Come September and the deepest Indian pockets will get ready to buy superlative art at record-breaking prices at some of the biggest auctions around the world. But the art market is beginning to warm up already. Astaguru’s no reserve online auction of modern Indian art just got over and it is ready to whip up contemporary Indian art in another online auction on July 29 and 30. As it’s focussed on contemporary Indian art, nobody will get any prize for guessing that it would be a Subodh Gupta work that would be at the peak of the Top 10 pyramid. Here’s the roll call on some important art works on offer at the upcoming auction.Guldasta, stainless steel, Subodh Gupta, $50,847-$67,797That pre-auction estimate translates into a price range of Rs 30 lakh – Rs 40 lakh. Gupta, who has attained unprecedented global fame for any contemporary Indian artist, started out as a painter though his best known works in the past decade have been gigantic installations of stainless steel utensils. Coming from a private New Delhi collection, this must be one of the smallest in the series. Those not clued in, and living in Delhi, could pay a visit to the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Saket that showcases Gupta’s gargantuan war cloud made of stainless steel utensils at its entrance. Guldasta is the Hindi for bouquet and this bunch of stainless steel utensils resembling a posy of flowers address the issue of identity through objects that an Indian is most familiar with.Untitled oil on canvas, Neeraj Goswami, $33,898-$42,373This 2007 work by Delhi-based Neeraj Goswami, carries hints of Cubist style of art, and is at once, an aesthetically pleasing work to which most collectors are likely to react. That’s an ace as it is also the foremost requirement for any canvas to engage with its beholders. It is expected to fetch Rs 20 lakh – Rs 25 lakh and comes to the auction table from a private North Indian collection that had acquired it directly from the artist. Goswami, 50, is an alumnus of College of Art, Delhi.It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World (James Brown), oil on canvas, Shibu Natesan, $25,424 - $30,508Lot No. 37, is an animated oil on canvas by Shibu Natesan, who studied at the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram. He belongs to that generation of artists from Kerala, who rebelled through their works against the bureaucratic art establishment in the state of Kerala, and are all names to reckon with in their fields. This canvas, coming to the auction from a private Mumbai collection, is expected to fetch Rs 15 lakh – Rs 18 lakh.Missing, Copper wire and bronze, Vibha Galhotra, $20,339-$30,508This bird’s nest is not a delicacy from Amitava Ghosh’s “River of Smoke” trilogy but rather, a metallic abode from which the inhabitants have vanished. So suggests the title of the work. The 37-year-old artist had made this work in 2007 and it was earlier exhibited at the Jack Shaiman Gallery in New York in 2012. Coming from a private Mumbai collection, it is expected to go for Rs 12 lakh to Rs 18 lakh.24, acrylic on canvas, K.K. Raghava, $ 16,949 - $30,508Raghava, 35, is a multi-disciplinary artist based in New York. His canvas in the present auction is a busy world of many images that seem to tell many stories at the same time. While one may take time to absorb all corners of this work into a composite whole idea, it scores on the aesthetics as well. It comes to the auction table from Art Musing, Mumbai via a private Mumbai-based collection. It is expected to go for Rs 10 lakh to Rs 18 lakh.Dabbawala, copper plated brass cases, wrist watches, gold plated fibre glass stomach, color coated MS base, Valay Shinde, $16,949 - $ 25,424This is an absolute masterpiece, especially for those who love installations. And it is a cracker of a comment on one of the most important quotidienne identities of Mumbai, the Dabbawala. For those not clued in, the Dabbawala (the lunch box bearer, if translated literally) is the bearer of tiffins to millions of office goers in the maximum city of Mumbai, part of a well-oiled and intricate system of delivering hot lunches across millions of addresses in Mumbai that has been sa subject of study for top B-schools of the world. Shinde’s “Dabbawala” carries a gold plated fibre glass stomach instead of the lunch box. This work by the 35-year-old artist is expected to go for Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.The Ex-River Guide, mixed media on Japanese kozo paper, acrylic lightbox, Mithu