A DIY guide for young art collectors

The one couple art consultant Farah Siddiqui wants young collectors to look up is Herbert and Dorothy Vogel The New York couple worked as state employees Herb served in the US Postal Service and Dorothy worked as a librarian lived a life of utter frugality but managed to collect more than 4000 works of contemporary art since the 1960s They celebrated their engagement with a ceramic piece by Pablo Picasso They gifted themselves Crushed Car Parts by sculptor John Chamberlain on their wedding They honeymooned at the National Gallery Washington DC Dorothyrsquos income ran their onebedroom apartment Herbrsquos salary was kept for art They visited galleries every Saturday until Herbrsquos health took its toll on himLost and Found series by Atish SahaYou donrsquot need a lot of money to build an interesting collection is Siddiquis suggestion to budding art collectors We are thinking about Lakeeren Gallery which opened an exhibition this past week titled Face Off Irony and Humour in a Critical Age Featuring four contemporary artists Pushpamala N Justin Ponmany Prajakta Potnis and Chitra Ganesh the exhibition puts subversion at its tongueincheek best Take Justinrsquos irreverent swastika made on graph paper or Pushpamalarsquos 30 feminist photographs says gallerist Dr Arshiya Lokhandwala of LakeerenThe show Lokhandwala hopes will tempt young collectors to pick up works that all would appreciate not just monetarily but which are critical and a part of Indian art history These are established artists who have shown in museums and are important collections worldwide Itrsquos incredible to be able to have a Pushpamala for as little as Rs 5000 she says If you have been tinkering with the idea of kickstarting a collection the time is now After 2008 the second wave for art investment has set in India more strongly from both national and international collectors says Hugo Weihe CEO of auction house SaffronartHENA KAPADIA RECOMMENDSPhotographs by Atish Saha and Clare Arni and photographic works by Pratap Morey Saharsquos works are priced between Rs 1Rs 15 lakhs while Arnirsquos works can be bought for Rs 60000Can you live with itCollecting and investing are not necessarily synonyms Gallerist Mortimer Chatterjee of Chatterjee amp Lal says In India we are still in the shadow of the 200508 period when artworks passed hands multiple times in the same evening Sadly we are left with a situation where art is inextricably linked to commerceYou can collect for passion or collect for investment Which is why star auctioneer Weihe asks the young to start off by buying what they love Think about it this way In your new apartment would you put up something that you gain pleasure from or something thatrsquos just trendy It is easy to get tripped up by the thought that a workrsquos price will double in the next few years But you have to ask yourself mdash can you live with it he says Art collector Anurag Khanna who was awarded the title of Forbesrsquo young ollector in 2014 feels the sameHis first purchases were two paintings by Sunil Padwal and Manisha Parikh from two galleries in Mumbai As a newlywed he put up the paintings in his apartment and they became conversation starters and elicited observations from the many friends and relatives that dropped by It made me more interested in looking at other young Indian and Pakistani artists he saysArchitect Ashiesh Shah a prominent collector says that there is really no need to hurry with picking up an artwork as if it were the last day of a sale Go see a work in a gallery a few times and ask yourself if you can wake up to it every morning Itrsquos not a staple itrsquos a luxury buy he saysRemember your taste will evolve Shah now 35 has been steadily building his collection since he was a collegian before the boom of the last decade He is best understood when he compares collecting art to tasting blood Looking back he says his tastes have evolved With works of senior artists like Anjolie Ela Menon in his collection he now veers towards contemporary artists like Jitish Kallat and younger names like Ayesha Sultana and Sakshi GuptaIt is natural to slip up when building a substantial collection Art collecting is like comparing new and aged wine It comes with time and age I have a made a few mistakes of judgment when I depended on market trends he saysChatterjee tells us of tricky territory mdash misjudging aesthetic value How do you know for sure that a new work is going to be considered historically significant Simply put have you put your faith in the right artist It is a misnomer that every purchase will live on even after 20 years You have to wait for the dust to settle it is only much later that these things become clear he saysOnce you have weathered these storms you could feel adventurous like Shah who now indulges in folk art like Gond and video worksFARAH SIDDIQUI RECOMMENDSNeha Choksi Sahej Rahal Hemali Bhuta Shreyas Karle Rohini Devasher and Seher Shah Also smaller works by artists such as Rana Begum and Sudarshan ShettyStudy your interestsBefore you gear up to swipe your card for art Chatterjee wants us first to unlearn what we know about art If you think art has to be always pleasant and pretty then think againFirst order of business stroll rigorously around biennales exhibitions and art fairs ascertaining what