A meld of the familiar and the extraordinary

The India Art Fair, in its recently concluded 16th edition, offered a diverse range of modern and contemporary art from India and South Asia, along with sections that showcased design, traditional and folk arts, as well as a series of talks. The event attracted the art community, collectors, and the public in equal measure, so much so that tickets were sold out over the weekend, and the fair issued an advisory regarding the possibility of entry restrictions.

With around 120 exhibitors, the largest ever so far, the fair included 14 international galleries, featuring artists such as Anish Kapoor at Galleria Continua and Lisson Gallery, Huma Bhabha and Yayoi Kusuma at David Zwirner, and Ai Weiwei at Galleria Continua, among other highly coveted names. Highlights included large-scale installations, monumental paintings and many famous works. Incidentally, both David Zwirner and Lisson Gallery have returned to the fair after a hiatus, which points to a growing interest in the region, and the fair solidifying its position as an event of significance in this part of the world.

A site-specific LED installation by the conceptual artist duo Claire Fontaine, inspired by their well-known series ‘Foreigners Everywhere’, reimagined the phrase in various Indian languages. ‘Make-Shift’, by Indian artist Asim Waqif, an interactive installation created from a second-hand cement truck and metal scrap, invited the audience to explore and dwell on the dualities of perception, chance and materiality.

Nature Morte, with its strategically placed booth, close to the entrance, presented a group of works by both Indian and international artists, including Subodh Gupta, Manu Parekh, Jitish Kallat, Dayanita Singh, Manish Nai, Ragini Bhow, Bharti Kher and others. Bharti Kher’s 2018 sculpture, ‘The Watchman’, a hybrid figure, combined the male and the female, referring to the androgynous form of Ardhnarisvara while drawing from her penchant for the iconography of mythologies. Subodh Gupta’s ‘Mars Kitchen’ formed an intriguing installation with gleaming stainless kitchen utensils, green potted plants and a holograph, transforming the ordinary into a futuristic artefact. In Gupta’s representation, the familiar was transmuted into an extraordinary, perhaps an otherworldly device, while the cacti and ayurvedic plants connected it to the natural living world. The futuristic kitchen went beyond the mundane and emphasised the paradoxical co-mingling of the natural and technological worlds.

David Zwirner’s booth offered a diverse selection of international artists, including Yayoi Kusama’s ‘Infinity Mirror Box’, and an installation by Dan Flavin. Atul Dodiya’s ‘Weeping Ancestors’ at Vadehra Art Gallery, painted on rolling metal shutters, depicted portraits of historical figures mourning over the current scenario, rife with conflict and angst. Julio Le Parc’s immersive installation exploring light and movement, at Galleria Continua, Manu Parekh’s ‘Manthan’, an expansive 6.5 x 42 feet painting, a large embroidered work by Rekha Rodwittiya, ‘Home Is Wherever You Are’, created in collaboration with Milaaya Embroideries and exhibited at Sakshi Gallery, NS Harsha’s bronze, ‘Sprouting Philosopher’, at Chemould Prescott Road, Prathap Modi engravings and oil works on wood at Rukshaan Art, are a mere few of the several works that created an impact.

In terms of sales, while consolidated figures are not available, Vadehra Art Gallery sold 90 per cent of their booth on the first day, with prices going up to $300,000, including works by Sudhir Patwardhan, Atul Dodiya, Shilpa Gupta, and Vivan Sundaram. Nature Morte sold 70 per cent of their booth by the second day, including a Jitish Kallat for around $100,000 while David Zwirner sold several works in the price range of $12,000 to $450,000 on the first day itself. These included works by Portia Zvavahera, and Oscar Murillo, a sculpture by Huma Bhabha, and a painting by the Bengaluru-based artist Sosa Joseph.

Dab Hand is your art world lowdown.

The author is a Bengaluru-based art consultant, curator and writer. She blogs at Art Scene India.