Contagion and Color Art Highlight 2021: Look Forward To Future Endeavor

Although 2021 may have begun well, the terrible second wave of Covid that followed put an end to life as we knew it. The art sector hopes for things to improve in the upcoming year as we attempt to avoid a third wave. To consider the patterns in the upcoming months, we take a quick look back at the last year. 

The Kochi Muziris Biennale's opening date has been moved from 2020 to 2021 to December 12, 2022. The pieces will be grouped together under the subject "In Our Veins Flow Ink and Fire" and will be curated by Shubigi Rao. The India Art Fair will be back this year after being postponed last year as well. 

Under One Umbrella 

The 13th edition of the expo, which will take place from February 3 to 6, will feature more than 75 exhibitors. While the fair's new director Jaya Asokan pledges to make it more diverse, other significant exhibits will also be staged in Delhi at the same time, from Manisha Gera Baswani's solo show at Gallery Espace to Subodh Gupta's solo at Nature Morte. From January 13 to February 22, an exhibition at Bikaner House will feature pieces by Sakti Burman, Maite Delteil, and Maya Burman. 

Toward the end of the year, the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) plans to host an international exhibition in Delhi and send Indian artwork to the Venice Biennale. The Ishara Art Foundation in Dubai will debut the year by showcasing Jitish Kallat's most recent works in the exhibition "Order of Magnitude" from January 12 to June 16. This year will see numerous significant exhibits of Indian artists presented in foreign sites. Following several cancellations because of COVID-19, the Kathmandu Triennale will also be held nearby from February 11 to March 11, 2022. 

Setting New Records 

Due to the scarcity of works by the masters, the trend of modernist works making their debuts in the auction circuit last year may continue this year. When Astaguru's Modern Indian Art sale took place on December 27-28, two Tyeb Mehta masterpieces made their premiere there. However, in September, the auction house had MF Husain's 1972 anti-war artwork go up for auction (it sold for Rs 3.45 crore). 

Several new records were set throughout the year. If VS Gaitonde's 1961 canvas sold for Rs 39.98 crore in a Saffronart auction in March 2021, breaking previous records for Indian art globally, In the Ladies' Enclosure by Amrita Sher-Gil sold for an astounding Rs 37.8 crore at another Saffronart auction in July, making it the second most expensive Indian piece of art ever. 

Going Digital 

The non-fungible tokens (NFTs) dominated conversation all year long. When Beeple's piece "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" was sold by Christie's for $69 million early on, he broke a record for the medium. From that point on, the medium attracted interest unlike any other. India's first blockchain-powered art platform, Terrain.art, was created by Aparajita Jain, co-director of Nature Morte gallery. Over 30 artists from across the world participated in the forum's first show, which was held in Delhi. The pieces on display explored a variety of topics, including migration, ecology, and gender dynamics. 

Adding More Museum 

A number of new locations were added to the museum map of India last year. While Thanjavur saw the establishment of the nation's first food museum, Panchkula is now home to work on the State Archeological Museum. The Partition Museum in Delhi, the Prime Ministers' Museum in the Teen Murti Bhavan complex in Delhi, and the eastern chapter of the NGMA in Kolkata are all slated to open shortly. 

Come Back Home 

157 antiques and antiquities were given to India by the US during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US in September 2021. Among these are an 8.5 cm tall metal Nataraja from the 12th CE and a 1.5 m tall bas relief panel of Revanta in sandstone from the 10th CE. The National Gallery of Australia has declared plans to give India $2.2 million worth of stolen art in July 2021.