Interview with Gaurav Bhatia, Managing Director of Sotheby’s India

In the interview below, Mr Bhaitia gives us a closer look at what goes behind the most honored Art Auction House.

Question: How critical was your knowledge about the valuation of art while being appointed as the managing director of Sotheby’s in India?

Bhaita: Sotheby's is in the business of passion. This makes it critical to appreciate art. Prior to joining the business of Art, I was in the business of Luxury. Both have similar tenets of heritage, tradition and innovation and above it all – passion. Furthermore, I come from a family of collectors and am a collector myself, so have always admired the art world. In that sense it all fit beautifully.

Question: Recently I researched on 6 forgotten art forms in India which I have shared with you (seperately). Do you see a commercial future for such art forms on the global art platform?

Bhaita: Traditional, classical and folk are is extremely important as it is indigenous and mirrors our rich culture. India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and the six forgotten art forms that you have highlighted are a wonderful representation of our heritage.

As the Indian art market matures, from the nascent stage it is in now, all art forms will be commercially viable and should appreciate in value. The strength of the India population lies in its diversity and this means people will be drawn to different art forms. Recently Mithila artists such as Satyanarayan Karn and Gond artists such as Bhajju Shyam and Venkat Raman Shyam’s work are seeing encouraging prices. It is being taken seriously and seen beyond the earlier ‘casualness’ of folk art.

Question: Looking at the recent spurt in the valuation of art in India, what do you think are the primary drivers of the same?

Bhatia: Lack of institutional backing and an artificial inflation of prices (about a decade ago), resulted in a period of uncertainty. Today however, the market has corrected itself and is backed by a more solid and mature base of customers. Today some of the artists who came into prominence in the last decade or two ago and being established as the masters of the future. The truth is that Indian contemporary art is still affordable; much like Modern Indian art, that is heavily undervalued. Now is the time to collect.

Question: In an auction how do you discern a serious buyer from someone who's not?

Bhatia: Sotheby's is democratic in its vision of sharing the magic of art. We always encourage young collectors to visit our galleries, lectures and sales – and to be part of the art conversation. Serious buyers are driven the passion to collect empowered by the expertise, access, education and provenance that Sotheby's provides, along with authentication, research and compliance.

Question: Does Sotheby's encourage people to part with their treasures?

Bhatia: We encourage clients to speak with our experts. Whether you want to collect in a particular area, or shift to another focus by sharing your current collection, our specialists around the world represent an extremely broad range of expertise and are always happy to dedicate time to sharing their passion.

Question: Do you handle stolen works of art which are not claimed or are not accounted for in any archive? And if so would they sell for the full market price value?

Bhatia: At Sotheby's provenance and legitimacy are key pillars. We would not encourage any works that come from nefarious and disreputable sources.

Photo Credits: Kunal Kapoor