A Fair to Remember

It’s every art lover’s dream — to be lost in a place that’s crammed with canvases,sculptures,installations and other works by their favourite artists. That’s why art fairs are crowded with aficionados who come in time and again,looking at the vast array of artwork on display. But,what if you can’t make it to the fair? That’s where an initiative called India Art Collective steps in.

India Art Collective,which will make its online appearance as indiaartcollective.com,is the country’s first exclusively online art fair,designed to bring the art to the audience. The brainchild of art connoisseurs Sapna and Subhrajit Kar,India Art Collective is set to open on November 19. Till November 26,one can view and buy paintings,sculptures and video art any time of the day and night. And the spread of artwork includes fare from galleries across India,such as Chemould Prescott Road and Sakshi Gallery from Mumbai,Gallery SKE from Bangalore,Vadhera Art Gallery and Gallery Espace from Delhi,Akar Prakar from Kolkata,Kashi Art Gallery from Kochi and Shrishti Art Gallery from Hyderabad. There are no log in charges.

“This is a practical way to make Indian art available globally,” says Kalpana Shah,owner of Mumbai’s Tao Art Gallery,one of the participating galleries. Sunil Gautam,founder of India Art Summit and a member of the Advisory Board of India Art Collective,agrees. “There are lots of people who have money and want to invest in art. The easiest way to make that happen is to bring the art to them.”

The works on offer will be divided into categories on the basis of price — the Signature Series,the Collectors Series and the Value Series. The first will contain the most expensive works and the last,the least. In addition,each painting can be zoomed up to 500 times,while sculptures and three dimensional works can be viewed from multiple angles. This should answer skeptics who wonder if an online art fair takes away from the joys of physically checking a work. Searches can also be conducted through the inventory of work on the basis of artist,gallery or medium. And if you want to read about your art,click on the links to articles and blogs.