An art auction jointly conducted by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) and the Mumbai-based Saffronart raised ₹3.2 crore, which will be donated to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for flood-hit Kerala.
While all the 42 art works on the block were sold, the auction, held in the city last weekend, failed to generate expected degree of enthusiasm, with several works hammered down at prices far less than their pre-sale estimates.
The Biennale Foundation’s aim was to generate between ₹5 crore and ₹10 crore for rebuilding Kerala, as KBF president Bose Krishnamachari had told The Hindu in December last.
British artist Anish Kapoor’s untitled work, a blue canvas-and-resin work, led the sale, fetching ₹1.3 crore. Two Amrita Sher-Gil works, Female Nude and Head, were sold at Rs 25 lakh and Rs 24 lakh respectively.
An Amrita Sher-Gil watercolour was sold at ₹49 lakh in a Biennale fund-raising auction held in 2017.
A total of ₹2.75 crore was raised in that auction, also conducted by Saffronart.
Photo artist Dayanita Singh’s set of five photographs to be created for the winning bidder was taken for ₹22 lakh.
Paris-based Malayali artist Velu Viswanathan’s untitled work fetched ₹12 lakh.
About the auction, Mr. Krishnamchari said it was heartening that some 42 works were generously donated by prominent artists for the auction, held in a very short span of time.
“That apart, we still have some artists offering continual support to the venture,” he told The Hindu. He exuded confidence that the new generation of art collectors from Kerala would strengthen the ecosystem for art here.
A press release quoted Saffronart CEO Dinesh Vazirani as saying that the funds raised through this auction would support the rebuilding efforts initiated by the State government.