Economics of the art world

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Former banker Priyanka Mathew, who is now the head of South Asian art sale for Sotheby’s, feels her education in economics and then subsequent work with Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs in New York prepared her for dealing with art.

“It was an invaluable experience to have worked at Lehman Brothers and then Goldman Sachs. I got a foundation of business training; I now deal with a different market—the art market. However, the principles applied remain the same,” says Indian-born Priyanka, who left New Delhi, where she grew up, to study at the University of Virginia in the United States when she was 17 years old.
Her connection with arts has always been strong, reveals Priyanka, who also ran a theatre company in New York with friends and produced off-Broadway plays. “I have always had a tussle between my right and left brain. I was fairly involved with the arts through high school and university while studying economics,” explains New York-based Priyanka, who moved from banking after five years to run the Aicon Gallery, which specialises in South Asian art, in New York. “It took me a few months to decide. It was a big decision to quit Goldman Sachs, but I decided that I needed to take a risk. The journey at Aicon was extremely exciting. We lived through the boom of the market between 2006 and 2009,” she recalls.
The financial slowdown badly affected the South Asian art market. “This has been a challenging time for the modern and contemporary South Asian art market with an adjustment of both prices and the size of our sales. However, a scenario is emerging in which there is a real focus on quality and an interest in broadening the known rubric of modern South Asian art,” says Priyanka, who is vice-president, head of sale, modern and contemporary South Asian art at Sotheby’s. “I think there will be a gradual recovery of the South Asian art market, but the gentler pace need not necessarily be a bad thing. Historically art markets have appreciated globally; I think we’ll see the same with our market.” Every year, Priyanka, who is keen to support the fledgling art scene in Pakistan, travels to South Asia, essentially India and Pakistan, at least four times.
The Bombay Progressives have cornered the Indian modern and contemporary art market in terms of value, but Priyanka says, “There is a rich history of art making in other centres of the country— all to be discovered and celebrated and that is exciting prospect for the expansion of the South Asian art market. “Priyanka is organising a sale of South Asian modern and contemporary art in New York on September 10. Regular visits to India, also help Priyanka to keep in touch with Indian films and food. “Indian food is hard to do without. I particularly like the food from my home state Kerala—the seafood and preparations are amazing,” says Priyanka, who counts Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth as one of her all-time favourite films.