Sen, $13,559-$20,339Hailing from a private New Delhi-based collection, this mixed media work by the 44-year-old, Santiniketan-trained artist stands out for its abstract intricacies. There is a slight allusion to the medical drawings of the centuries before last and the work is open to interpretation by viewers. It is expected to fetch Rs 8 lakh to Rs 12 lakh.Untitled, acrylic and hologram on canvas, Justin Ponmany, $11,017-$14,407Ponmany is a Mumbai-based artist who was born in Kerala, lives in Mumbai, and one of the top contemporary names in India today who has had prestigious shows at galleries all over the world. A top gallery of the west once labelled his approach as ‘Darwanian.’ The present canvas, expected to fetch anything between Rs 6.5 lakh to Rs 8.5 lakh, comes from a private Mumbai-based collection.Untitled, polychrome bronze and gold leaf applied by hand on a steel base, Ravinder Reddy, $10,169-$13,559If you cannot identify a Ravinder Reddy sculpture from a distance then you need to first get an education in contemporary Indian art and only then return to the auction room. This lady’s bust, with a decorated coiffure is one of Reddy’s signature works and has been exhibited previously at Galerie Omagh, France. It comes to this auction via a private North India-based collection. It is expected to go for Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh.Works by Jitish Kallat, Shahabuddin Ahmed, Suryakant Lokhande, T.V. SanthoshAt the base of our Top 10 pyramid for the present auction are four works of art by Jitish Kallat, Shahabuddin Ahmed, Suryakant Lokhande and T.V. Santhosh, each expected to fetch Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh.Kallat’s is a 2002 oil on canvas, titled “Pain Pleasure Pause Proceed,” coming from a private Mumbai collection and has been at the auction table before where it was sold by Sotheby’s London. Mumbai-based Kallat, as we all know, is one of the much-feted contemporary names of Indian art and married to equally talented artist Reena Kallat.Shahabuddin Ahmed’s 2007 oil on canvas, “Chase,” is a visual delight with the still canvas capturing an animated chase conveying intense motion. Coming to the auction table from a private Mumbai-based collection, this work by the 65-year-old artist was earlier exhibited at “Shahabuddin Solo,” an exhibition held by Institute of Contemporary Indian Art, Mumbai in 2007. Lokhande’s work is an untitled one but the glossy model of a model is likely to inspire the onlookers to name her. Holding a Chihuahua pet and blessed with just the right curves, this is not a mannequin but a comment on the glossy lives of the women who walk the path of high glamour and withstand its pressures with a smile on their lips. This life-size work is made in high gloss oil and acrylic on fibre glass and comes from a private Mumbai collection; it was acquired by the present owner from the Institute of Contemporary Indian Art, Mumbai. Lokhande, 46, is a graduate from the Sir J.J. School of Applied Art, Mumbai and lives in the same city.The untitled terracotta bust by Mumbai-based T.V. Santhosh is a work that will elicit some kind of reaction by the audience certainly because of the highly expressive face of the man with his mouth open, displaying tightly set teeth and the stretched facial muscles conveying some kind of pleasure or pain that he is trying to camouflage by closing his eyes. A highly animated piece, he almost looks stained with emotion, highlighted by the colour of terracotta. Santhosh, a highly respected Mumbai-based artist, acquired his bachelor’s degree in painting from the Vishwa Bharati University, Santiniketan, and a master’s degree from the famed Maharaji Sayajirao University, Baroda. Some of his most celebrated works have been comments on global terrorism and war, expressed through neon greens and oranges on canvas. These canvases have been displayed at top galleries of the world, including the Saatchi Gallery, and have done well in past auctions as well.The other lots on offer can be viewed on www.astaguru.com. The results of the auction, likely to be revealed as soon as the auction gets over on July 30, will be a solid indicator of the shape of things to come in September when the rest of the auctions of modern and contemporary Indian art will be held.Astaguru Online auction of Contemporary Indian Art will be held on www.astaguru.com, from July 29, 10.30 a.m. IST to July 30, 8 p.m. IST Follow @ARTINFOIndia
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