Delhi buys to show off. Mumbai buys to cash in. That’s the hard truth.
Buyers in Delhi treat art like décor with bragging rights. Big names on big walls. Openings for selfies. No questions asked, no deeper engagement. Just status.
Mumbai’s no better. It’s all about flipping. Speculation dressed up as taste. Buy low, wait for the market to heat up, and hope you backed the right name. Artists become stock options. Conversations start and end with “what’s the price?”
Where’s the connection? Where’s the fire? Where’s the long-term vision?
Nobody’s taking risks. Nobody’s nurturing practices. Nobody’s showing up for the rough years. Everyone wants the mid-career sheen, the auction-ready finish. Few have the stomach to back an artist when they’re experimenting, failing, searching. That kind of support—real, patient, rooted—is missing.
We talk about building an art ecosystem. But ecosystems need care. Investment beyond money. Attention beyond Instagram. Time, dialogue, belief.
Right now, too many collectors in India are consuming, not collecting. Consuming reputation. Consuming value. And leaving nothing behind.
Buy less. Buy slower. Spend time with the work. Back the unknown. Grow with the artist.