Copal Art
Has anyone here dealt with Copal Art. See www.copalart.com. There website makes very interesting reading especially "Copal Bets", "Recommended Artsists" and "Copal Newsletter" (although there have been no new newslettes since July when the markets started correcting.
Tags: copal art
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Sachin on -
Hi Deepak,
"Copal Art Posrfolios" as they call today was known as "Copl Art Investment Fund" in Jan-Feb 2007. Many media reports and interview by Mr. Ajay Seth, Chief Mentor of Copal Art quoted a launch of India's biggest Rs. 150 Cr Art Fund in mid 2007. Copal Art started "soft launch" process in February 2007 saying that the said Art Fund would be closed for subscription by March 31, 2007. The soft launch process is still ON and the said fund never got launched. They were also to launch world's biggest Rs. 1000 Cr Art Fund in December 2007, I doubt we will ever be able to participate in this World's biggest 1000 Cr Art Fund!!!!
Copal claimed to have launched two successful Art funds of 10 Cr each in the city of Hyderabad in 2006 and Mr Seth said that Copal has upper hand over other Art Funds as Copal's funds are of Open End in nature. Copal was to launch a website for providing liquidity for its Art Fund investors in March 2007 (the portal started in April 2008 though, and hardly a single painting has been sold through the portal).
Copal's best bet in March 2007 was Kishore Shinde. Investors in the fund were allotted Kishore Shinde's sculpture cum painting for Rs. 32,000 per Sq Ft. Mr. Seth claimed that Kishore Shinde is a Future Master and would do a show in U.K. with one the largets Galleries in the world in October 2007 (the show never happened!). Other bets were Siraj Saxena, Veer Munshi, Jyoti Swarup, T Vaikuntam.
Please find attached a latest research report prepared for the artist Badri Narayan by Copal. - Attachments:
-
Permalink Reply by Sonali Engineer on -
i havent been a buyer with Copal, i interacted with them for a bit on a business level and i would say one thing. BE CAREFUL!
they operate out of a business center - while that is not bad but what security i have that they wont disappear? they dont deliver on their promises and if you look at their panelists it will frighten you - how many art specialists or even knowledgeable people appear there? all investors - a sure pot boiler for manipulations and God alone knows what.
one word in their favor though - i went for one of their talks where they call in experts to talk on a particular work of an artist - it was pretty interesting.
sonali
Sachin said:Hi Deepak,
"Copal Art Posrfolios" as they call today was known as "Copl Art Investment Fund" in Jan-Feb 2007. Many media reports and interview by Mr. Ajay Seth, Chief Mentor of Copal Art quoted a launch of India's biggest Rs. 150 Cr Art Fund in mid 2007. Copal Art started "soft launch" process in February 2007 saying that the said Art Fund would be closed for subscription by March 31, 2007. The soft launch process is still ON and the said fund never got launched. They were also to launch world's biggest Rs. 1000 Cr Art Fund in December 2007, I doubt we will ever be able to participate in this World's biggest 1000 Cr Art Fund!!!!
Copal claimed to have launched two successful Art funds of 10 Cr each in the city of Hyderabad in 2006 and Mr Seth said that Copal has upper hand over other Art Funds as Copal's funds are of Open End in nature. Copal was to launch a website for providing liquidity for its Art Fund investors in March 2007 (the portal started in April 2008 though, and hardly a single painting has been sold through the portal).
Copal's best bet in March 2007 was Kishore Shinde. Investors in the fund were allotted Kishore Shinde's sculpture cum painting for Rs. 32,000 per Sq Ft. Mr. Seth claimed that Kishore Shinde is a Future Master and would do a show in U.K. with one the largets Galleries in the world in October 2007 (the show never happened!). Other bets were Siraj Saxena, Veer Munshi, Jyoti Swarup, T Vaikuntam.
Please find attached a latest research report prepared for the artist Badri Narayan by Copal.
-
Permalink Reply by Artseek on -
Hi Sachin,
Any idea,who launched the first Indian Modern and Contemporary Art Fund and when?
