Indian artists shine at international art auctions
The two premier art auctions conducted by the Sotheby’s and the Christie’s for South Asian modern and contemporary art in the second half of 2007 are a definite pointer to the revival of art market. The auctions have brought into spotlight two prominent artists, T.V. Santhosh and Atul Dodiya.
Both are India’s most significant contemporary artists. The impressive prices fetched by their works at the above auctions, exceeding pre-sale estimates auction sales, only reconfirm their rising significance and stature.
T. V. Santhosh’s oil on canvas ‘Across An Unresolved Story’(estimate: $30,000-40,000) went for a whopping $217,000 (about Rs 87 lakh) at Christie’s whereas the winning bid for Atul Dodiya’s work titled Father at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art (South Asia) auction was $ 601,000 (about Rs 240 lakh), literally leaping above the estimated price of $ 230,000—280,000,.
In his work titled Father, Atul Dodiya at the Sotheby’s presents us with two forms of ancestry – one, a personal that is symbolized by an image of his father depicted with a swelling belly and the other, a rather universal ancestry of his art practice, revealed through the veiled references in the canvas hidden beneath the shutter.
His father’s swelling belly denotes the discomfort and pain, which he experienced, when the old man suffered from an enlargement of the spleen. The artist states that it became bloated like a pregnant woman from which extends an umbilical cord. It continues onto the painting beneath becoming the umbilical cord of India wrapped around a Brancusi column a symbol for me of time, purity ...great art.
At the base of the column is Mahatma Gandhi holding a mason's trowel trying to repair a crumbling India, with two priests building a wall behind him. There is furthermore an intentional play on words in the title of the work; on the shutter the artist depicts his own father but on the canvas beneath he depicts the father of the nation.
On the other hand, in his work titled Across An Unresolved Story, T. V. Santhosh has employed the loaded iconography of a ubiquitous burkha-clad (veiled) woman, putting his figures before an almost radioactive sunset. Faceless and looking forward into an ‘Across An Unresolved Story’ or anuncertain future, the protagonists appear on the brink of a near certain apocalypse.
His creation, personified in molten colors and photorealistic details conjures images of nuclear explosions and chemical toxicity, while trying to address current issues of religious fundamentalism and feminism.
Atul Dodiya considers it artistically fulfilling that the art connoisseurs, critics and collectors accept and applaud his works. Of course, it’s the process of creation, the artistic output and satisfaction that matters to them more than the record auction prices.
On the other hand, an elated T. V. Santhosh, spontaneously reacting to the record price, stated: “It’s quite exciting to know that my work has elicited such an excellent response. It (the price) is beyond my expectation, and I am very happy about the fact that the collectors and buyers are appreciating my work.
Thinking beyond the record auction prices, and at a broader artistic level, T. V. Santhosh avers he will continue formulating a language that is capable of capturing notions of reality. His works deal with complex contemporary issues like global unrest, conflict and violence. Atul Dodiya also remains focused on his artistic thought processes and concerns, such as Indian cataclysms, particularly spasms of Hindu-Muslim violence.
