At the centre of the brightly-lit The Loft a large number of people surround a soft-spoken fair gentleman in a striped white shirt and grey trousers, who greets everyone with a "Namaste."
If you are a regular at art exhibitions in the city, chances are that of late you may have seen the works of foreign artists. India, and specifically Mumbai now feature in map of artists from abroad, finds Lhendup Bhutia
At the centre of the brightly-lit The Loft, a newly opened art studio cum gallery in central Mumbai, a large number of people surround a soft-spoken fair gentleman in a striped white shirt and grey trousers, who repeatedly greets everyone with a cheery "Namaste." Stephen Dixon, the artist whose works in ceramics and drawings are on exhibition at The Loft, is from Manchester, but has begun to pick up Indian habits after a stint as an artist in this country.
"This is my first solo exhibition in India. I hope it does well," says Dixon. "Not many artists from abroad used to exhibit their works in India. But now more foreign artists seem to coming to India," says Dixon, who is in India as part of the Here And There (HAT) Project, the aim of which is to relocate artists to countries other than their native place for a period and see its effect on their works.
This same week, an exhibition by another UK-born artist Desmond Lazaro has opened at Chemould Prescott Road. His association with India goes a bit deeper. "You can hardly call my paintings foreign," says Lazaro, having spent around 25 years off and on in different Indian cities, working in the traditional Picchvai form of painting. Yet, this is the first time Lozaro is actually exhibiting in India and is keeping his fingers crossed. "I hope the exhibition does well".
He needn't worry. Indian collectors and buyers are getting used to works by foreign artists and are showing interest in acquiring them. Anupa Mehta, an art consultant who set up The Loft, believes that in the world of art, collaboration and exchange is the new order of the day. "The Indian art market for international artists is definitely opening up.
People are interested in more eclectic imagery and are thus willing to take a risk," she says.
The show of works by British enfant terrible Damien Hirst in Delhi and subsequent reports of Indians picking up some of them has stirred interest in the art world. Not every painter sells in the millions of dollars such as Hirst but the idea of buying art done by a painter or sculptor from a different cultural background is beginning to intrigue Indians.
Ranjana Steinruecke, the director of Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, is happy with the interest being shown by Indian buyers in foreign art. Steinruecke has had a stream of foreign artists - like Tran Luong and Vinh Y Nhi from Vietnam in March 2006, and in more recent times Jonathan Messe from Germany - showcasing their works in her gallery. "And why shouldn't foreign artists come to Mumbai?" she questions. "After all, Mumbai now figures prominently in the global map. Art and the love for it is universal."
In fact, some like Mortimer Chatterjee, the co-owner of Chatterjee and Lal is surprised that exhibitions of foreign artists took so long to be featured. He exhibited the works of artists like Rashid Rana from Pakistan earlier this year and also Sophie Ernst from
Holland last year. Rana already has a devoted following here. However, Chatterjee remains dissatisfied with the way, the art market in India is responding to foreign artists.
"The sales of such works are not very encouraging," he says. "What most Indian buyers are interested in are brands," he laments. "They do not show keenness in other foreign artists who may not be big names but their work is as good".
Artists from abroad come from different cultures and the circumstances and influences that shape their work will be different from Indian artists, Chatterjee says. Their works could prove quite interesting to collectors who may not have had much exposure beyond Indian art, he adds.
However, he believes that even though the response is lukewarm at the moment, such exhibitions need to take place, so that Indian buyers get more exposure. "Soon enough the market is bound to open up," he says.
b_lhendup@dnaindia.net
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