s p e c i a l s t o r y
art mart ii
Bringing artists, collectors, art enthusiasts, and curious citizens together, Art
Mart II proved to be much more than just a platform for buying and selling art.
Anu Gulmohar paints the picture of Art Mart II in a little less than 1000 words…
G urgaon is the millen-
nium city with its
high rises, posh ho-
tels and a fair share of people
with a taste for the finer
things in life. It’s of little won-
der then that an art fair has
begun to be held annually
here and artists from all over
India and beyond converge at
the Art Mart. On one hand it
aims at meeting the needs of
Gurgaon and NCR residents
who wish to deck-up their
homes with affordable paint-
ings and sculptures, and on
the other hand it offers works
of a hundred and more artists
for the pick of connoisseurs
and corporates. While the
capital plays host annually to
the prestigious Art Summit,
which boasts of some of the
biggest names on the art
scene, its satellite city got a
sampling of a unique me-
lange of art, in this second
edition of Art Mart, which
was held between 10th and
This haat
12th September. The three-
day event featured not just art
works but even workshops
beats for art
and seminars that gave regu-
lar people a rare opportunity
to interact and learn from the
artists and experts in the in-
dustry.
Inaugurated by Dr Karan
Singh (MP, Rajya Sabha &
President, Indian Council for
Cultural Relations), an en-
thralling performance by Si-
digoma, the tribal Sufi Com-
munity of East African origin
based in Gujarat, set the stage
for Art Mart II, an initiative
by Old World Hospitality.
Playful installations by artists
like Dharmendra Rathore
and Anjolie Ela Menon wel-
comed people, while stall af-
ter stall of paintings brought
the sunday indian 50 26 september 2010
here by galleries and artists
awaited them inside. Show-
casing contemporary art in
its multifarious forms –
drawings, sculptures, ceram-
ics, installations, photo-
graphs, prints, digital and
video art, mixed media and
performance art – Art Mart
II went on to also hold an Art
Appreciation Course, a Draw
and Paint workshop, Snap it
Up photography workshop,
Face 2 Face for buyers with
artists, On The Spot Painting
Competition for children, an
Art Camp for artists, a Panel
Discussion for experts, live
sessions of portrait-making
and caricature painting for
the public. There was even an
Art Book Café and a Collec-
tors' Lounge at the Mart.
These courses and discus-
sions were meant to further
engage and encourage people
toward art.
So if you’re relatively new
to the world of art collecting,
the 2-day Art Appreciation
Course could’ve provided
“Before the investment, one
should look at the quality
of the art work and how
one responds to it”
you with a leg-up. Conducted
by Sushma Bahl, she shared
with us some rules of the
trade. “Before the investment,
one should look at the quality
of the art work and how one
responds to it, in terms of
technical finesse, what the
work is saying to you, how it
looks, how the artist has cre-
ated it, who’s the person who
has created it. And then of
course, its value in terms of
the sunday indian 51 26 september 2010
the cost, whether the artist
has done well so far, which
way he’s going. One needs to
study all this. It involves
knowing, understanding the
work itself, knowing about
the artist, where he comes
from, from where he’s started,
where he’s today, which kind
of shows he’s done so far. All
of these factors ought to be
considered before one de-
cides to buy a work of art.
And if you spot talent at a
young stage, then you are a
gainer in every respect. First
of all, the quality of his tech-
nical work will improve and
of course the value of the
work also jumps quickly,”
said Bahl.
Amandeep Singh, a resi-
dent of Gurgaon and an ama-
teur photographer, was
among the participants of
Snap it Up, a photography
workshop by Sandeep Biswas.
Sharing his experience with
us, he said, “I was not too
sure what to expect, but
needed some clarity on cer-
tain issues. To some extent, I
got critical answers, along
with a better understanding
of photography. I got some
new ideas and perspectives
from the workshop.” Dinesh
Khanna curated another
photography initiative, the
Gurgaon Wall, which was a
community effort and fea-
tured photographs of Gur-
gaon sent in by professionals
and amateurs.
Claiming to have garnered
business worth crores in its
first year, Art Mart had con-
siderably heightened the ex-
pectations of all parties in-
volved. Bahl filled us in about
this year’s sales. “Almost all
galleries did sell something
and the few that didn’t sell
made some important con-
tacts and links that they’re
now pursuing,” he said. Of
the 40 paintings brought in
from Africa by Muzu Sule-
manjee, nine were sold. “We
haven’t got all the figures yet;
I think some more sales will
materialise in the next few
days,” reassured Bahl.
As Art Mart II claimed to
be promoting emerging art-
ists, the more prominent art-
ists and galleries were seen
missing from action. Wheth-
er it’s a deliberate decision or
a teething problem we’re not
sure, but it left some people
rather discontented.
Alakananda Saha of Montage
Arts gallery was among one
to comment. “Only five-six
stalls had good serious art.
Next year the organisers
should select more judicious-
ly and select serious art. So
the serious buyers are attract-
ed and even if someone buys
something small for their
homes, they should have
something they can cherish
all their lives, and it would
also be something that will
have future value,” said Saha.
In its effort to be so much
at once, Art Mart II might
have missed the bull’s eye on
certain parameters, but over-
all it was a laudable effort by
Old World Hospitality. As a
resident of Gurgaon, I am al-
ready looking forward to Art
Mart III.