The 17th India Art Fair concluded on Sunday with a week of strong sales, driven by both established and emerging collectors from India and internationally. Artwork sales reached as high as USD 1,300,000 (approximately Rs 12 crore), organizers announced on Tuesday.
The art fair, which opened at the NSIC Exhibition Grounds on February 5, brought together a record 135 exhibitors, including 94 galleries from around the world and 24 major art institutions, along with an expanded design section.
Among the top sellers were DAG, Vadehra Art Gallery, and Rajiv Menon Contemporary, who noted the increasing demand for South Asian modern and contemporary art in international markets.
With modernist masters like Jamini Roy, S K Bakre, M F Husain, and Meera Mukherjee featured at DAG's booth, CEO and MD Ashish Anand stated that the strong response reflects the growing global recognition of South Asian modernism.
Sales ranging from Rs 50 lakhs to Rs 12 crore, including works by Sewak Ram, Shanti Dave, Krishen Khanna, Nandalal Bose, Madhvi Parekh, and Sakti Burman, indicated a sophisticated collector base increasingly focused on historically significant practices.
"We are seeing meaningful dialogue between international institutions, private collectors, and advisors – a sign of the market's growing depth. India Art Fair continues to serve as a vital art platform for the region and the world, and this early momentum, along with multiple ongoing conversations about other works on display at the fair and our gallery, suggests a very promising season ahead," Anand said.
On the first day, Vadehra Art Gallery sold 80 per cent of its booth, including works by Atul Dodiya, NS Harsha, Manjit Bawa, Anju Dodiya, and Sudhir Patwardhan.
Prices ranged from USD 6,000 (approximately Rs 5.43 lakh) to USD 600,000 (approximately Rs 5.43 crore), with notable sales including acquisitions by Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and other prominent institutional collections.
"We connected with both established and new collectors, and alongside major works like Atul Dodiya's shutter, Gauri Gill's photographs, and Shilpa Gupta's textile work, there was strong engagement with Ashfika Rahman’s works, reflecting India’s robust appetite for diverse artistic expression – from household names to emerging artists," Roshini and Parul Vadehra, co-directors at Vadehra Art Gallery, said.
While Rajiv Menon Contemporary sold all but one work to a combination of domestic and international collectors, ranging from USD 5,000 (approximately Rs 4.52 lakh) to USD 35,000 (approximately Rs 31.69 lakh), Studio SHED sold pieces ranging from USD 7,200 (approximately Rs 6.5 lakh) to USD 27,600 (approximately Rs 25 lakh).
"India is one of the fastest growing hubs within the global art market, and India Art Fair shows just why. The enthusiasm for work from the diaspora shows how art can be a global bridge, and how hungry Indian collectors are for new, international perspectives in the market," Rajiv Menon, founder of Rajiv Menon Contemporary, said.
The US-based gallery brought leading contemporary artists to India Art Fair, including Sahana Ramakrishnan, Melissa Joseph, Rajni Perera, Maya Seas, and Tarini Sethi.
Art Alive Gallery’s director Sunaina Anand credited old and new collectors for the success of their booth at India Art Fair. The gallery featured artists like Maite Delteil, Maya Burman, Paresh Maity, Partha Dasgupta, Shibu Natesan, and Tara Sabharwal.
“I must say there is a lot of enthusiasm about art. It's been very, very good so far where we have met some old collectors, new viewers, new younger collectors in the sense they're buying now and it's not that young by age but started buying, looking at art now. So on the whole it's been a very energised and a very exciting time at the India Art Fair,” Sunaina Anand told PTI.
While there was an interest across the showcase for Art Alive Gallery, she added, Shruti Dixit, Paresh Maity, and Partha Dasgupta were among the most inquired about artists.
“Paresh is a star and he's always attracting a lot of audience of all generations, all age groups. We also got a very overwhelming response to works that we've done and shown in different mediums like Ceramics by Partha Dasgupta which is really really admired and loved.
“We've done phenomenally well with Shruti Dixit, who we were showing for the first time. Her work was the first to sell at the fair,” she added.
International galleries also recorded an enthusiastic response at the art fair.
While Maurizio Rigillo of Galleria Continua noted the presence of “many new young collectors, Sophie Murphy of Saatchi Yates said the fair “exceeded their high expectations”.
“It has been great to meet many new young collectors, and introduce international artists such as Daniel Buren to the South Asian market, alongside showing works by artists such as Ai Wei Wei, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Anish Kapoor which have sold well,” Rigillo said.
Saskia Fernando, founder of Saskia Fernando Gallery, registered “stronger sales than ever”.
“This is a really special fair for us, because in addition to our booth, we also have artists in the institutions section and are part of the talks programme. Coming from Sri Lanka, it’s brilliant to connect with our Indian collector base and meet new clients. This year, our largest works, both in terms of size and price, have seen stronger sales than ever,” Fernando said.
