Comments on: Bought any Indian art lately?

By: Vatsal Oberoi

Vatsal Oberoi — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:30:37 +0000

Hi,

I came across Studio3 Art Gallery. Website http://www.studio3india.com. Has nice collection from various artists for Indian Contemporary Art. Have a look!! Bought paintings from them.

Vatsal.

By: Litti

Litti — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:35:25 +0000

Saffron's art is new to me too. My recent purchase has been from a local artist Tanya .

By: Margin Fades

Margin Fades — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:19:25 +0000

Nilanjana (welcome! love the name) - do you mind a shameless plug for one of my favorite galleries? CIMA's my first love among contemporary ("modern") Indian art galleries - mostly because I stumbled across it a few years ago, when it was just established, and not very well known.

When I was a kid without much of a budget, all I could afford were modestly priced items from the gallery's gift shop - mostly blank cards which were works of art in and of themselves, or small metal or wooden figurines. The recipients - family & friends, teachers (later professors), both desi and non, loved everything from the gallery's gift shop, and always begged for more.

It's amazing to look back now and realize that there was truly a void to be filled - not in terms of creating contemporary South Asian Art, but marketing it. Even people connected (or still living!) in the subcontinent didn't quite know what to do with art if it didn't depict a typical pastoral scene, Hindu deities, or (in the case of art depicting Calcutta)...trams.

CIMA was established in the mid-1990s; I'd say that marketing contemporary South Asian art has come a long way since then - but there's still strides to be made, especially if the market has cooled.

Do keep these posts coming - I'm glad for your voice & perspective!

By: AraniS

AraniS — Tue, 26 May 2009 08:26:36 +0000

Nilanjana, Welcome to SM. I am a fan of what goes by the name of "world music" so I will look forward to your posts on that subject.

Have you checked out the paintings at aicongallery.com? Out of my range but I visit the site. Quite happy that they have a gallery only 10 minutes drive away.

By: Tiglathpileser

Tiglathpileser — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:18:53 +0000

we bought a fair amount during the 2000-2005 time frame (enough so that Saffronart keeps sending us catalogs…). We bought the art because we liked it, didnt plan to sell it then and still dont- its goes to our kids..Anyways, prices became too frothy a few years ago- we could not afford to buy the pieces available post 2005, nor, I suspect, could we have bought our own artwork had we put it on sale. So we have stayed away, I am glad to hear the bubble may have burst as it allows us to consider getting back in. In any event at this point I would look for unestablished artists..too much marketing and packaging around the big names which is offputting.

By: Nilanjana

Nilanjana — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:04:58 +0000

Sherene, I think I’m in love. Thanks!!!

By: Margin Fades

Margin Fades — Mon, 25 May 2009 02:57:20 +0000

Sherene, please tell your friend that Masala Chai's one of my craves! My favorite posts include the one profiling Waris Ahluwalia's jewelry line, and Neha Agarwal's illustrations for When Elephants Could Fly (wish that book had actually been published). I don't comment there often, and I should - I definitely appreciate the posts.

By: Sherene

Sherene — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:44:51 +0000

For those interested in reading little snippets on the latest in desi, slightly off-mainstream art & design scene, a friend blogs here at Masala Chai Online Enjoy!

By: my_dog_jagat

my_dog_jagat — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:45:37 +0000

it is hard not to be bullish on good Indian art. My dad still laments not buying some Pyne paintings from back in the day.

There was a time when Thota Tharani's family was almost homeless. And the father --he was a painter--would give away paintings to kind benefactors. Well, Thota became rich and famous and now wants to buy these back at whatever the cost. With art one never knows. What was once a worthless painting(it's actually a beautiful depiction of Shiva/Ganga like no other but at that time, it had no value) now has great value.

By: Margin Fades

Margin Fades — Sun, 24 May 2009 16:38:48 +0000

As a matter of fact, I have bought from desi artists lately - both of my recent purchases have been from local desi arists.

Saffronart's new to me - thanks for linking to it!