A FISHING BOAT sails into a canvas sliced with red and white hues, drifting away from a branch studded with rouged flora and fauna. The caption reads, 'Spring, China', and the minimalist starkness suggests that the watercolour is from Shanghai. But it's not. It's a Paresh Maity original.
Next, a Buddha stands in repose, his arms folded across his chest as a shower of lotus petals dot the air. Perhaps it's by celebrated Thai artist Sudjai Chaiyapan? Wrong again. It's a Charan Sharma acrylic.
Indian artists, long lumped together with other Southeast Asians, are slowly emerging onto the contemporary scene, with growing recognition and solid sales.
The genre has risen from middling two-figure deals just five years ago to US$100 million worth of works sold by global auction houses Christie's, Sotheby's and Saffron last year.
'The significant trend is the globally buoyant demand for contemporary Indian art,' says Neelanjan Shome, co-owner of Reflections gallery in Hong Kong, which specialises in Indian art. 'While the market was estimated at about US$5 million in 1995, today it's estimated to be about US$180 million.
'Individual works are also following this pattern of increasing valuation. Tyeb Mehta's Celebration held the record of US$317,000 since 2002 - only to be smashed by his Mahisasura, at a whopping US$1.6 million in September last year. There appears to be a critical mass with enough disposable income to sustain these prices. It's not a case of a handful of collectors driving the market.'
