The India Art Fair, 15 editions old, is now part of the country’s social calendar that, like the Jaipur Literary Festival, has its groupies, a community of art lovers that waxes and wanes but never fails to throng the venue in ever-increasing numbers. This last February, though, it was at its engaging best—larger in scope, more inclusive, more diverse, united nations of art in which artist-spotting was as important as the artworks, in which students and collectors rubbed shoulders in a way that was democratic and eclectic. They came for the art – of course! – and for the art tours, for catching up with friends, to see and be seen, to attend talks and curated walks, to dine and wine, to be at signings and buy art books. And they came from the capital, from Mumbai, from Goa and Bangalore, from tier two cities and tier three towns; for a day or two, or all four days; they attended openings of collateral exhibitions and auction previews in the city, compared notes, made wishlists, Instagrammed pictures – and yes, they bought art too! A considerable lot, if conversations are to be believed of booths selling out within hours…
What was it like to be part of the mêlée? Let me modestly say that one had a position of privilege, a view of the fair from one of its most popular booths where the masters were in abundance. This included two of the oldest paintings on display at the fair, dating to 1800, one a Company Painting by an unidentified artist from Murshidabad, the other a landscape of the ghats of Benares by one of the earliest British artists to visit India: Thomas Daniell. That set the tone at the DAG booth where one of my favourites was another Company Painting by Sewak Ram, a Moharram scene with a multitude of figures I enjoyed describing for anyone who would care to listen. Another favourite was a 1959 oil on canvas painting from London painted by Laxman Pai that took one’s breath away. Visitors had their own favourites, whether J. P. Gangooly’s impeccable riverscape scene, S. H. Raza and F. N. Souza’s brilliant landscapes from the 1960s, or M. F. Husain’s tongue-in-cheek self-portrait, or, indeed, Radha Charan Bagchi’s breathtaking scene that depicted Emperor Jehangir and Empress Nur Jehan in the procession that accompanied them en route to Kashmir – what a feast for the eyes that was with its incredibly fine detailing.
On all sides were other booths that contained amazing artwork. I couldn’t help but walk across whenever there was a lull to be astounded by a gigantic panorama by Ai Wei Wei that was his contemporaneous take on Monet’s lilies. Another booth had a segment of a larger work that had been part of a New Delhi hotel ceiling in the 1980s created by Husain; a larger-than-life-size bronze head by Jaipur-based sculptor Himmat Shah was as extraordinary as a portrait by Parag Sonaghare that commanded the attention of anyone passing by. Among the artists whom one met was Sakti Burman who spent most of his life practising in Paris and his painter family wife Maite Delteil and daughter Maya Burman; the Parekhs, Manu and Madhvi, were there daily; Rekha Rodwittiya and Ankush Safaya went art spotting, Manish Gera Baswani talked enthusiastically about her work; Satish Gupta came on the inaugural day; Veer Munshi’s solo in one booth emphasised his Kashmiri roots; V. Ramesh posed beside his paintings and Ravinder Reddy beside his sculptures; Subodh Gupta’s distinctive installation sold almost immediately; Paresh Maity mounted massive works while his wife Jayasri Burman showed a body of smaller paintings; and there were younger contemporaries who strolled around basking in the praise their work received.
The collectors were avidly watched, not just because they brought their own impeccable eye to collecting, or came with generous purses, but because what serious collectors acquire becomes a benchmark for those still taking baby steps in that direction. What they buy remains confidential but an art fair is a public space where such information – and, often, negotiations – occur publicly and get noticed. These patrons deserve praise for accepting the role of custodianship of art for the generations to follow, and to learn from them is an honour; young collectors could achieve much from observing their methodology even if their own choices might differ.
The thousands of visitors who came over the four-day fair braved Delhi’s chaotic traffic, extremely cold weather (and some rain), mingled among the chattering classes, good-naturedly braved long queues at the many food and cocktail stalls to grab takeaway coffees and stay-in meals that were served fresh and hot. India Art Fair seems to bring out the best in all its visitors so strangers met up and chatted over shared tables and in the aisles.
Two conversations have remained with me with the fair now a distant (but vivid) memory. The first was with a young couple who had come especially from Surat to attend the fair, their second time, having fallen in love with the world of art and decided to join the growing band of young collectors who are enlivening the Indian art scene. I never learned their names despite talking to them for over a half-hour – they were among the thousands with similar stories of bonding with the art world, if only you cared to listen to them.
The other was a visitor and known art admirer whose identity everybody knew. Sonia Gandhi stopped outside our booth, looked at a large painting by P. Khemraj, and observed to me that it reminded her of the work of Madhubani artists. I was able to share facets of the artist’s life and practice with her before the art fair and other visitors absorbed her in their midst, and she was gone, part of the throng in the republic of art.
Can’t wait for next year’s fair!
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