The massive crowd in attendance at the India Art Fair (IAF) in Delhi might have been apparent from the fact that the gates had to be shut a tad earlier for entry over the weekend, but the success of the fair was also evidenced in the sales recorded across all genres and categories within its large tents that accommodated 120 exhibitors — the highest for any fair edition yet.
“The maturing of the art market and the importance of art fairs as platforms that bring in diverse elements of the art world was in ample evidence at India Art Fair 2025. Not only did we record very good sales on the first day itself, a healthy buzz was in evidence throughout the fair. We recorded healthy sales of several works with individual prices ranging between Rs 40 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore each,” noted Ashish Anand, CEO and Managing Director of DAG. Among the works that sold at the booth was a JP Gangooly mountain landscape, SH Raza’s abstract set within an old window frame, Laxman Pai’s rendition of spring pained in Paris, Nirode Mazumdar’s work from his ‘Quest’ series; and a Madhvi Parekh 1975 oil on canvas.
JP Gangooly’s mountain landscape
According to a note issued by the IAF, Nature Morte sold 70 per cent of their booth by Day Two, including a Jitish Kallat work for around $100,000.
On Day One, Vadehra Art Gallery had sold 90 per cent of their booth. With prices reportedly ranging from $2,500 to $300,000 USD, the works at the Vadehra booth included the likes of Sudhir Patwardhan, Atul Dodiya, Shilpa Gupta and Vivan Sundaram.
Art Exposure gallery sold six works by Buddhadev Mukherjee for $44,000 in total, with three reportedly going to Kiran Nadar, one to another Indian collector, and two to a US-based collector. Iram Gallery sold works by Promiti Husain and Sangeeta Sandrasegar, as well as a large work by Dinar Sultana to an Indian collector for $24,000.
Debuting at the IAF, Chennai-based Ashvita’s Art Gallery sold five works by DP Roy Chowdhury to a Mumbai-based collector for $69,000. Shrine Empire sold two works by Nandita Kumar for over $30,000 each, and multiple smaller works at the $10,000 price point.
Madhvi Parekh 1975 oil on canvas
Featuring 13 international exhibitors this year, the international biggies at the IAF — including Lisson Gallery, Galleria Continua and David Zwirner — also made substantial sales. The sales at David Zwirner included paintings by Portia Zvavahera, Oscar Murillo and Sosa Joseph, and a sculpture by Pakistani-American sculptor Huma Bhabha.
Carpenters Workshop Gallery, which focuses on redefining boundaries between art and design, had made sales worth $600,000 on Day One itself. This included Maarten Baas’s Self Portrait Clock, which went to a prominent Indian collection. “The response has been phenomenal… India is an important market, though we do need to work with the logistics, tax implications and transportation of works from home (gallery locations the world over),” noted Loic Le Gaillard, co-founder of the gallery.
Before the fair commenced, its director Jaya Asokan had emphasised how it offers an equal platform to indigenous Indian traditional art forms — that push seemed to reflect in the sales as well.
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SH Raza’s abstract set within an old window frame
“Earlier, at the art fair we had the more traditional clientele who would make purchases or young collectors who would purchase an entry-point Pichvai, but this year I noticed that people were willing to buy the more expensive works as well, which was very heartwarming,” said Pooja Singhal, art collector, curator and revivalist, who is the founder of Pichvai Tradition & Beyond. She added, “The outreach of the fair has certainly broadened, with people coming from the world over as well as cities across India. We had several architects showing interest for projects, and people have commissioned works from the catalogue as well.”
Participating in the IAF since 2012, this year the prices at her booth ranged from Rs 15,000 to Rs 8.5 lakh. On view were traditional Pichvais as well as contemporary interventions, including grey-scale rendition of the 24 Swaroop composition.