Sachin said:Hi Deepak,
"Copal Art Posrfolios" as they call today was known as "Copl Art Investment Fund" in Jan-Feb 2007. Many media reports and interview by Mr. Ajay Seth, Chief Mentor of Copal Art quoted a launch of India's biggest Rs. 150 Cr Art Fund in mid 2007. Copal Art started "soft launch" process in February 2007 saying that the said Art Fund would be closed for subscription by March 31, 2007. The soft launch process is still ON and the said fund never got launched. They were also to launch world's biggest Rs. 1000 Cr Art Fund in December 2007, I doubt we will ever be able to participate in this World's biggest 1000 Cr Art Fund!!!!
Copal claimed to have launched two successful Art funds of 10 Cr each in the city of Hyderabad in 2006 and Mr Seth said that Copal has upper hand over other Art Funds as Copal's funds are of Open End in nature. Copal was to launch a website for providing liquidity for its Art Fund investors in March 2007 (the portal started in April 2008 though, and hardly a single painting has been sold through the portal).
Copal's best bet in March 2007 was Kishore Shinde. Investors in the fund were allotted Kishore Shinde's sculpture cum painting for Rs. 32,000 per Sq Ft. Mr. Seth claimed that Kishore Shinde is a Future Master and would do a show in U.K. with one the largets Galleries in the world in October 2007 (the show never happened!). Other bets were Siraj Saxena, Veer Munshi, Jyoti Swarup, T Vaikuntam.
Please find attached a latest research report prepared for the artist Badri Narayan by Copal.
-
Permalink Reply by Sachin on
-
Hi Artseek,
I think, Yarta - I was the first Art First launched in India. Yatra - I, was a four-year closed end fund floated by venture capitalist Pravin Gandhi, Sanjay Kumar of Synergy Art Foundation and Geeta Mehra of Sakshi Gallery. Edelweiss Capital marketed it. The fund garnered Rs 10 crore from 50 investors from India. Osian's was second Art Fund which collected Rs. 102 Cr, India's largest Art Fund. It was marketed by ABN AMRO Bank.
-
Permalink Reply by Sachin on
-
Inconsistencies in Copal Art’s story spur big questions...
The deep inconsistencies in Seth’s statements amid growing concerns over the lack of transparency in Indian art investments has stunted the growth of the art funds in other countries.
by Maitreyee Handique
New Delhi
http://www.livemint.com/2007/04/23034241/Inconsistencies-in-Copal-A...
Posted: Thu, May 10 2007. 4:13 PM IST
New Delhi: Ajay Seth said he wanted to pioneer a different kind of art fund.
His New Delhi gallery, Copal Art, launched two funds last year and Seth said he raised Rs20 crore with a simple premise: investors could actually take home the paintings bought by the fund.
Copal Art fund would thus be different from other art funds cropping up in India with regularity, funds that bought works on behalf of investors, stored them in warehouses where, presumably, they would appreciate in value and eventually get sold to the highest bidder without any of the investors really getting to enjoy their appreciating investments.
To potential investors, Seth promoted his idea as a way to pool money, build economies of scale and thus beat inflated gallery prices and their fat, built-in commissions, while getting to hang art at home.
“Most art funds that people invest in don’t get to see the art they invest in at all,” said Seth. “In our case, buyers get to keep the art as well.”
Copal fund also differed from others in many ways. For one, a buyer’s relationship with Copal could end once a work was paid for. However, as part of the price, Seth said he also offered art consulting services so investors could continue buying and selling works.
To artists, Seth plugged the concept as a way of selling works without giving up a lot in commissions to galleries and, in some cases, getting firm ‘buy’ orders before even putting brush to canvas. Whereas galleries usually charge a 40% commission, Seth offered artists the chance to sell their works with Copal taking a 15-20% cut—savings Seth said were also passed on to the buyer.
Selling a yet-to-be-completed work is one area where Seth now says that demand has been much higher than he had anticipated, resulting in orders for art that doesn’t yet exist. Sometimes, Seth says, he simply “pre-sells” art—and then turns around and tries to get the artist to create a painting.
There is nothing illegal or wrong in what Seth said he was doing. Indeed, India has seen this pre-selling tactic before, perhaps most infamously by progressive painter M.F. Husain, who was commissioned to paint 100 works for Rs101 crore.
