Ganieve Grewal, auction house Christie’s rep in India, says art collections don’t just stop at paintings
Who would think being enrolled in an art appreciation course by your friends would result in being part of Indian art history?
Christie’s representative in India, Ganieve Grewal sat through the September 2005 Tyeb Mehta $1.5 million sale describing it as the most memorable auction she ever attended. “You could feel the excitement in the room,” she exclaims.
“My grandfather collected art and I enjoyed talking about what he bought. I studied at Christie’s Education in London after which I worked with a commercial art gallery, Khoj an NGO set up by artists,” she explains her background.
With landmark developments being made in Indian art overseas, she is excited about the prospects in the future. “There are a lot of young Indians living both in India and abroad who are rediscovering the art from their country. The boom in the Indian economy has given a boost as well, confirming the theory that emerging economies do turn to art once they have acquired a certain standard of living,” she explains.
The entrance of global players like Christie’s and Sotheby’s has made art an integral part of a carefully planned portfolio and even if the artists aren’t directly reaping the benefits of million dollar auctions, they certainly aren’t looked at as scrawny, angst-ridden paupers either. Canvases aren’t the only money-spinners. “We set a world auction record for a sculpture by Tyeb Mehta when his Bull sold for $132,000 in our last sale in New York in September,” says Ganieve.
She remains noncommittal about her personal preferences, refusing to pick her favourites among the best sales or giving us a clue about who the next Tyeb might be. “There is so much talent in our country that it’s difficult to say. One should always buy a work that appeals to your own sensibility after all you have to live with it.”
As she gears up for the next lot of auctions — the sale of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art in New York on March 30 and for the first time ever a sale in Dubai in May, she gives vent to passion other than art. “Art does take up a fair share of my life but I also love listening to qawwalis and reading,” she smiles.
