Rooftop – Where India Inspires Creativity

The Growth Of Indian Art

The Indian word for culture is ‘Sanskriti’. For ages, Indians have described their culture as ‘Human Culture’. It has a universal appeal. People belonging to diverse communities and languages, having different diets, and performing different customs harmoniously coexist in India. Thus, the soul of the cultural heritage of India lies in the fact that it’s a combined essence of religions, traditions, customs, and beliefs.

Image credits: Saffron Art

Over the years, great styles of art, architecture, painting, music, dance, festivals, and customs have regained their lost recognition in India. This wide variety has made Indian culture unparalleled, and the entire world still looks up to it. The cultural heritage of India still flourishes, maintaining its original features along with changes, a key indicator of its strength and the growth of Indian art.

The Rise Of Indian Art 

Art lovers across India must have heard a lot of paintings made by foreign artists being sold for a million dollars thinking why Indian artists are never on the list.

Well, today, you can proudly say that Indian artists have also attained the prestigious status of creating million-dollar paintings. The ‘untitled’ painting from V.S. Gaitonde was sold for around 4.1 million dollars. Another painting named ‘Birth’ was sold at an incredible price of approximately 26 crore INR. Amrita Sher-Gil’s masterpiece, “The Story Teller,” dated 1937, achieved an unprecedented sale of 61.8 crore at an auction held at The Oberoi in New Delhi. Both artworks were auctioned at the prestigious Christie’s. The growth of Indian art in India is slowly but eventually creating an impact on the global art industry.

PM Promoting Indian Art 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spread the same message on a global stage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes it a tradition to promote India’s rich and diverse culture whenever he meets foreign dignitaries. He is known to give gift items that represent the tradition and heritage of the country. It is said PM Modi gifted a Rogan painting to Danish queen Margrethe, a silver meenakari bird figure from Banaras to crown princess Mary and a brass tree of life from Rajasthan to his Finland counterpart. He gifted items to his European delegates that signify value to India’s history, culture, and traditions. Among these gifts were the Pashmina stole, the Dhokra boat, the silver Meenakari bird figure and more.

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Indian Art Growing Financially

There is a strong demand for new, innovative yet traditional art from young and established Indian artists alike. Western auction houses and art galleries appear to have become suddenly obsessed with Indian art in the past few years. The interest from collectors, galleries and institutions is unreal. With the increasing globalisation of the art market, collectors, curators, and auction houses have over the last few years turned their attention to art from emerging economies.

Top Artists Of Indian Art

Lately, there have been major Indian shows in London, and their success showed that this interest is here to stay. The buyers of Indian art are becoming increasingly global. However, top Indian artists such as T.V. Santhosh, Atul Dodiya, Thukral and Thagra and Jitish Kallat employ techniques and explore themes that appeal to the global western audience, while maintaining an inherent Indian quality. In the past ten years, the Indian art market has changed beyond recognition. International galleries are now operating out of Mumbai, Delhi, Berlin, London, and New York, while auction houses regularly offer Indian art within the context of western art sales, making Indian art an inseparable part. This has helped to internationalise the collector base.

After large adjustments in the marketplace during 2009, India is once again becoming a focal point for the international art market and is continuing to live up to expectations. Confidence in long-term, sustained growth is the dominant subject in the Indian art market. Demand is from India, Europe, and the U.S. with corporate institutions also playing their part in the growth of Indian art sales.

Indian art has proved that it carries the power and creativity to compete on a global level. The future will see the greatness of Indian artists. Exciting days are ahead!

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