But, in multiple interviews with Mint over the past few months, Seth claimed Copal’s portfolio—which has a long list of artists—specifically included Harshvardhan, Jagannath Panda, G.R. Iranna and Neeraj Goswami. When independently contacted by Mint, all four painters denied selling works to Copal. Asked again by Mint about their participation, Seth still insists their works will be a part of the next fund he plans to launch.
There have also been other inconsistencies in Seth’s statements. He said noted artist Gopi Gajwani is a member of Copal fund’s selection committee. When contacted by Mint, Gajwani denied it, saying, “Seth had initially mentioned this to me. But I have not agreed.”
Copal Art Gallery, operating out of a now sealed building in the R block of Greater Kailash, was one of 30 locations of eight gallery owners across the Capital, and in Mumbai, that were raided by the income-tax department last week, according to a tax department official who did not want to be named because of government policy and the ongoing investigation.
Late last week, Seth also confirmed that he was among those raided. “The motive is good, but the actions were wrong,” Seth said referring to the department. “Art galleries should form an association. They (the I-T department) could have sent circulars first if they wanted to know about financial statements.”
Mint has been unable to ascertain what prompted the I-T department to specifically target Copal or, for that matter, any other gallery. Unnamed department officials have been quoted in news reports as saying they were looking for evidence of people using cash to buy art works and not providing required paperwork, something that Mint can’t independently verify.
But the deep inconsistencies in Seth’s statements come amid growing concerns over the lack of transparency in Indian art investments—an issue that has also stunted the growth of the so-called art funds in other countries.
“We have knowledge about how art functions in the marketplace, but no knowledge of how funds work,” says art economist David Kusin, a former curator with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, noting that the US saw an art fund boom a few years ago—but most have not lasted. Kusin was speaking in general about art funds and not specifically about Copal.
Meanwhile, in India, art funds have been steadily gaining in popularity. At least five art funds worth a total of Rs250 crore have been launched over the last two years, based on statements by their principals. They range from large players, such as the Rs102 crore Osian’s art fund, to smaller ones, such as Crayon Capital’s planned Rs20 crore fund, which, the promoters said, was oversubscribed to the tune of Rs60 crore. Some of these funds have reported returns of 25% or more per year, but investors generally have to wait for at least three years before cashing out. Each fund has its own strategy and niche, and none of them are associated with Copal or are known to follow a similar model. Mint has not examined other Indian art funds as part of its reporting on Copal.
There has also been a steady drumbeat of how works of Indian artists have been appreciating and reaping rich rewards for investors and collectors alike, irrespective of the ‘quality’ of the art itself. There is enough anecdotal evidence, especially from reputed auctions, to support this trend, and the runaway prices of Indian art in various galleries also indicate that prices are generally heading north. However, there is very little empirical evidence yet in India of the true extent of the market or valuations, and voices of caution are starting to emerge, both among financial planners as well as the government.
K.V.S. Manian, group head of retail liabilities and branch banking at Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, points out that art investments still operate in a relatively non-transparent space: art sales are over-the-counter and not monitored or regulated. “For retail investors, it’s not a preferred asset class as it’s not easy to value works of art, unlike prices in a stock market,” says Manian. He too was speaking in general and not about Copal.
Copal’s Seth is a recent convert to art, opening Copal Art Gallery in the Capital on 22 October 2005.
Seth said he was an auditor for Godrej Soaps between 1979 and 1984. He said he later worked as a financial controller of Haryana Beverages Ltd, between 1984 and 1987, before turning an independent marketing and brand consultant through 2004. Seth said he then started a tissue manufacturing company, Glenn Maurier, in 2004, but said in an interview that he is selling the company this year. The phone number listed for the company on a website elicited no response.
Seth, who says he only started collecting both abstract and figurative art slightly before that, also said he wanted to help discover and support fledgling artists.
The gallery’s website (www.copalart.com) describes Copal, which, in Hindi, means a flowering bud, as an “entity with a social cause”. Seth said his intent was to focus on new talent, “to promote this segment of the artists whose poor social conditions often surpass their creativity and talent.”
