Booked in Milan

When Milanese gallerist Primo Marella became smitten with contemporary Indian art, he decided to bring together some of the best in the avant-garde scene — from Subodh Gupta and Bharti Kher to Tejal Shah and Shilpa Gupta — at his new, 500-sq-m gallery. To mark the occasion, he also brought out a doorstopper New Delhi, New Wave, in English and Italian, edited by French art aficionado Jerome Neutres (above, with artist Baba Anand). The book was finally launched in Delhi where it seems to belong.

“After New York, New Delhi is the capital of art market,” claimed Neutres, 37, who heads the Visual and Performing Arts Department at the French Embassy in New York.

So what made the Frenchman turn his attention to the cluttered Indian art scene? “India is my adopted land. I had worked at the French Embassy in Delhi for four years. Besides the colours, the energy and surrealism of the country fascinate me,” said Neutres, swivelling a glass of wine.

The book, published by Italian house Damiani and costing about Rs 2,700, is about 14 Indian artists and their works — from Mumbai-based Shah’s baroque depiction of transgenders titled You Too Can to the kitschy Bollywood posters of Baba Anand, a NIFT graduate who felt competition was hotting up due to counterpart Manish Arora’s presence and found his calling in mixed media. At Olive Beach, while Anand talked art, the guests kept the party going with pizzas topped with Italian cheese.