Young talent fares well at India Art Fair

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Dhanur Goyal is a young, contemporary Tagorean artist. He translates Tagore’s aesthetic vision into paintings and drawings mainly using pen and ink on paper. Recently, one of his installations and a painting found a terrific audience at the India Art Fair 2013. He managed to sell 50 per cent of the total art work worth Rs 2.25 lakh. As a young artist, who presented his work for the first time at the fair, he did pretty well. There were many other young guns who were a hit with the audience.

“This year collectors were excited about the diversity and quality of the art fair. Every year, renowned artists are showcased at the festival. But this time, we also had many emerging artists showing their works to a large and discerning international audience for the first time. There were even a few first-timers, and artists from around the country who have had little, if any, exposure to the international or even the Indian market till date and the fair proved a great opportunity for collectors to see their work on the same platform as that of leading artists,” says Neha Kirpal, founder, India Art Fair.
Shivani Aggarwal, who was a part of Studio Art Gallery, had one installation and one art work. “Shivani’s work was a set of 23 individual items and valued between upto `4 lakh. We managed to sell artworks worth `2.5 lakh. It is a long shot to predict whether they are profitable or not. When we spot a young talent, we try and hone them, patronise them and the process goes on for a while,” explains Ashna Singh, gallery owner, Studio Art.
Young artists bring in a lot of freshness and experimentation in their work, says Meena Dada, curatorial director, Prakrit art gallery. The gallery displayed works of two young artists, Avijeet Datta and R. Balasubramanium. “Bala used a lot of 3D effect and based his work on scientific theories. All the three works were sold out in the range of `12-15 lakh each. Similarly, both of Avijit’s works sold for around `3-4 lakh each. Corporate houses from Delhi and Mumbai and foreign galleries were our biggest clients,” says Dada.
Akash Choyal’s works were displayed by Gallery Artchill at the fair. Talking about his work, gallery owner Sangeeta adds, “Although not a complete newbie, the young artist always manages to bring in certain novel ideas. For instance, Akash’s 3D book registered a huge sale. His installations did fairly well too. We did business worth `8-10 lakh and are still getting many enquiries.”
Nantu Bihari Das inadvertently brought to the fore his intrinsic childlike temperament. “I have drawn a parallel with children and the soft fur they are associated with. I have juxtaposed the thought of tenderness with a medium as hard as metal, only to create the perfect illusion,” said the artist.
Says artist Dhanur Goyal, “Last December I held a solo show at a gallery. It was an honour to be exhibited on the same platform as legends like M.F. Husain, F.H. Raza and Rashid Rana.” His works were exhibited by Gallery Ragini and the gallerist Nidhi Jain puts forth, “We try and scout for fresh talent. Even if budding artists do not sell much, the kind of exposure they get at the fair leads to long term benefits.”