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Backed by art galleries and museums across the world, these contemporary artists are finding new ways to break the mould. The author recommends the names to watch out for and to invest in
REENA KALLAT
"I think spatially, sculpturally, architecturally. So even if the work is conceptually-driven, what shape/form it takes, how it will get crafted is important. I spend a considerable amount of time trying to figure out the most suitable medium to communicate it effectively," says Kallat. Her art, she says, has been impacted by Rachel Whitread, Jenny Holzer, Louise Bourgoise's body of work on cells, Mona Hatoum and Anish Kapoor - artists whose processes and materials incite visceral responses. She also admires the work of Nasreen Mohammedi, Nalini Malani, Vivan Sundaram, Atul Dodiya, among others. Her acclaimed work "Walls of Womb" (2007) has been shown in Milan, Mumbai, Brazil, Denmark and many other places, but it especially struck an emotional chord with people in Brazil. "I received warm and emotional letters from viewers even though I couldn't be present during the exhibition," she says.
She adds, "I don't think a collector sets out with a mission to break the mould but a good collector is perceptive in recognising a path-breaking work from his/her time." She prices her work "modestly", she says.
The dynamic artist who represented India at the Art Unlimited division of Basel Arts Exhibition earlier this week, is famous for his sculptures that draw from a range of influences, especially the rural farmlands he grew up on. He employs images that are characteristic of India's underbelly - for instance, a hospital bed with battered mattresses piled high. Born in 1971 in Karnataka, he holds an MA in Fine Art from the Metropolitan University in Leeds, UK. He has held solo shows at the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai (2011), Nature Morte, New Delhi (2011), Arario Gallery, Beijing (2010), among others. He also won the prestigious Rs 1-million Škoda Prize for contemporary art in 2012.
On his famous sculpture, "Victory Pillar", Nature Morte Director Aparajita Jain says, "The juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary, and the "surreal amalgamation" of Indian symbols mixed with issues prevalent in rural India make Tallur's work so seductive." Jain also suggests that buyers consider the works of Asim Waqif, Rohini Devesher, Aditya Pande and Suhasini Kejriwal. "Investment [in their works] needs to be measured over the duration of holding the investment, so we keep a 5-7 year holding window," she adds. "The price [of their work] ranges from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 36 lakh."
In art circles, Gupta's name pops up everywhere - her work spans interactive video, websites, objects, photographs, sound and public performances which probe themes of desire, belief, terror, personal safety, and international security. Her forte, she believes, is her interest "in how information, visible or invisible, gets transmitted and internalised in everyday life." She adds, "We absorb the world around us via codes exchanged over LCD screens, objects, Internet video. My work, therefore, can be any of these materials." Gupta, 37, believes that her medium and consistency make her unique and cites "serious collectors" as her target buyers.
While seasoned collectors admit that they invest in relatively bigger names, the popularity of Gupta's work signals the growing trend among younger collectors to invest in contemporary art forms such as photography and multimedia installations. She has held gallery solos with Gallerie Yvon Lambert in Paris, Chemould Prescott Road in Mumbai and more, and her work has been shown at the Tate Modern, Serpentine Gallery, Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, Devi Art Foundation in Gurgaon et cetera. She doesn't divulge the price range of her work.
"Shilpa Gupta is perhaps the only artist who has been persuasive in pursuing art through audience and community participation, using public places," says Kiran Nadar, chairperson of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.
The 32-year-old artist from Tripura plays with juxtapositions - of nature and manmade objects, industry and nature - which reflect in his work, most of which is mixed media (installations, sculptures and drawings). Trained in Rabindra Bharati University, Barman is poised to "make it to the big league soon," believes Experimenter Gallery Director Prateek Raja. "Barman has a language that is fresh and challenging at the same time. The conceptual frameworks within which his work is rooted is very contemporary and is appreciated by collectors the world over," he says. "The use of construction material, rubble, concrete, re-purposed corrugated boxes makes his work intriguing." Raja also recommends the works of artists Hajra Waheed, Naeem Mohaiemen, Bani Abidi and Nadia Kaabi-Linke: "Their works appeal to an international as well as a local audience and have recently been bought by a few significant institutions and private collectors."
For 40-year-old Upadhyay, known for her sculptural installations and photography, "the selection of scale or material [for my work] is related to the concept." Take, for instance, her artwork, "think left think right think low think tight" (2010), which, along with a chronology of other works, was about th
Upadhyay, a postgraduate from Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda, has shown her work at Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma (MACRO) in Rome, Centre Pompidou in Paris and The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing, among others. While her paintings measuring 4ft X 6ft are priced at Rs 15 lakh-Rs 16 lakh, the installations range from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 65 lakh.
"Upadhyay's work is a personal chronicle about the individual perspective of a collective experience - migration and displacement," says Nadar who calls her work "introspective" and "provocative". "Her paintings often refer to 'home', not as a place of security, but with a sense of dislocation. This is a global condition that she addresses through local references."
Bangalore-based Shettar, born in 1977, is best known for her large-scale sculptural installations. A Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath (Bangalore) alumnus, Shettar uses beeswax, sawdust, wood, latex, PVC tubing, silicone rubber, and metal in her works. "Using both modern technologies and traditional Indian craft techniques, she creates environments that are as stunning as they are sensual," says Nadar. "It's her wondrous imagination with its complex references to art and the world around her that really impresses. These references are often subtle to the point of abstruseness. Luckily, though, the initial enjoyment of the pieces doesn't require a knowledge or understanding of all the references," she adds.
Famous for her range of sculptural works titled "Bird Song", created from muslin and steel with curving lines suggesting feathers and flight, Shettar has held solo exhibitions at Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, Hermes Foundation, Singapore and at Talwar Gallery in Delhi and New York, among others.
