Small art, big impact!

300 art postcards created by artists like Brinda Miller, Sunil Padwal, Dhruvi Acharya, Archana Hande among the 58 artists who created these small sized works marks one of the most successful art exhibitions — Card-o-logy at Hacienda Art Gallery — after recession hit the art market.

Just a few days after the opening of the show, the gallery claims to have sold 50 per cent of their works and the small size of the works (postcards) has done the trick. The curator of the exhibition, Jasmine Shah Varma says, “During different times and different circumstances, different things work. Our pricing (Rs3,000 to Rs8,000) worked for us.” 90 per cent of the works are priced in the above price range, 10 per cent between Rs10,000 and just one work is priced at Rs60,000.

A young art collector Nisha Chinmulgand bought five postcards. “The show was a great opening to the art season. Most of the artists work on large formats, so it was interesting to see what they do in a small format,” she says, adding, “and the works are very reasonably priced. One spends Rs3,000 to Rs8,000 on a meal so why not spend it on a collectible that you will cherish for a very long time,” says Nisha.

Jasmine adds, “Usually buyers want to go back home and see whether they can accommodate a painting or not and they also want to consult with friends and families. But because these works are rather small and not very expensively priced, people don’t hesitate to pick them up.”

Ask Jasmine what is the aim of this project, and she replies, “This is a fun, light art project. We are trying to drive home the point that art does not necessarily has to be an investment. You have to cherish the works and live with it and this show, to quite an extent extends this across.”