This evening, should you happen by The Claridges in New Delhi, you might find yourself drawn to an unusual sculpture of Gandhi in the lobby. Yes, the Mahatma — and no, this one isn’t the popular image (though you’ll likely find that too) but the letters in the English alphabet grouped together so they spell out, in a juxtaposition of forms and voids, his surname.
Portrait de Gandhi by French sculptor Stephane Cipre, is the artist’s first public airing in India — but it is unlikely to be his last. Cipre, born in 1968, is what you might call an experimental sculptor, perhaps even a pop-art avatar of the metalworking tradition, who works in cast aluminum and steel using letters to create wrought metal pieces that are assembled to look —monumental? suggestive? raw?
While you can take your pick from that, Cipre’s clever visual expressions, in limited editions (you can also buy Cipre’s Gandhi, for instance, on the net from Galerie Ferrero, one of 17 works being offered there) are a collector’s delight, and are here courtesy of Marigold Fine Art, which opens this evening with a (for India) rare show of Salvador Dali limited edition sculptures, Pablo Picasso lithographs, and works by European contemporary artists Arman, Mazel-Jalix, David Kracov, Franck Tordjmann and Jorg Doring.
The tattered-jeans toting Gaurav Assomull - of the family Assomull whose Marigold group promotes luxury brands, including Judith Leiber, in India — is an unlikely CEO for the art venture, but he knows at least his European art. As a collegiate in Paris, and later working with a gallery, he latched on soon enough to the potential of popular art in Europe, and its very obvious vacuum in India — an opportunity first spotted by his brother Vikram Assomull.
The artists chosen for the first show - there are several ideas for the future, including having Cipre come down to set up a foundry here and do a series especially for India — are a mix of the very well known and the less known “about whom we will have to educate the Indian buyer”, says Gaurav. But the selection has also taken into view the price point at which they hope to sell European art: “not Dali or Picasso originals worth millions of dollars” he says, “but something affordable, and which will multiply in value at a steady price”, as European art has, in fact been doing, rather than the leaps and bounds of Indian art till its correction over the last months.
How do Marigold’s prices compare with their value internationally? “Let us say,” explains Gaurav, “that something that may be available in Europe for $4,000 may be sold by us for $5,000, but that includes the value of sourcing, the 15-30 per cent customs duty, as well as VAT.” And yes, just in case you were curious, they’re willing to source specific works for their clients.
Meanwhile, on the Galerie Ferrero website, you’ll find Cipre’s Elephant, a visual delight consisting entirely of heavy and slight letters — something Marigold has set its sights on bringing to their gallery. Tonight’s feedback might decide whether it might be sooner rather than later.
