Art.net; art for sale online

An interesting line-up of works will find its way into Sam’s Art Hub this week — a collection of works ranging from sculptures, charcoals, drawings and photographs of three senior artists — Akbar Padamsee, Sudhir Patwardhan and Gieve Patel.

Apart from the drawings done by Akbar Padamsee, there are 40 photographs from the master's substantial body of works — nude models. According to Samina Lokhandwala, who runs Sam’s Art Hub, while the rest of his works are going to be physically showcased within the premises of his gallery, most of the 40 photographs will only be available for online sale. However, to aid art connoisseurs coming to the gallery to inspect his works and looking for buying his works, there will be a catalogue that will document all the 40 photographs.

To assist the buyers in understanding the finer nuances of the works, the gallery will be keeping aside two or three works, unframed inside a folder. Curator for the show Ronita Shah explains, “One can take a look at the quality of the paper and the finer points of the works.”

The reason for not displaying Padamsee’s works is obvious. The curator explains, “There are some compliance issues.” Pausing for thought, she explains, “It has been a conscious decision. We do not want to court controversy.” However, she reminds that this may be the best time to procure the veteran's photographs as they have been priced at Rs1,00,000 each, a decision taken by the artist himself as part of the end of the year budgeting.