2024-12-17 23:41:33 :
In homage to the Indian modernist, who celebrates his 100th birth anniversary this year, Lovers, a visual representation of a tender moment between two lovers, sold for $4,890,000 ( $Over 400 million rupees (including buyer’s premium), setting a new record for the artist.
Christie’s chief executive Guillaume Cerutti said the Indian art market was growing rapidly and the auction house had stepped up its focus on the South Asian country.
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Bidders from India increased by 64% between 2019 and 2023, reflecting growing domestic interest and an influx of younger collectors, especially millennials. International demand is also growing, with participation from customers in the Americas increasing by 37%. In addition, he added, a small but growing number of Chinese and other Asian collectors are beginning to recognize the potential of Indian modern and contemporary art.
Christie’s said that this year, the Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian markets have become its most important regions in Asia after mainland China in terms of art sales and collections. The company, which has been operating in India for three decades, will see particularly strong growth in all categories including Indian classical, modern or contemporary art through 2024, its CEO said at a virtual press conference today.
“These Indian art auctions in New York provide an excellent opportunity for Indian collectors from around the world to engage with these works. Indian art is particularly strong this year. We have dedicated $30 million to modern and contemporary South Asian art,” Che said Rudy said.
“The modern and contemporary Indian market is one of the most exciting markets we have seen over the past few years. We are at the beginning of our growth. Total auction and private sales of Indian art increased by 23% in 2024. This It’s noteworthy. We sold the beautiful FN Souza for almost $5 million, which is a record-breaking amount,” Cerutti said.
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Major artists who are highly sought after and highly appreciated include masters such as Souza, MF Husain and SH Raza. For example, Souza’s average lot value soared 65% from 2019 to 2023, and the number of bidders per lot nearly doubled, Cerutti said.
For Indian collectors, a lot of attention now is on historical artifacts, classics, modern and contemporary art, he added. “We did see a 25% increase in new buyers from India,” he said. Total sales of Southeast Asian art in 2024 will be $5.7 billion.
The overall global market still faces challenges
Cerruti said that the global art market as a whole was in a challenging period last year. “The macro environment has an impact on performance. The art market operates by the rules of ‘macro, money and sentiment’. Of course, the macro environment of politics and economics plays an important role, and the economic slowdown we have seen over the past two years has been largely It’s the macro environment that’s responsible,” he added.
He added that the art market has also been affected by credit and currency restrictions globally, particularly in Asia, which has impacted demand. “What we’ve seen over the past month or so is that while the macro environment remains challenging, sentiment has improved,” he said.
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“We believe the market bottom is behind us and what we’re seeing in the autumn are signs of recovery and 2025 will be a better year,” he said.
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