Art has always been about noticing small details, admiring the craft and engaging with a beautiful form of expression. Yet there is another dimension to art: money.Designer and art curator Srila Chatterjee believes art and business need not be at odds. At a Bengaluru session titled ‘Why Collect Art?’ held on August 28, she pointed out that artworks can see dramatic increases in value, but cautioned against making investment potential the primary reason to buy.“If you chase investment as the reason to buy art, you’ll never win,” she says, adding, “There is a value in beautiful things that are appreciated and they can work for you if you ever need them.”How a surprise gift became a lifelong passionSrila’s own collecting journey began in 1991, when she bought an art piece as a gift for her ailing father. Everyone loved it, and two of her father’s friends gave her money to buy art pieces for them too. “That really was the bug that bit me. It’s a disease,” recalls the founder of Baro Market.She began visiting galleries every Saturday and eventually bought a series of five small works by Jogen Chowdhury. “There was something refreshing and uncomplicated about those early days. Art was not fashionable, art was just fabulous,” she fondly remembers.Collecting for love, not profitA Manjit Bawa painting Srila bought for ₹2 lakh eventually sold for almost ₹1 crore. It was her first major purchase, made with no intention of selling. Years later, when she needed to buy a house for her mother, the sale helped her in ways she had never imagined. But the experience did not turn her into an art trader. “I’ve never bought art to trade in. It’s been art that you like,” Srila says.For new collectors, the challenge is often less about money than confidence. Often, people worry about whether they understand an art work, whether it is authentic or whether they are making the “right” choice. Her advice is simple: look, wander, ask questions and develop your own eye. “The most important thing is that it means something to you,” she says.Her own test is straightforward: “Do I like it? If I like it, do I want to pay that price? If I do pay it, take it. If I don’t, leave it. Don’t ask whether it’s worth it, because who decides?” The emotional connection, she believes, should come before the financial calculation. “It’s not about owning it, it’s about how much you love it.”Storytelling, too, can make art feel less intimidating. Learning about an artist, an object or the story behind a work can create meaning even before someone considers buying it. “The minute you know about something, it grows on you,” she says. “The minute something enters your head, it has meaning.”The economics of the art worldMaking art more accessible also raises questions about how money is distributed between artists, galleries and intermediaries. “In the art world, in a gallery today, it is normal that the gallery commission is 50%,” she says, arguing that the model does not always work fairly, particularly when it comes to traditional art.“I don’t think galleries that are selling MF Hussain can demand 50%,” she says, explaining that when artists already have a considerable market value and demand, the equation becomes more of a “take it or leave it” situation. The disparity, she says, is even more complicated for traditional artists, whose work can be bought for a fraction — sometimes a tenth or even a thirtieth — of the price at which it is eventually sold.Her own approach is to keep commissions lower. “When an artist tells you that he understands and agrees with why you’re getting that commission, then you’re doing something right.” She also believes buyers should not automatically expect an artwork’s price to be reduced simply because they cannot afford it. “We respect you as a buyer. You have to respect us for what we do with the artists,” she says.Bringing art into everyday lifeSrila believes art should move beyond galleries and auction houses. Pointing to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, she says public exposure can change the way people engage with art. “Everybody from the autorickshaw driver to the fisherman owns the Biennale. And they will have a conversation with you. They have an opinion on the art.”More public art spaces and dynamic museums, she feels, could create the same familiarity elsewhere. Art, she argues, need not be confined to paintings by celebrated artists. “We can’t say that only an MF Hussain piece on the wall is art. This beautiful piece of brass is also art,” she says, highlighting the connection between art, craft and everyday life.Ultimately, collecting is deeply personal. “As you evolve as a human being in life, your tastes may change,” Srila says. Today, she finds herself drawn to craft, earthy and tribal works, as well as three-dimensional pieces.Her philosophy remains simple: art is meant to be seen, lived with and enjoyed. “You have to see art and love it,” she says, adding, “It affects people. They enjoy it. It’s conversational. It’s fun.” And she returns to the metaphor that began her journey: “Collecting art is a disease. I’m warning you. But it’s a good disease.”
