artist's gallery in 2007. Costing about £32,000 each, similar works became the subject of intense speculation, rising to 10 times that amount at auction during the next 18 months. But, like so much contemporary Indian art, prices then crashed down to earth.

However, Saatchi would still probably double his money if he sold those paintings at auction now, says Conor Macklin, a director of the Grosvenor Vadehra Gallery, which works with Santhosh.

For a less established artist, such as Huma Mulji, whose taxidermy camel in a trunk, Arabian Delight, was bought at the Dubai Art Fair two years ago for $8,000, the exhibition itself will probably be the main spur to stardom, and its timing could be propitious. ArtTactic measures the confidence its subscribers have in the future of particular markets, and says that its confidence indicator for modern and contemporary Indian art, which had reached a high of 82 points in October 2007, fell to its lowest point of 20 in May 2009. However, its last reading, taken in November 2009, showed an uplift to 49 points.

In the interim, prices for the market leader, Subodh Gupta, have stabilised, though at slightly lower price levels, and for Atul Dodiya's next show to be held in March at
the Vadehra Gallery in New Delhi, prices have been reduced to less than $100,000 each. That show, tellingly, has already sold out.

Pakistani Art at Asia Society - NYTimes slideshow

Source: NYTimes.com

"Hanging Fire," an exhibition of new art from Pakistan, is a closely edited group show at the Asia Society drawn from a small pool of artists, many of whom attended the National College of Arts in Lahore.

Click title to see slide show.

Hanging Fire - Pakistan Exhibition at Asia Society, New York

Moderate Enlightenment, 2007 - Gouache on wasli. Aicon Gallery, New York
Source: Asia Society


September 10, 2009 - January 3, 2010

Hanging Fire: Contemporary Art from Pakistan brings to New York some of Pakistan’s most significant, provocative, and influential artists in the first U.S. museum survey exhibition of contemporary Pakistani art. Although Pakistan frequently makes the headlines for very different reasons, its rich cultural heritage and vibrant contemporary art scene often go unnoticed. Pakistani civil society has a history of dissent and activism, which has often informed its art movements, its poetry, and its music.

A Muslim-majority state, Pakistan was carved out of the Indian subcontinent after gaining independence from the British in 1947. Although from its inception, Pakistan’s history has been turbulent—including civil war, military coups, sectarian and ethnic strife, and other insurgencies—a resilient population has been enterprising, productive, and innovative. Art schools and art institutions in Pakistan are producing artists, educators, curators, and collectors, who are having an increasing impact in the art world and the media. Art practices vary widely, a reflection of the numerous visual legacies to which Pakistan is heir, including archeological finds from the Paleolithic era to the ancient Indus Valley civilization and Persian, Arab, Central Asian, and British colonial influences.

Contemporary artists sift through these many layers, which mingle with lively rural, urban, and regional cultures and contemporary issues from religious fundamentalism to urbanization and much more. In spite of apparent constraints, there is no evidence of alienation or submissiveness. Instead, the artists and artworks in Hanging Fire celebrate the opportunity for dialogue and display a preference for irony and humorous, mutinous thought.

Venice Biennale 2009 - East-West Divan Artists from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan

Source: Nafas Art Magazine

He who knows himself and others
Here will also see,
That the East and West, like brothers,
Parted ne'er shall be.

Thoughtfully to float for ever
'Tween two worlds, be man's endeavour!
So between the East and West
To revolve, be my behest!

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,
West-Östlicher Divan (1819)


Turquoise Mountain presents East-West Divan: Contemporary Art from Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan during the 53rd International Art Exhibition of the Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition includes recent works by ten artists from three countries, better known in the West for stereotypes of terrorism and Islamic extremism than for their rich artistic heritage and vibrant contemporary cultures.

East-West Divan challenges these negative perceptions with works by both emerging and established artists, who are engaged in an ongoing dialogue between the artistic traditions of East and West. Nowhere is this dialogue more present than in the grand architecture and decorative traditions of Venice, whose lucrative trade routes with the East produced some of the most spectacular fusions of Eastern and Western art and architecture.

