Global canvas for Indian art

When Hugo Weihe resigned as International Director Of Asian Art at Christiersquos The Telegraph UK reported that the auction house had lost its leading light Dinesh and Minal Vazirani founders of the Indian auction house Saffronart however saw this as an opportunity and grabbed it Weihe is considered an expert in the field of Asian art internationally having built the Indian and Southeast Asian Art department at Christiersquos from scratchIndian visitors view the paintings of artist Jatin Das on display at the Amdavad Ni Gufa Gallery in Ahmedabad on April 13 2011 Das is one of Indiarsquos most prolific figurative painters PicAFPHe was the main force behind organising its first auction sale in Mumbai in December 2013 and it was under his leadership that Christiersquos achieved many recordbreaking prices including the 154 million sale of Tyeb Mehtarsquos Mahisasura Over the telephone from New York Weihe who takes over as CEO of the Saffronart group in July finds it hard to contain his excitement that he will finally be able to work on the ground in IndiaExcerpts from an interview with Hugo WeiheQ Why Saffronart What made you want to take up this offer A Dinesh and Minal Vazirani started Saffronart 15 years ago and I have known them for a very long time I thought it was an extraordinary opportunity It is a new challenge for me to understand the Indian market which is at an important juncture now There is so much potential for growth which is what excited me I strongly believe that the future of art lies within Asia It is great that I have got a chance to be involved in building the market from within using the rich experience I have picked up from around the world This was like an obvious next step for meHugo Weihe former international director of Asian Art at Christiersquos walks past Maqbool Fida Husainrsquos Cow Umbrella plus Lantern minus a Shoe is equal to Man and Woman during a media preview ahead of Christiersquos first auction in India in Mumbai on December 16 2013 PicAFPQ What is your vision for Saffronart in the coming yearsA Saffronart is a wellpositioned company They deal with Indian art and collectables and showcase art using India as a platform to view the world from They also do a lot of diverse things mdash like jewellery real estate and antiquities Then there is also the online auction space which they are pioneers in Online sales are costeffective but live sales are equally important The whole feeling of an auction is unmatchable There is the artwork a crowd the fighting and the confidence of an open marketplace We will try to expand on both terms It is important to have a wellcurated collection So we will be working towards that I believe that the antiquities market has a huge growth potential But we see that some 2000yearold antiquities are not valued as much as modern paintings at times We are trying to do away with that discrepancy and close that gap We need to raise awareness among the public on how to value and look at art I plan to make use my knowledge of the field in a new way We need to restructure and rethink our ways of looking at art and dealing with it We also need to leverage modern technology in all its formQ How did you get interested in Indian art and what are the styles that inspire you the mostA I have always been very interested by Buddhist sculptures When I went to Switzerland to study art history I was particularly interested in learning about cultural exchange I had the privilege of working with art historian BN Goswamy and was deeply moved by the Pahari paintings he was studying What interests me is the movement of ideas and how it affects art The Gandhara School of Art and the Gupta period fascinate me Of all the iconic Asian images I feel Indian art is the most emotive It has a power from within I have read somewhere that all art was once contemporary I am interested in looking at what these artworks meant to their times I also have a keen interest in the modern artists When I met Tyeb Mehta we spoke for so long about his time during the Rockefeller Fellowship about mythology and his inspirations I want to connect to these artists and understand the evolution of art With such a rich art tradition behind you it is fascinating to learn how these artists use that as a step to take off in their respective new directionsQ Your take on the state of Indiarsquos contemporary art marketA India sits on an extraordinary treasure of 5000 years of culture It is a very powerful platform because culture becomes the ambassador of a country to the world Once you have the right economic means India can generate new opportunities from this just like China did The pride and position the Chinese hold among other countries in the world now is that moment for IndiaQuick Questions with Hugo Weihegtgt Favourite artists Tough choice Still I would go with Leonardo da Vinci and Tyeb MehtagtgtMost promising contemporary artists from Asia Atul Dodiya and Pakistani artist Rashid RanagtgtFavourite museum The Metropolitan Museum Of Art New YorkgtgtFavourite artwork Nefertitirsquos Bust right on display at Neues Museum BerlingtgtFavourite art style Artworks of the Gupta periodgtgtFavourite piece of art owned It is a work on paper A drawing of a skull by Tyeb MehtaPicAFPThe bust of Queen Nefertiti of Egypt on display in Berlinrsquos ldquoNeues Museumrdquo New Museum February 7 2011 The Nefertiti Bust is a 3400yearold painted limestone bust of Nefertiti the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaton and is one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt Due to the bust Nefertiti has become one of the most famous women from the ancient world as well as an icon of female beauty It is believed to have been crafted in 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose Egyptrsquos Supreme Council of Antiquities demands that Germany return the 3400 yearold bust of fabled Queen Nefertiti 98 years after it was uncovered on the banks of the Nile