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The Frieze, the annual contemporary art fair held in London, is witnessing an unprecedented participation from Indian galleries—nine of them from Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are part of different sections of the fair. The Frieze often acts as the pulse of the global art market. According to Sree Banerjee Goswami of Project 88, Mumbai, the fair may not be getting as many European museum collectors as it used to post-Brexit, but this has been substituted by greater interest from UK-based institutions. “They are now more interested than ever in art from South Asia. And our diaspora, which is more influential now, is making its presence felt," she adds. Project 88 has been an active participant in Frieze London since 2009, and finds it an important platform for engagement with institutional curators and collectors. “We are showing a series of sculptures by Amol K. Patil, whose works we have placed with the Tate through the Frieze Tate Fund," she says.
The Frieze, the annual contemporary art fair held in London, is witnessing an unprecedented participation from Indian galleries—nine of them from Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are part of different sections of the fair. The Frieze often acts as the pulse of the global art market. According to Sree Banerjee Goswami of Project 88, Mumbai, the fair may not be getting as many European museum collectors as it used to post-Brexit, but this has been substituted by greater interest from UK-based institutions. “They are now more interested than ever in art from South Asia. And our diaspora, which is more influential now, is making its presence felt," she adds. Project 88 has been an active participant in Frieze London since 2009, and finds it an important platform for engagement with institutional curators and collectors. “We are showing a series of sculptures by Amol K. Patil, whose works we have placed with the Tate through the Frieze Tate Fund," she says.
Amrita Jhaveri of Jhaveri Contemporary, who is based in London and manages the Mumbai-based gallery with her sister Priya, feels that the prevailing gloom about the global art market does not apply to South Asian art, which is witnessing a resurgence. “This year, our main concern is that many Indian collectors may not travel to London for the fair, given the proximity to Diwali," she says. “We still look to our home-grown collectors to underpin the success of our stands." In the contemporary section, Jhaveri has a group presentation focused on diaspora artists like Harminder Judge, Lubna Chowdhary, Permindar Kaur, Rana Begum, Shezad Dawood and Suleman Aqeel Khilji, who all live and work in the UK.
Amrita Jhaveri of Jhaveri Contemporary, who is based in London and manages the Mumbai-based gallery with her sister Priya, feels that the prevailing gloom about the global art market does not apply to South Asian art, which is witnessing a resurgence. “This year, our main concern is that many Indian collectors may not travel to London for the fair, given the proximity to Diwali," she says. “We still look to our home-grown collectors to underpin the success of our stands." In the contemporary section, Jhaveri has a group presentation focused on diaspora artists like Harminder Judge, Lubna Chowdhary, Permindar Kaur, Rana Begum, Shezad Dawood and Suleman Aqeel Khilji, who all live and work in the UK.
For Priyanka and Prateek Raja, gallerists at Experimenter, Mumbai and Kolkata, returning to Frieze London always feels special because it was the very first art fair that they participated in 2010 when their gallery was barely a year old. “Over the years, we have built long-term relationships with private collectors, museums and institutions that we return to each year," they share. “Here we are able to work beyond the conflicting political and economic boundaries that are often in place in South Asia, and this makes Frieze a truly empowering experience for us." This year, Experimenter is presenting works by the Chanakya School for the first time along with other artists on their roster like Bani Abidi, Radhika Khimji, Sakshi Gupta and Christopher Kulendran Thomas. Rounding off the Indian presence are Vadehra Art Gallery and Nature Morte in the contemporary section.
Then there is Frieze Masters, added to the fair in 2012 focusing on pre-contemporary art and collectibles. There Jhaveri is presenting a set of posthumously-cast works by the late sculptor Novera Ahmed from Bangladesh, whose estate they represent currently. “Given the limited market for her work during her lifetime, very few works were cast by her—only 33 in total, mostly in steel and rarely in bronze, although that was always her wish." reveals Amrita.
DAG’s booth at Masters critically reframes the colonial-era definitions of Primitivism as an expression of a non-developed society. “In India, our modernists looked within their own cultural practices and found sufficient references that provided an indigenous context without a sense of othering or the exotic," explains Ashish Anand, CEO and managing director, DAG. On view are three rare works by Jamini Roy and a Rabindranath Tagore masterpiece—both “national treasure" artists. “DAG has operations in New York, and these works were acquired in the US, either privately or through auction sales," reveals Anand.
Tagore’s Untitled (Figure in Yellow), is one of the bard’s largest paintings. It hails from a set of 12 works that he painted and left behind as a gift while in England for his friend and secretary, Leonard Elmhurst. The painting was part of the Dartington Hall Trust, which Elmhurst had founded, inspired by Santiniketan, until it was sold in 2010 at Sotheby’s London. Thereafter, in 2016, it again came up for sale at a Christie’s New York auction from where DAG acquired it.
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A unique addition to Frieze Masters is the collaboration between Delhi-based Shrine Empire and Art Exposure, Kolkata, resulting in a jointly presented solo booth of works by Amitava Das from the 1970s. “Since we both represent the artist, we felt it would be a good idea to join forces" says Somak Mitra, gallerist at Art Exposure. “It is a win-win without any conflict of interest which allows us to engage with a global pool of collectors, over and above optimising costs. All the works presented are primary market offerings [directly sourced from the artist], which makes the process easier."
In the ‘Artist-to-Artist’ section of the fair, a curated programme in which six established artists each select an emerging artist to present in a solo show. This time, Bharti Kher has nominated T. Venkanna to showcase his ink-brush and egg tempera paintings. “His works explore themes of power, desire and resistance through provocative figuration," states a note by Gallery Maskara, which represents the artist. Venkanna’s works were targeted purportedly for obscenity during his current exhibition in Mumbai. “There has never been a moment in art history when important artists or artworks have not faced censorship," says Abhay Maskara. “I try not to see these as obstacles, nor assign blame. What matters is that artists keep creating with conviction."
In other curated sections of the fair, Nature Morte is presenting Reena Saini Kallat’s work Requiem (The Last Call) as part of Frieze Sculpture while Vadehra Art Gallery is presenting Anju Dodiya at the Studio section of Frieze Masters.
Post-Brexit, the UK art market has been under a cloud with competition from cities like Paris, where the next edition of Art Basel is scheduled next week. However, the greater participation of galleries at Frieze, coupled with multiple major exhibitions in the city featuring noted Indian artists like Jitish Kallat and curators like Natasha Ginwala, suggests that the Indian voices are only going to grow in resonance in the UK in times to come.
Frieze Art Fair runs at Regent Park in London from 15-19 October.
Anindo Sen is an independent art writer.
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