East-West Divan meditates upon the links between the artistic traditions of Venice and the Persian artistic heritage shared by all three countries in this exhibition. The exhibition includes new works of art responding to traditions such as miniature painting, calligraphy and Islamic geometric design, revealing how contemporary artists, far from being overburdened by an ‘anxiety of influence’ from their rich cultural past, have found new ways to challenge and transform this cultural inheritance.

Playing with a broad range of references which bring together Pop art and Shi’ite shrines, modernist abstraction and Islamic architecture, the exhibition reflects on how culture and history can co-exist with today’s globalised, melting pot society. The title of the exhibition is taken from a collection of poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, inspired by the Persian poet Hafez, and refers to the ‘divan’ or council chamber, as a physical symbol of the coming together of different cultures.

East-West Divan presents a subtle and complex meditation upon the realities and perceptions of contemporary life, history and politics in the Middle East, South and Central Asia, unraveling – just a little - the tightly knotted relationship between East and West.

Kaleidoscope of views

Source: Gulf News

Eleven artists raise crucial contemporary issues, cataloguing Pakistan's changing perspectives

By Jyoti Kalsi, Special to Weekend Review
Published: 00:29 March 14, 2008


A special highlight of Art Dubai this year is an exhibition of contemporary Pakistani art titled Desperately Seeking Paradise.

Curated by Salima Hashemi, a well-known artist and dean of the School of Visual Arts in Lahore, the Pakistan Pavilion will feature paintings, sculptures and art installations by 11 artists from Pakistan.

“It is a great honour to have a pavilion dedicated to art from Pakistan at Art Dubai. Art fairs are largely commercial events driven by galleries.

"So it is wonderful that our artists have this opportunity to speak out and communicate directly with the viewers.

"As the curator, I have tried to look for artists who speak about issues related to Pakistan to a Pakistani audience.

"They do not have an eye on the West, and yet their work is seen in the West,'' Hashemi said.

The title she has chosen for the exhibition is inspired by the title of a book by Pakistan-born British philosopher Ziaudin Sardar.

“The book is an ironic and profound investigation into the travels of a Muslim sceptic.

"It is about making sense of the millions of questions that arise in the minds of those living in traditional societies, and the struggle to stay true to your beliefs and desires in a changing world.

"I felt Desperately Seeking Paradise would be a suitable title for this exhibition because we hope to represent parallel and iconoclastic passions engaging Pakistani artists today.

"Resurfacing from the suffocation of dictatorial rule, this generation of artists is probing taboos and rejecting canons with verve and wit.

"And as the title suggests, their work expresses a search for some sort of equilibrium,'' Hashemi said.

“Dubai as a location for Desperately Seeking Paradise seems particularly apt because the city is seeking to be an alternative destination for so many quests — economic, cultural, social and political.

"But beneath the surface, there lurks a subtext which preoccupies the Muslim world. Do we hope to circumscribe our contentious cultures, explore our inconsistencies and our disparate voices to eventually arrive at a common intersection — enriched, tolerant and humane? Or is this about a never-ending mirage?'' she asks.

The “Paradise'' that engages the artists selected for this exhibition is multilayered and brimming with promise. The artworks are diverse, presenting different ideas and perspectives in a variety of media and styles.

They range from Farida Batool's lenticular graphics to Rashid Rana's digital art that makes the viewer a part of the work through mirrors and metallic surfaces embedded within.

From Imran Quereshi's contemporary version of Mogul miniatures to Anwar Saeed's enigmatic blend of Christian, Hindu and Buddhist iconography.

Pakistani artists who have lived abroad bring their own special viewpoint.

Faiza Butt, who shuttles between London and Lahore, comments on modern society through paintings of her children playing with guns, while Ali Raza, who has recently returned to Pakistan from the US, confronts the militarisation of society and demands change through his painting of gun-toting combatants in fatigues travelling alongside ordinary people.

Mohammad Ali Talpur takes a more meditative approach through his giant Perspex cube crisscrossed by lines on its surface.

Huma Mulji and Naiza Khan look at wider contemporary issues through their thought-provoking installations.

Mulji, a sculptor and a photographer, makes a strong and witty protest against racial profiling and the humiliation suffered at airports by Muslims through a stuffed camel carcass squeezed into a suitcase.

