State of the Art

The Saffronart Blog

Month: August 2012

Buying Property in London? There may be tax implications…

August 22, 2012

PART 2: The Non-personal Entity.

Shivajirao Gaekwar shares a note by Vishal Agarwal of BMR Advisors, Mumbai, about tax implications of buying property in London

London: The tax implications discussed in ‘Part 1: The Private Individual’, apply equally for residential property owned by an Indian company for investment purposes and not in the course of its business.

If a resident individual were to acquire overseas property through an overseas company (‘Overseas Holding Company’) established by the individual, the associated tax implications will be different from those summarized in the previous post.

On the basis that the Overseas Holding Company is controlled and managed outside India, it ought not to be regarded as being resident for Indian tax purposes.  Rental income, if the property is let, would accrue to the Overseas Holding Company.  Such income should not be liable to tax in India since it would accrue to the Overseas Holding Company and not to the resident individual.  Similarly, if the property is sold by the Overseas Holding Company, any capital gain realized from the sale would also accrue to the Overseas Holding Company and should consequently not be liable to tax in India.  Income distributed by the Overseas Holding Company as dividends will be taxable as ordinary income in India.  If the owner of the Overseas Holding Company is an Indian company, such dividend is taxable at 15 percent (plus applicable surcharge and cess); if the owner is an individual, tax would apply at the ordinary rates applicable to the individual.

If shares in the Overseas Holding Company are sold by the resident holder, any resulting capital gains would be liable to tax in India. Shares held for more than twelve months (and not thirty-six months as is the case for property) are treated as long-term capital assets. If held for twelve months or less, they would be treated as short-term capital assets. Such gains would be liable to tax at the rates discussed earlier.  Any loss resulting from the sale of shares of the Overseas Holding Company can be offset against taxable gains in the same manner as discussed earlier.

Wealth tax provisions on ownership through a company

Where the property is acquired through an Overseas Holding Company, the asset that the resident individual will hold is shares in the Overseas Holding Company.  Shares are presently not chargeable to wealth tax.

Reporting obligations

An individual who owns property outside India is required to report the details of such property in his / her annual tax return.

Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010 (‘DTC’)

The current Indian tax law is proposed to be replaced with the DTC with effective from April 1, 2013.  Key areas of difference in tax analysis under the DTC are (i) the concept of “annual value” referred to above has been dropped.  Instead, only actual rent received or receivable on letting out of property is charged to tax; certain prescribed tax deductions continue to be available; (ii) the concept of Controlled Foreign Corporations (‘CFC’) has been introduced bringing to tax in India profits accumulated in an overseas holding company even if not distributed; (iii) the property will be treated as long-term if held for a more than one year from the end of the year in which it was acquired; and (iii) wealth tax is also leviable on shares held in a foreign company that qualifies as a CFC.

Warli Artists: The Other Masters

August 22, 2012

Medha Kapur shares a note on Warli painting, one of India’s most well known tribal art forms

Warli

Warli

The Warlis are the largest tribe found on the northern outskirts of Mumbai. The name is derived from the word ‘Warla’, which means ‘piece of land’. Maharashtra is known for its Warli folk paintings. These are vivid expressions of daily and social events of the tribe, used by them to decorate the walls of village houses.

Jivya Soma Mashe, acrylique et terra cota sur toile, 1997

Jivya Soma Mashe, 1997

Jivya Soma Mashe, acrylique et bouse de vache sur toile, 2003,

Jivya Soma Mashe, 2003

The trademark of Warli paintings is the use of geometric designs such as triangles, circles, dots and crooked lines to depict human figures, animals, houses, crops etc. The circle represents the sun and the moon, and the triangle is derived from mountains and pointed trees. The square indicates a sacred enclosure or a piece of land. The subject on which Warli art is done includes festivals, harvests, marriages and other celebrations. Women are mainly engaged in the creation of these paintings. These tribal paintings of Maharashtra are traditionally done in the homes of the Warli people. An interesting fact about Warli paintings is that it is rare to see a straight line; it usually is a series of dots and dashes that make one line. The artists have recently started to draw straight lines in their paintings. Warli paintings are ancient painting made on the walls. The colours used were not permanent. But the paintings were made again on different occasions. Today,  Warli paintings on paper, cloth and canvas have become very popular and are now sold all over India.  Small paintings are done on cloth and paper but they look best on the walls or in the form of huge murals that bring out the vast and magical world of the Warlis.

Warli

Francis Bacon: Five Decades

August 21, 2012

Sneha Sikand of Saffronart on the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ upcoming retrospective

Portrait of Michel Leiris, 1976
Image credit: Art Gallery NSW

Sydney: Opening this November to commemorate British born artist, Francis Bacon’s twentieth death anniversary is the first major exhibition of his work in Australia. Considered one of the most controversial figurative artists  of the twentieth century, Bacon’s works usually garner an instantaneous reaction from the viewer.

The Curatorial Director of the gallery, Anthony Bond says, “We’ve done Caravaggio, we’ve done Monet, we’ve done Picasso…we need another figure of that sort of monumentality.” Francis Bacon’s name is almost always mentioned along with the other greats. Having borrowed over fifty major works and studio material from thirty-one collections across the world, including five from the Tate gallery in London, the exhibit will provide an extensive and detailed account of five decades of the artist’s life. From the artist’s shocking post-war images to his later large-scale paintings from the 1980s , viewers will be able to experience his entire oeuvre under one roof.

