Indian galleries make waves at Frieze London

Unfettered by political boundaries, nine galleries from India are showcasing contemporary voices from across South Asia at Frieze London this month

- Anindo Sen

The Frieze, the annual contemporary art fair held in London, is witnessing an unprecedented participation from Indian galleries—nine of them from Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata are part of different sections of the fair.

The Frieze often acts as the pulse of the global art market. According to Sree Banerjee Goswami of Project 88, Mumbai, the fair may not be getting as many European museum collectors as it used to post-Brexit, but this has been substituted by greater interest from UK-based institutions. "They are now more interested than ever in art from South Asia. And our diaspora, which is more influential now, is making its presence felt," she adds. Project 88 has been an active participant in Frieze London since 2009, and finds it an important platform for engagement with institutional curators and collectors.

UK-based institutions are more interested than ever in South Asian art, and the Indian diaspora is asserting itself, too

"We are showing a series of sculptures by Amol K. Patil, whose works we have placed with the Tate through the Frieze Tate Fund," she says.

Amrita Jhaveri of Jhaveri Contemporary, who is based in London and manages the Mumbai-based gallery with her sister Priya, feels that the prevailing gloom about the global art market does not apply to South Asian art, which is witnessing a resurgence. "This year, our main concern is that many Indian collectors may not travel to London for the fair, given the proximity to Diwali," she says. "We still look to our homegrown collectors to underpin the success of our stands." In the contemporary section, Jhaveri has a group presentation focused on diaspora artists such as Harminder Judge, Lubna Chowdhary, Permindar Kaur, Rana Begum, Shezad Dawood, and Suleman Aqeel Khilji, who all live and work in the UK.