Khan's installation consists of a boat floating in the lake beside the Madinat Arena.

Inside the boat are sculptures of several headless female torsos dressed in body armour. Another set of torsos stand on the edge of the water.

The work powerfully expresses the constraints on women and their tremendous desire to break free.

“The boat has been specially made by fishermen in Karachi and represents a dying art in this era of motorboats.

"It was a big challenge for us to transport this boat and Huma's stuffed camel all the way to Dubai,'' Hashemi said.

Dutch artist Sophie Ernst is an interesting inclusion in this exhibition.

“Sophie uses video to explore themes of belonging, displacement and cultural relativity in her work.

"Her video of interviews with young Pakistani men chasing the American dream fits well into our theme of ‘desperately seeking paradise','' Hashemi said.

“Sophie has been teaching art in Pakistan for the past five years and her work has been exhibited in Europe, India and Pakistan.

"She represents a bridge between different cultures and provides an important third voice to this exhibition.''

But, perhaps the most striking work and the one that truly embodies the vitality, freshness and innovative spirit of Pakistani art and this exhibition is Durriya Qazi's clay sculpture, Witness.

Dedicated to all humankind, this sculpture of two inert bodies, perhaps of innocent victims of war, lying in the bushes expresses the sad truth that throughout human history, there have been very few years of peace.

In a profound statement, the sculpture installed outdoors will gradually disintegrate into a pile of dust as nature takes its course.

“I want visitors from around the world to feel the artists' energy and their strength in the face of difficult circumstances.

"I hope the exhibits will surprise, amuse, challenge and provoke viewers. I wish the Pakistani community in the UAE comes in large numbers to the exhibition.

"I hope the artworks make Pakistanis here change their image of themselves and their country,'' Hashemi said.

“Pakistani art is now being noticed in the global art world. This exhibition will take it one step further,'' she added.

Art Dubai will be on from March 19 to March 22.
Jyoti Kalsi is a UAE-based art enthusiast.

Shahzia Sikander in conversation with Glenn Lowry

Source: Cooper Hewitt

A conversation with internationally acclaimed artist Shahzia Sikander and art historian and MoMA Director, Glenn Lowry.

Shahzia Sikanders work takes apart the conventional methods of addressing traditional miniature paintings and reassembles them to expand their associations, inserting new dialogues often subversive in nature. Using wit, irony and paradox, Sikanders inventiveness draws upon literary, pop, media and art historical contexts. Her work ranges from intimate watercolors, large scale wall installations and digital animation and video. Sikander studied at both the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan and the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence.

Glenn Lowry is an art historian and current Director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). A noted scholar of Islamic arts and architecture, Lowry was previously Curator of Near Eastern Art at the Smithsonian Institutions Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art (1984-90) where he organized, among other exhibitions, Timur and Princely Vision: Persian Art and Culture in the Fifteenth Century (1989) and A Jewelers Eye: Islamic Arts of the Book From the Vever Collection (1988).

 

Acts of Balance - Shahzia Sikander - Whitney Mueum - Archive - April, 2000

Source: NYT 

Picking out of archive, older exhibition of Shahzia Sikander - Acts of Balance - with her mural - 'Chaman'

ART/ARCHITECTURE; A Painter of Miniatures on a Maximum Scale

By Barry Schwabsky

May 14, 2000

IT was afternoon on April 20, and that evening would be the opening of Shahzia Sikander's exhibition ''Acts of Balance'' at the Whitney Museum's gallery in the Philip Morris Building on East 42nd Street. By this time, most artists would have been focusing on what they were going to wear, but Ms. Sikander was still there in paint-spattered jeans and a Mona Lisa T-shirt, continuing to work on the art.

''I'm always changing things,'' said Ms. Sikander, stepping into a hydraulic lift that would carry her aloft to work on a triptych showing female acrobats, which had been hung on a wall overlooking the lobby where office workers were eating lunch. ''When paintings come back after a show, I work on them. I'm always putting things in and editing things out, putting things in and editing things out. Nothing is done until it's wrecked.''

That's not what you would expect from an artist whose first training was in the stylized, highly controlled art of Islamic miniatures, in which high finish, not spontaneity, is valued. But then you wouldn't expect such an artist to expand her work to mural scale either, or to mix in imagery from Hindu India and Western pop culture.

