In a recently concluded art fair in Delhi, I was told,
the works of art were displayed in a five-star hotel. What was exceptional in
that, I thought. Even the great Indian master artists used to exhibit in five-star
hotels where they befriended rich clients to fetch their art. Lobbies, foyers
and banquet halls were used for exhibiting works. The trend seems to have never
gone out of fashion. Most of the self-taught artists, them being often rich men
and women, for reason that are peculiar to them prefer to exhibit in five-star
lobbies because they find themselves in their comfort zone, where the haunt
otherwise too to have coffee, to meet friends, to attend pool side parties and
also to have a quiet sit down dinner with their nearest ones.
The fair that had been hailed as the country’s first
hotel art fair however was different, as the photographs that I could scroll
through revealed. They exhibited the works of art by major artists inside the
hotel rooms and suite rooms. Some of pictures showed the works of art hanging
from the walls of the toilets. A suite room toilet definitely has a spacious
washroom where one could spend a lot of time, reading, napping and even
contemplating on larger aspects of life. Sometimes they have paintings bought
by the interior decorators working with the architects who in turn engage the so
called art consultants who comb the scene for cheap works of art but colorful
and enticing from the camp organizers who make some bulk buying deals with the
consultants, who they know for sure would sell them for double price before the
architect hand over them to the interior designers.
If you look at this scenario having an art fair in a
posh hotel room is not a bad idea though it is a funny idea; some sort of self-devaluation
for higher earning. A posh hotel room, notionally replicates the desires of
good life and an aspiration for having the same comforts on a daily basis back
at home. So the temporary nature of the hotel room where expensive works of art
displayed for sale is emblematic of the permanent desire in the minds of the
upper class, affluent class and the aspiring creamy layer of the middle class.
When they see a work of art inside a hotel room, they project their own living
space to the given space inside a hotel room and see how it would look in their
own spaces. Rest is the matter of financial exchange.
Private galleries simply re-invent themselves in
obliging to participate in a hotel art fair of this kind. The role of a private
gallery was exactly the same in the old days. The white cube concept of a
private gallery exudes the idea of a neutral space where a work of art would be
presented whose intrinsic qualities are not compromised by any chance by the surrounding
material conditions. The white space showered with white or yellow lights
create a ‘valueless neutral space’ for the art buyers. The space around the
work of art is neutralized by the distance given between two works. The neutral
space where the art collectors, buyers, investors and art lovers projected their
ideas about spatial enjoyment of the displayed items. It gave them space for
intellectual and imaginative negotiations with the works of art.
When the character of the art market changed thanks to
various domestic and international financial and cultural reasons, the white space
in the white cube became a thing of past. A gallery space deliberately
contrived to make it a twisted space became the fad. Often a large space with a
high ceiling is chosen for a gallery. The spatial dimensions also showed how
the dimensions of art works had also been changed. This huge space was divided
by partitions that made the space within a complex structure. The walls were
given different colors, slightly giving away the possibility of them
replicating the interiors of the rich homes that went for differently colored
and organized interiors. Art moved from the realm of the art viewers to the
ones who could afford to own large real estate and bungalows where huge works
of art could be displayed against fancy looking backgrounds.
Market was changing fast. Just before the pandemic
years, the galleries cut down the number of exhibitions or they started showing
together on a particular day of the week or month. This was either to cut the
cost or to get the rich and the affluent in maximum numbers in one place so
that they could be spared from the hassles of travelling to the same district
to watch different shows in different times. While that was happening,
simultaneously the idea of a viewing room was also forwarded by the gallerists.
A viewing room is a cosy room with a comfortable sofa and adequate lighting
where the clients could see different works of art before them brought in by
the gallery attendant as per the demands of the buyer. It is more like going to
a textile shop and asking to show different shirts or sarees from the racks. The
owner of the gallery sat with them and entertained them with endearing stories
about the art and the artists shown before them.
When everything fails and when the rich and affluent
refuse to come to see works of art at your gallery what are you going to do?
You will take the works of art to the rich and the affluent. On lazy Sundays, upon
appointment the gallerists started sending works of art to the buyers’ homes
for perusal. Wherever the rich went the art followed; they opened shops in the
high-end malls, shopping arcades, airports, lounges, farm house areas, five-star
hotel lobbies and so on. With the art fair going to the hotel rooms the art
market seems to have come to a full circle. I am not surprised because of that.
If the rich could have works of art in their washrooms, why can’t fair organizers
have them displayed inside the loos of the rooms?
JohnyML
(Image source Net. All images for illustration purpose only)
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