Siddhartha Tagore, Editor, Art & Deal Magazine on artist Farhad Hussain
While one associates Farhad Hussain with the figurative oeuvre and caricatured protagonists painted on canvas, last February the artist had guests gushing over his sculptures at a solo exhibition in Vadehra, and at the Saffronart auction in June, Farhad Hussain’s untitled cloth pasted on board sold for an impressive Rs 2.4 lakh. Known for pictorial and bright depictions, according to Tagore, in times of depression the humourous streak in Hussain’s work could help lighten the mood. “He has an ability to make people smile with his work. It is stylistic and technically sound. Now he is doing sculptures too, so that is interesting,” says Tagore.

Rahul Bhattacharya, historian on Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher
They are the current power couple in Indian art and Bhattacharya feels that Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher will continue to hold the position in the coming year. “They are both intellectual artists with tremendous potential and the international exposure has had an influence on their work. They are on the brink of crossing new territories and are constantly reinventing themselves,” notes Bhattacharya. Will the bindi’s still be part of Kher’s work and utensils find place in Gupta’s canvas and installations? Only the year will tell. Meanwhile, also on Bhattacharya’s watch out list is Atul Bhalla and Arunkumar HG. While Bhalla impressed the art circuit with photographs and video work in the project titled ‘Remarking the River’ at Anant Art Center in Noida in 2007, Arunkumar HG is best known for his neo-pop approach, making use of melamine plates to toys in his work.