Showcasing art on cybercanvas

Let’s go online. That seems to be the mantra for art galleries staging shows. Based on feedback, online exhibits are growing by 20-30 % every year. As a result, the sales volume and buyer inquiries have seen a quantum jump of 400-500%.

“Today, Indians spread across the US, the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai, among other places, are active buyers of Indian art. They also carry out a lot of research on the Web and look for artworks. The important thing is that people from all over the world can have access to these shows. This accessibility is not possible in an onground show. It gets restricted to the city where the show is being held,” a source said.

According to the source, online shows have essentially gathered steam over 2-3 years. This is because Indians have become increasingly aware of the contemporary art scene. Besides, the country’s diaspora abroad has turned wealthy.

“The online format also pushes up sales numbers and buyers’ inquiries by 400-500 %. The big-ticket sales transpire in international hubs like New York as underscored by the September auctions every year by Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Galleries can reach out to these centres by going online,” the source said.

Despite the rise in online shows, the quality exhibits still number between 8 and 10. This is due to the lack of availability of top-end works. Except for resales, high-quality paintings are rarely circulating in the market.

Thus, it may be worthwhile to mention that Mumbai-based The Arts Trust is staging a top-of-the-drawer online show titled Masterclass. The show features works by master artists like M F Husain, Anjolie Ela Menon, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Ganesh Pyne and J Swaminathan, among others.

“We spent the last six months trying to source these paintings. Most of them are old pieces which have been farmed out by collectors. The show is already sold out. However, connecting with buyers, especially overseas, is a painstaking affair. We have to send out cards physically to the clients. Only 2-3 % get converted into actual buyers,” The Arts Trust director Vikram Sethi said.