Stone Modeller

Global demand spirals for 3D artworks

With the art market getting more and more globally integrated, it may not be a bad idea to look at the scenario for sculptures. On an average, sculptures have outperformed market benchmarks significantly. In May 2010, Impressionist and Evening auctions, 43% of the sculptures achieved hammer prices above their high estimates.

Sculptures by Auguste Rodin, Isamu Noguchi, Ettore Bugatti and Alberto Giacometti achieved the auctions five highest measurable rate of price growth. In fact, as one is aware Giacometti touched a mind-boggling level of $104,237,006 at the Sotheby's auction in London in February 2010. At that moment, it was not only a world record for any sculpture in history, it was also the tallest price achieved for any work of art, beating Pablo Picasso's previous highest of $104,168,000.

"Globally, there has been an increase in demand not only for sculptures, but for other three-dimensional objects too. The trend is bound to come to India in coming years. As seen in current auctions, Bharti Kher's sculpture achieved an all-time record for the artist," says Vikram Bachhawat, director of Kolkata's Aakriti Art Gallery. Kher hit a price bracket of ?993,250 in June 2010 at Sotheby's. Another sculpture by Somnath Hore sold The Khanjani Player for ?157,250.

"Indian sculptures are grossly underpriced and are worth picking up at existing price levels.

Masters like Somnath Hore, Himmat Shah, Nagji Patel, Satish Gujral, Sarbari Roychowdhury, Meera Mukherjee and Ajit Chakravarty are all available in the price range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 crore," Bachhawat says. In tandem, the contemporary segment embracing names like Ravinder Reddy, Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher, Chintan Upadhyay, K S Radhakrishnan, Jitish Kallat, Probir Gupta and Bimal Kundu are roughly in the bracket Rs 2-75 lakh.

Among the upcoming sculptors, Debanjan Roy, Akhil Chandra Das, Subrata Biswas, Tapas Biswas, Adip Datta and Ketan Amin are in the range of Rs 50,000 to Rs 4 lakh. Looking at the prices, in comparison to other forms of art, this sphere has more scope for returns on investment. Says Satish Gujral, "Sculpture in modern times has been slower in gaining popularity among collectors who collect art as part of their residential objects. It is only now that the trends are changing, especially in international markets."

In India, it has yet to grow to any considerable amount, though growing it is. "The prices, however, in India remain a pittance in comparison to what they are in the international market. I believe the time has come when this is set to change as the quality of modern India in sculptures is by no means inferior than those of our contemporaries abroad."

According to artist Jitish Kallat, there have been rigorous efforts by Indian artists with the medium of sculpture of late. "We have seen the emergence of a cut-n-paste aesthetic and the fabricated intertwine to create fresh meanings and contexts. Artists have explored possibilities and pushed the boundaries of their practice." Incidentally, Kallat currently has solo shows at the Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago and at Arndt Berlin.

Kolkata-based sculptor Akhil Chandra Das stresses on the Indian tradition in sculptures, and says that the Indian sculptures scene has definitely looked up. "There was a time when Indian sculptors wouldn't sell anything. In the early 90s, it was very difficult for a sculptor to sell a piece for even Rs 3,000. The international environment was also difficult. Now, sculptors can get a minimum of Rs 2-3 lakh for their works. At a recent exhibition in Mumbai, we sold more sculptures than we expected. The prospects should improve more in the future," says Das.

The reputed K S Radhakrishnan rounds off the subject with an air of true optimism: "The legendary sculptor Ramkinkar Baij did many monumental sculptures in Santiniketan in the thirties and forties and this approach was missing in other parts of the country. So, what is important today is to have large-scale monumental creative sculptures to be erected in public places and in various parts of the country."