Bacon’s works have always projected the subject with morbidity and brutality. His paintings were always appreciated for their finesse, but people would often ask him to paint more beautiful and lively subjects. He however felt that all subjects, beautiful or not, were meant to whither – whether the next day or next year. So there really wasn’t much of a difference between his subject matter and something more beautiful. Watch this video to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the collection was put together. The exhibition will open on 17 November, 2012, and will run till 24 February, 2013.

Visit the gallery website for more information

Folk and Tribal Art: Gond Painting

August 20, 2012

Josheen Oberoi of Saffronart looks (very briefly) at what constitutes Gond Art

New York: Folk and tribal arts are relatively less exposed forms of narrative Indian art and contain within them a gamut of styles originating from various geographical regions in India; Gond art is one such art form.

Jangarh Singh Shyam
Untitled, 1984
Acrylic on canvas, 55.5 x 32.5 inches
Image courtesy: Saffronart

The term Gond art refers to paintings that emerge from a heterogeneous tribal group called the Gond or Koiture, mostly centered in Madhya Pradesh. Even within the phrase Gond art there is a wide spectrum of artistic styles, primarily connected to distinct painters and their practices. The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts’s (IGNCA) research discusses the cultural roots of the Gonds and also indicates the unifying theme in Gond art – the pervasive presence of nature. Their pantheon of gods are intimately connected to nature and their strong tradition of oral narrative seemingly transfers to their paintings as well.

The first Gond artist to gain national recognition was Jangarh Singh Shyam (who died in 2001), and in fact, the present genre of Gond painting is called Janagarh Kalam after his pioneering style. He was discovered in the 1980s by the late Jagdish Swaminathan, then Director of Bharat Bhawan in Bhopal. Jangarh Singh Shyam was the first artist to paint on paper and canvas instead of directly on earth or walls of the home. The intricacy and control in his dot-based designs is seen in the works of all Gond artists, as are his most common subjects – the tree of life and various animals.

Ram Singh Urveti
Untitled, 2011
55.5 x 45 inches
Image courtesy: Saffronart

The tree of life is also a favourite subject of Ram Singh Urveti and Suresh Kumar Dhruve. Ram Singh Urveti uses a deep colour palette and combines his imagery of trees with a variety of animals, creating a synergy of plants and animals in his work, while Suresh Kumar Dhruve often presents trees almost like a totem pole, erect and still, surrounded by human figures.

Jangarh Singh Shyam’s wife Nankusia Shyam and daughter Japani Shyam are also renowned Gond artists. Their paintings are inhabited by the world of animals, although their individual aesthetics are distinct. Nankusia Shyam often paints animals from her childhood memories or shares her impression of urban culture in the shape of these animals. Japani Shyam, on the other hand, almost seems to capture the eco systems in which animals survive; her works are denser, they are reproductions of the worlds that animals and plants survive in.

Japani Shyam
Untitled, 2011
Acrylic and ink on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
Image courtesy: Saffronart

In Narmada Prasad Tekam’s painting, plants and animals share equal footing; they are not shown as a continuum, as in Jangarh Singh Shyam or Ram Singh Urveti’s work. These detailed works contain everyday creatures, recognizable in their presence.

Narmada Prasad Tekam
Untitled
Acrylic on canvas, 68 x 45 inches
Image courtesy: Saffronart

Durga Bai’s works, which have been widely exhibited in India and abroad, show a dynamism and movement within the picture that is unique to her. Brightly hued, hers are narratives of folk tales and deities, of goddesses remembered.

Durga Bai
Untitled
Acrylic on canvas, 68 x 123 inches
Image courtesy: Saffronart

Dhavat Singh
Tiger Tales 1, 2009
Acrylic and ink on canvas, 67.5 x 47.5 inches
Image courtesy: Saffronart

Dhavat Singh’s Tiger Tales are vivid representations of tigers, their interactions with their surroundings and the folklore that surrounds these majestic animals. Equal parts contemporary and traditional; these are visceral works, extending the parameters of Gond art, as it stands today.

The story telling, the fantastical animals and trees is a thread that runs through the work of Gond artists, rooted in their folk tales and culture. However, each of these artists, as evident in these images, has developed a specific language within these narratives creating a richness of aesthetic forms and styles.

These artists represent only a fraction of practitioners of Gond art. A more extensive list and information is at the IGNCA website.

The 2012 Skoda Art Prize

August 17, 2012

Anika Havaldar of Saffronart shares a note about the 2012 Skoda Art Prize for Contemporary Indian Artists.  

Mumbai: The Skoda Art Prize offers mid-career Indian artists up to the age of 45, who have held a solo exhibition in the country over the past year, an opportunity to showcase their work in India and abroad. Created three years ago and modeled on the Turner Prize (the UK award that helped launch the careers of Damien Hirst, Richard Deacon, and Anish Kapoor amongst others), the award aims to help contemporary Indian artists gain recognition in the art world.

The Skoda Art Prize 2012 winner will be announced in February 2013 and will be awarded Rupees 1 million. Past winners include Navin Thomas and Mithu Sen. The 2012 winner will be chosen by an esteemed three-person jury, chaired by critic-historian Geeta Kapur. The other two members of this year’s jury will be artist Sheela Gowda and co-founder of the non-profit Devi Art Foundation, Anupam Poddar.

The Jury for the 2012 Skoda Art Prize: Sheela Gowda (left), Geeta Kapur (center), and Anupam Poddar (right)

Two runners-up will earn month-long residencies in Switzerland, while the top twenty artists will have their works exhibited during the Indian Art Fair in New Delhi in 2013. The organizers will also recognize a ‘Breakthrough Artist’ in a separate award, comprising a Rupees 2 lakh cash prize, presented by Art India magazine.

Learn more about the Skoda Art Prize