Image: Ashish Chandra
When Noor Malhotra and Zain Banatwalla tied the knot, their togetherness was sealed with the understanding that their home would be lined with a curation of unique art in all its forms. The newly married couple met rather serendipitously at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi, even though Noor was born and raised in Mumbai, while Zain lived in Bengaluru. The former's passion for lithographs, photographs, carvings, and sculptures, merged well with her partner's enthusiasm for oil paintings, watercolours, and printmaking techniques. Together they have decided to save ₹2 lakh annually solely to invest in art. Starting out There are nuances and multi-layered facets to investing in building an artcollection. While some may see it as a beneficial stock to add to their financial portfolio, others may see it as an emotional investment. Some collectors take it a notch further and acquire it purely for the work's political stance. Like the prints of the late artist and feminist Zarina Hashmi (1937-2020), whose works such as These Cities Blotted into the Wilderness, Countries, Dividing Line, and Home is a Foreign Place sold for $176,344 at the Christie's auction in 2016, explored themes like personal identity, geographical borders, and contested terrains.
Hena Kapadia, the owner of Tarq Art Gallery in Mumbai, suggests that new collectors and buyers should ask an array of questions to understand what they are looking for. "Ask for curatorial notes, press notes, [history] that engages you, and of course, request people at the gallery to explain the work to you," she continues. Tarq began in 2014 as an incubator for young contemporary artists, and they have helped to break the popular notion of collecting only highly established artists who have been in the field for decades. The gallery believes that young buyers with a disposable income can set aside a sum of ₹20,000 for edition prints and approximately ₹1 to 2 lakh for paintings by contemporary artists. Sometimes, gallerists might also allow interested patrons to stagger their payment for an artwork, but it's completely dependent on the rapport and trust between the buyer and the gallery owner.
It might not also always be feasible for passionate art collectors, hobbyists and emerging art enthusiasts to block large sums of money towards art, especially if there is no certainty of financial return. In such cases, Kapadia elaborates on art-backed loans offered by banks, mainly in the USA and UK, which allow collectors to use their art as collateral.
As of 2017, the world's most expensive painting is Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, which sold for $450.3 million at the Christie's auction. Today, the art space has also evolved to include a universe with smaller budgets and emerging artists. Platforms like Instagram and Twitter have paved the way for creators to promote and sell their work without an intermediary, ensuring that they acquire full profit from their creations. For independent Naga photographer Menty Jamir, Instagram played an integral role in raising funds during the first wave of the pandemic. The lack of opportunities was worrisome since she needed to juggle paying rent for her house in Delhi and fund her stay with her sister in Shillong. She used the platform to organise a print sale with ten of her images, each selling at ₹3,500. Ranging from wildflowers in a solitary field to tumultuous waves, Jamir's deeply poetic work sold enough to cover a couple of months of rent, as well as connect with people to who she would otherwise have no access to.
"ASK FOR CURATORIAL NOTES, PRESS NOTES, [HISTORY] THAT ENGAGES YOU, AND OF COURSE, REQUEST PEOPLE AT THE GALLERY TO EXPLAIN THE WORK TO YOU."Hena Kapadia
Since photography is a relatively nascent art form, there is a long-standing debate about whether it can be considered collectible art. Artcollector Anupama Katakam validates that it is definitely fine art that Indian galleries don't patronise. Katakam, the niece of Bengaluru-based gallerist Kausalya Dayaram, has been on the hunt for an appropriate photograph to add to her collection but feels lost in this regard. Tarq is one of the handfuls of galleries that backs young photographers with emphatic voices and has shown the works of Clare Arni (2014, 2015, 2017) and Ronny Sen (2018), with an upcoming show scheduled with photographer Philippe Calia who lives between India and France. Experimenter Gallery in Kolkata and Nature Morte in Delhi are two other galleries that back avant-garde artists.
Since the new age is all about the metaverse and the non-physicality of objects, owning art is no more exclusively tactile. Introduced in 2017, a digital asset known as non-fungible tokens (NFT) has now taken the artworld by storm and has made the buying and selling of the craft a highly profitable business. As Indian Express succinctly describes, "For the uninitiated, NFTs are digital collectibles such as art, music, gif, etc., which works on Blockchain technology that cannot be duplicated. While anyone can view the asset in question, only the buyer can say they are the 'official' owner."
As of January 18th 2022, OpenSea, a platform used to sell NFTs, surpassed $3.5 billion in sales and has made both artists and collectors millionaires overnight. Jack Dorsey, the billionaire founder of Twitter, turned his first-ever tweet into an NFT, then sold for $2.9 million.
Thailand-based photographer, artist, and NFT minter (NFT trader) Daniel Huete strongly advocates for the longevity of the digital asset and the ease with which it has made dealing in art far more global and easy. "How do we archive work and ensure that it never gets damaged? Here, your art is indestructible, and it begins inside the blockchain instead of existing in a frame, print, or book," he elucidates. It also throws open the opportunity to form an infinite number of versions for creation, buying, and selling instead of the more conventional numbered editions or sets.
While talking about the new age of art collection, Katakam is torn between investing in the progressive masters from the 1940s and works by contemporary artists from the early 2000s. Katakam is calculative about investing in newer artists. "I most definitely need the work to be a combination of both financial and personal value. I have to want to see it on my walls every day, but I've also seen art bail my family out amid a financial crisis," she elaborates. This is precisely why Noor and Zain made an exception and pushed their original budget to invest in their first SH Raza, acquired from a Chennai gallery in 2019. They are now contemplating an NFT acquisition through Rarible, which deals with NFTs.
It is also helpful to move away from the large auction houses and explore local curators, galleries, and artists whose sensibilities are aligned with yours. For Sangeeta Raghavan, director of Art Musings, Mumbai, emotions play centre stage while dealing with the medium. Even though the 20-year-old gallery has displayed the works of celebrated artists such as MF Husain, FN Souza, and Anjolie Ela Menon, they have also showcased works of newer artists like Shilo Shiv Suleman and Smriti Dixit. "I find that people are often looking to commercialise art and look at its dollar value. But what is its intrinsic value?" contemplates Raghavan. She stresses that it is essential to see as much art as possible to know what language comforts you, encouraging potential buyers to try out the art they want to purchase on an experimental basis.
This thought resonates with art curator, critic, and poet, Ranjit Hoskote, immersed in the art world for 34 years. "It is essential to invest in the medium only if you are prepared to invest parts of yourself in the history, emotions, and intensive research that it brings with it." Since Noor has majored in anthropology and sociology at the SOAS University of London, for her, the thrill of collecting art lies in the thorough understanding of its origins. Keep your ears and eyes open, advises Katakam too.
A guide to investing in an artwork is as much about funding as it is about putting in the legwork for it. Draw up a list of artists that interest you, regularly visit galleries in different cities, read up on artworks and artists to help you spend your money better. And don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't rush in until the art speaks, and you are prepared to listen. And yes, put aside some of your income towards your art agenda.