BySiddhi Jain

June 26, 2020 (IANSlife) Ahead of its auction of art by modern Indian masters, India-based auction house AstaGuru - which has been a digital platform since its inception - finds its online auction module "even more relevant and ideal for the arts community at the present point in time".

"We firmly believe that Indian art should be presented to the global audience, and our digital presence enables us to do so with ease. Having said that AstaGuru's online auction module is even more relevant and ideal for the arts community at the present point in time. Given the secure and remote accessibility features that our bidders avail while they participate in our auctions from the safety of their homes," Tushar Sethi, CEO, AstaGuru told IANSlife in an email.

The auction house will present works by some of the most eminent Indian modernists in its forthcoming annual No Reserve Online Auction on June 27-28. The online auction features an extensive collection of 100 lots and has been carefully curated to showcase the diverse scope of Indian Modernism with works by leading artists such as S H Raza, M F Husain, F N Souza, V S Gaitonde, Akbar Padamsee, Ram Kumar, Amrita Sher-Gil, Krishen Khanna, Meera Mukherjee, Zarina Hashmi, and many more.  

Several of the lots on offer include works on paper and preliminary sketches of paintings which hold a certain proximity with the artist and give us a glimpse into their process and methodology. Bids for all the works start at INR 20,000 (US$ 274) making the auction a great entry point for the quality of works going under the hammer, the auction house said.  

"As is the case with all our auctions, while curating the catalogue for the upcoming 'No Reserve' edition we adhered to our research-based approach. The art market has maintained its stability and we are dedicated to present our bidders with artworks that imbibe the spirit of creativity. Therefore we have effectively only sourced works which are significant and important from the presented artists oeuvre's perspective," Sethi said about the upcoming auction.

The auction will take place online on www.astaguru.com.

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Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in