you are naturally drawn towards Siddiqui says that luckily the number of avenues for engaging with art have increased these days Kochi Biennale Art Dubai Art Hong Kong and India Art Fair are accessible for young collectors in India Besides there are plenty of local events like Mumbai Gallery Weekend and charity art auctions by nonprofitsI increase my knowledge base by visiting galleries talking to people and most importantly reading extensively Reading and religiously reading is a great learning tool even today The day I donrsquot read on art I am full of guilt and irritation after doing this for almost 15 years now says KhannaThere are also nontraditional sources like Art21rsquos YouTube channel a nonprofit that provides knowledge on contemporary art Care to turn that on during lunch breakWhatever your source mdash a channel a gallerist or an artist mdash the method to sharpen your taste is to continually test it We ask Chatterjee if there are consultants who will advise you specifically on art investments Thank God no Such a profile is doomed to failure he shudders Commerce has to be combined with aesthetics when it comes to collecting artLastly Weihe asks people to trust your gut and seek fewer opinions Everyone has the instinct to collect like we do with stamps Next you have got to commit eventually and buy a work and not keep looking ARSHIYA LOKHANDWALA RECOMMENDSChitra Ganeshrsquos work is feminist through which she explores freedom Also Pushpamalarsquos Pop Yogini from the Popular SeriesTalking moniesAt an important auction held last year in Mumbai it was astonishing to hear several graduates from the London School of Economics say how they would love a Jogen Chowdhury in their collectionAdi JehangirThings are brightening up here A March 2016 survey by artmarket analysis firm ArtTactic states that while the US European and Chinese art markets declined in auction sales last year the overall Indian Modern and Contemporary art market saw a 36 per cent rise in 2015 So what do you go for Take it from Jehangir mdash paintings and canvases do better than prints abstract works do better than plain portraits It is sound advice he says coming from a man who is gaga over stilllife and landscape I hate to use words like lsquopricersquo and lsquovaluersquo when it comes to art But if you must invest invest in aesthetics that wonrsquot depreciate Canvases are the best investment in this regard he says Depending on your interests Siddiqui says the young can start by purchasing an original work between Rs 50000 Rs 3 lakhShah stoops lower You can start with as low as Rs 20000 Rs 50000 for younger artists Experimenta and Project 88 are great galleries to check outItrsquos okay to start smallOne golden rule that all evoke is that quality rules over quantity If you are a serious art collector then it is important to buy quality says Adi Jehangir chairperson of Jehangir Art GalleryUntitled drawing 1987 by FN Souza sold for R93456 in April 2016One good work is better than 10 small irrelevant onesHugo WeiheAnd therersquos plenty to choose from Weihe suggests drawings by masters such as FN Souza which are sold anywhere between R1R2 lakh There is great connoisseurship in works on paper drawings and photographs for young collectors While a younger artist may come at a lower price point seasoned artists are a safe bet Drawings in fact are an immediate expression and you can look under the skin of an artist he says Smaller works by established artists such as Atul Dodiya could pique the curiosity of young collectors says Shah Regularly building collections for his clientsrsquo homes he recalls a couple in their mid30s who had purchased a small diptych from Atul Dodiyarsquos Gandhi series shown at the NGMA New Delhi in 2014 Know your turfWhatrsquos the best time of the year to pick up art Some say that summer when galleries take it slow could be a great time to browse through affordable pieces by both established and young artistsNityan Unnikrishnanrsquos The Pulpally Incident 2015But Khanna takes a different view I would not necessarily say summer shows are better In fact itrsquos lean time for the art world so most galleries show their inventory The best shows are kept when the season starts again postautumn in India or before they close the season for summer Nevertheless for young collectors scanning summer shows may serve in two ways mdash stumbling upon an exciting piece you ought to prod serendipity now and then and continually engaging with art Mumbairsquos humid weather can play havoc on that prized canvas unless you are willing to shape your home around it Chatterjee speaks of the balance between what you can live with and the climate He may sound semiserious but he speaks a grave truth You have to be ready to spend on making sure your house is artready Young collectors in India are still conservative but itrsquos not their fault For example designers and architects need to be ready to make homes that are conducive for video works he says It is easier he says to ready a home for a videowork that is already equipped with the necessary technology than to hang a painting on a wall MORTIMER CHATTERJEE RECOMMENDSWorks by Gagan Singh and Nityan Unnikrishnan which are rooted in drawingacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Small and medium drawings by them start at Rs 40000