India Art Fair, the leading platform showcasing modern and contemporary art from India and South Asia, closed to significant acclaim amid reports of buoyant sales. The event took place from 9 – 12 February 2023 at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds in New Delhi, and featured a strong line-up of 85 exhibitors, including 71 galleries and 14 institutions.

Led in partnership with BMW India for the seventh time and with artists’ voices at its centre, the fair brought together galleries, collectors, institutions, artists, organisations and art-lovers alike, fostering crucial opportunities for dialogue, discovery and exchange. The 14th edition of India Art Fair, organised by Angus Montgomery Arts, welcomed new and returning visitors, acknowledging it as an unmissable event on the international art calendar, to discover, nurture and collect South Asian art and artists.

Jaya Asokan, Fair Director of India Art Fair comments, “This edition of India Art Fair has been our most ambitious to date, with a fourth exhibition hall to accommodate an increase of gallery applicants and visitors. The fair continues with its expanded Young Collectors Programme aiming to educate and empower new collectors to make their first purchases, providing a gateway and entry point for collecting art and culture. We are dedicated to promoting pioneering South Asian art, elevating a diverse array of powerful artists, voices, and art forms, including those from lesser-known parts of the country.”

Dr. Thomas Girst, Head of Cultural Engagement, BMW Group comments “India Art Fair is a celebration of the beauty that humans are capable of creating. Congratulations to India Art Fair for an amazing instalment. India Art Fair makes an effort to be inclusive, which is the essence of what defines this fair.”

The fair attracted an audience enamoured by the South Asian art scene, and those curious to learn more, including a significant number of private collectors as well as representatives from local, regional, and international art institutions, highlighting the fair’s reputation.

VIPs in attendance included local and international museum curators, visiting collectors and patrons, including Adriano Pedrosa, Curator of Venice Biennale 2024 and Artistic Director of Sao Paulo Museum of Art; Natalia Di Pietrantonio, Curator at Seattle Art Museum; Gregor Muir, Director of Collection International Art at the Tate; Giulia Sartori Conte, Senior Manager, Collection Committees at the Tate; Mallica Kumbera Landrus, Curator at Ashmolean Museum; Lauren Schell Dickens, Senior Curator at the San Jose Museum of Art; Sean Leffers, Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Victoria Lynn, Director of the TarraWarra Museum; Skinder Hundal, British Council; and patrons from Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, Sri Lanka.

The fair also welcomed representatives from over 10 leading cultural festivals, collectives and foundations in the institutions section, including Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (New Delhi / NOIDA), Britto Arts Trust (Dhaka), Devi Art Foundation (New Delhi), Art & Soul Foundation (Mumbai), Purushottam Public Trust (Vadodara), Space Studio (Vadodara), K and Prameya Art Foundation (New Delhi).

Throughout the fair week, galleries reported robust sales, with many highlighting an enthusiastic response from both established and emerging collectors cementing the strength of the Indian market.

A snapshot of reported sales include: Vadehra Art Gallery sold an artwork by Rameshwar Broota for USD 200,000 to a private collection in the UK, and another by Balkrishna Doshi for USD 100,000 to Kiran Nadar Museum of Art; Galleria Continua reported sales by Anish Kapoor, Subodh Gupta, Nikhil Chopra, Shilpa Gupta, Loris Cecchini, Kiki Smith, Alejandro Campins and Osvaldo González within a price range of USD 5,000 to nearly USD 900,000, with an average price of USD 20,000 to USD 30,000; Chemould Prescott Road sold a number of works including a sculpture by N S Harsha for ₹5,500,000 (USD 66,650); Nature Morte sold a work by Tanya Goel for over ₹5,000,000 (USD 60,600) and another by Reena Saini Kallat for over ₹2,000,000 (USD 24,200); Latitude 28 sold out 75% of their booth in the first two days, including works by Sanket Viramgami and Yogesh Ramkrishna which are priced at ₹800,000 (USD 9,700) each.

Lekha Poddar, Patron and founder, Devi Art Foundation said “I was enthused by galleries bringing younger artists from different parts of India. The energy of the younger collectors was palpable at the Fair. The Fair has come out strongly to promote a variety of collateral events related not only to Arts but to many other Creative Mediums. I feel that engaging with a younger audience is the way forward to establish a strong market for Arts in India.”

Asha Jadeja Motwani, founder of Motwani Jadeja Foundation, said “The quality of art is outstanding at India Art Fair. It was wonderful to converse with other collectors and the set-up of the fair is seamless. I look forward to working closely with the fair in the coming years.”

Thomas Rom, Art advisor and philanthropist, said “The future of our global cultural economy belongs to South Asia, and India Art Fair is at its epicenter. The annual development of the fair is not only impressive and seductive, but also very telling of where we head. I found the gallery presentations to be captivating, thoughtful, and stimulating, and I enjoyed engaging in artistic discourse with the artists and dealers. It felt fresh, sharp, and sensually tantalizing. Delhi is not a destination, it’s THE destination.”

India Art Fair’s participating galleries showcased ambitious presentations featuring exceptional works by artists from throughout South Asia as well as several international artists. The main Galleries section showcased outstanding presentations by leading regional and international galleries; Focus section highlighted solo presentations curated by participating galleries, putting a strong emphasis on painters from distinguished names such as Jayashree Chakravarty; The Studio housed an arresting selection of tech-meets-art projects and installations, inviting audiences to explore and experience the power of digital art; the Platform section showcased the rich artistic traditions of India through the works of contemporary masters of traditional arts; the Outdoor Art Project included thought-provoking sculptural installations by Parag Tandel and others; and the IAF Parallel programme provided a unique multi-layered experience for visitors to celebrate the art scene of New Delhi.

Kishore Singh, Head of Exhibitions, DAG said “Enquiries have been brilliant this year with a wide range of prices, starting from  ₹50,00,000. The Indian art scene has seen a transformation over the last three years. Since the pandemic we’ve seen sales and values rise, which is evident at the fair. It has been wonderful to see so many young collectors alongside our usual collector base.”

Salomé Zelic, Associate Director, Galleria Continua said “We are delighted to have returned to the fair after several years of absence in India. Vibrant conversations took place and we were overjoyed by the atmosphere and attendance. There was a strong interest from Indian collectors in both our local and global artists. It was wonderful to have our artist Osvaldo González be invited by Khoj Studios and the fair to do a one week residence from which his beautiful artworks were born.”

The 15th edition of India Art Fair will take place at NSIC Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi from 1 to 4 February 2024.

Published on https://ianslife.in/culture/curtains-come-down-india-art-fair