Ms. Sikander, who is 31, seems to have been a contrarian at least from the day she set foot in the National College of Arts in her hometown, Lahore, Pakistan. While Western viewers may find the allure of the exotic in her use of the imagery and techniques of the miniature, at home her desire to be trained in the tradition puzzled her teachers and fellow students, who saw it as something that would only impede her creativity. But her work is hardly about adhering to a closed heritage. Instead, it seems to invite previously unrelated pictorial strains to intermingle with humor, irony and often eroticism.

''Even when miniatures were at their height, their aesthetics were incredibly diverse,'' she says. ''Hybridity isn't a new thing.''

After finishing her course in Lahore, Ms. Sikander went on to graduate school at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence and then to a fellowship at the Glassell School of Art in Houston. She first burst onto the New York scene in 1997, with her work appearing in rapid succession in a group show at the Drawing Center, in the Whitney Biennial and in a one-person gallery show at Deitch Projects in SoHo. It says something about the shifting nature of provincialism that while few people were surprised by the sudden rise of a young artist from Pakistan, the fact that she lived in Houston really did seem mysterious. Because her still-undecided immigration status is being handled in Houston, she maintains a studio there as well as one in New York.

Visitors entering the enclosed gallery space where the main part of ''Acts of Balance'' is installed (through July 7) can be forgiven for wondering whether Ms. Sikander's process of adding and subtracting visual elements is still going on. Three walls have been painted with landscape and architectural elements and other images derived from the triptych hanging outside, turning the tall, boxy gallery into a sumptuous imaginary garden. The murals were then partly covered with translucent sheets of yellow tissue paper that have been pinned to the surface here and there. Some of the sheets have also been painted with figures and decorative patterns done in a loose, spontaneous hand. But most of them are just blank, screening the underlying image rather than replacing it.

Asked why she was trimming slivers off the blank yellow sheets -- in a work of this scale, the difference would hardly be noticeable -- Ms. Sikander laughed and said, ''Well, I like to cut hair.'' Everything seems movable, provisional, unfinished. The way ''Acts of Balance'' plays hide and seek with its imagery cannot help recalling Jackson Pollock's remark that he hadn't eliminated imagery from his paintings but simply ''veiled'' it.

Pollock's word rings bells today, when a number of young female artists from the Islamic world have come to prominence on the American art scene. In addition to Ms. Sikander, there are the Egyptian-born, French-educated Ghada Amer and the Iranian-born Shirin Neshat, both of whose work is currently featured in the Whitney Biennial as well as in the ''Greater New York'' survey at P. S. 1 in Queens.

In Ms. Sikander's work, as in that of Ms. Neshat, the veil has sometimes been a powerful symbol, but it has also been an inherently ambiguous one. Sometimes viewers have wanted to find more polemics in the image than the artist intended. When a veiled woman appears in a miniature, Ms. Sikander points out, it isn't a commentary on the veil, and the same can be true of her work when it takes images from the history of miniatures. ''But the reaction to this imagery can get simplified here, and that's something I'm trying to deal with,'' she says. As result, she is trying to focus her work on ''becoming less figurative -- looking formally at miniatures rather than at their narratives.''

''A lot of the vocabulary in 'Acts of Balance' comes from the stylization, the palette, the forms in miniatures,'' she continues. ''So the veiled woman isn't there.'' And yet in a more abstract way, the veiled woman remains the central image in ''Acts of Balance.'' Right in the middle of the central wall, facing each viewer walking into the gallery -- though not the first thing one notices in this strange melange of multiplicity and emptiness -- are the eyes of a woman who gazes out serenely, but also questioningly and challengingly, from behind a metaphoric veil of yellow tissue paper.

The viewer who notices the centrality of this image may come to feel that the art is seeing, studying, questioning him or her rather than vice versa. ''Acts of Balance'' is full of autobiographical references, right down to the images of cowboy boots, a wry reference to Ms. Sikander's current half-willing residence in Texas. But the most self-referential image of all may be this: a clear-eyed young woman at the confluence of many cultures, all in transition.