Records were broken for modern and contemporary Indian artists at the Asian Art sales in New York last week. Probably the biggest spender was Rajiv Chaudri, a New York-based Indian hedge-fund manager who, last September, stunned the well-heeled crowd at Christie’s by paying $1.6 million (£885,000) for a painting by the 80-year-old Indian artist Tyeb Mehta. Last week, he bought another painting by Mehta at Sotheby’s for £716,000, then paid a record £846,000 at Christie’s for a large abstract painting by Mehta’s contemporary, Vasudeo S Gaitonde.
Demand for works by this generation of Indian artists is currently dominated by Indian and non-resident Indian buyers, but Chaudri predicts that “in five years, they will be recognised everywhere in the world”.

Posted: 04|4|06 at 12:47 pm. Filed under: Auction News.