In March 2006, Seth launched his first fund, Copal Art Fund Series I, and said he collected Rs10 crore. The preview, held in his gallery, featured 50 works on display, but he already fell 150 works short of what he said was needed to satisfy the 200 initial investors in the fund.
Seth says he invested nearly Rs5 crore of his own money for the first fund, including expenses such as storage, transport and insurance. Because of art bought previously and newer art values increasing—a work of Thota Vaikuntam, for instance, appreciated from Rs40,000 to Rs21 lakh in 11 months, he said—Seth said he made a Rs2.5 crore profit.
Because of the apparent success of the first fund, Seth then planned Copal Art Fund Series II, according to him, again a Rs10 crore fund.
On 21 July, 2006, The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition carried a report on the upcoming Copal art fund launch. “Through these schemes, people can invest in paintings of their choice. They can avail our recommendations based on their budget, preference and target,” Seth was quoted as saying. Seth also said that after a story on Copal ran in The Economic Times, he received 300 emails including many enquiries from Hyderabad, a city he described as a “virgin” market, but growing wealthier and hungrier for art investments nonetheless.
In October, Seth held a launch party at a business center in Hyderabad’s Taj Banjara hotel with a few “good friends who invested in large numbers.”
Artists whose works were pre-sold there included Hukum Lal, Kuldeep Singh and Vaikuntam—and several collectors interviewed by Mint confirmed later that they did get works by those artists. Once again, Seth said later, he was not prepared for the overwhelming response. “The response was big but our art supply was limited,” said Seth. “The fund was sold but the artworks were not there.”
The second fund drew 170 investors, many repeat customers from the first time around, Seth said in a February interview. “We made less money in the second one as art prices had appreciated and the acquisition costs were high.”
On 27 November, the Reuters news service published an article saying Copal had raised Rs10 crore. “Copal has a ready fund and bank of around 200 artists,” Seth was quoted as saying. The article ends with: “Seth said CAL would also launch a Rs1.5 billion art fund in December.”
In a January interview with Mint, Seth had said he planned to launch a third fund of Rs150 crore but he had postponed it to early March to first continue collecting the art. Several private-equity investors and high net-worth individuals want to buy equity in his company, Seth said. A few artists in Baroda also want to invest his third fund—Copal Art Series III—to acquire art, he said. Seth said he could not disclose their names yet.
Contacted in March, Seth had said the fund would now now launched in May, adding: “Since ours is a delivery-linked fund, we have to complete the acquisition process (of paintings) as we have token money from investors.”
Some artists credit Seth with bringing them into the big leagues. Even before he launched the first fund, Seth began pushing Hukum Lal and Kuldeep Singh, two artists he met at an exhibition in New Delhi.
Both have studied Fine Arts in Indira Kala Sangeet University in Khairagarh, Chhattisgarh. Singh says he has delivered 100 paintings in the past two years—that’s one painting per week—and has committed to make many more for Copal. Lal said he has done at least 75 works in the past year for Copal and is committed to providing another 50 works over the next two years. Seth said prices for Lal’s art has risen 40% over the last year. The payment is done upfront, Seth said. “We pay immediately, unlike galleries which take works on consignment.”
“Most amateur artists are like penny stocks, but some of these artists, such as Kuldeep Singh and Hukum Lal, have shown maturity,” insists Shantanu Bhowmick, who runs the information technology consulting firm Consus Ltd. Of the several art works he bought from Copal, Bhowmick said he has already sold five works of Singh for a 30-40% return. Adds Bhowmick: “Gallery commissions are atrocious, but the advantage of going through Copal is that he’s getting them cheaper.”
Seth said 90% of Copal investors are lawyers, information technology professionals, doctors, railway officials, and even a sports star from Hyderabad, though he didn’t name the person. His funds allow them to choose a range of investment, from the masters to amateurs. “Maximum number of people have opted for amateur artists because of low entry level of Rs4,000 per sq. ft,” he said, talking about the correlation between the price and a painting’s size.
-
Permalink Reply by Sachin on
-
Another good read about Mr. Ajay Seth, Chief Mentor of Copal Art. Business World's cover story - India's New Billionaires. As per the issue, Ajay Seth is one of the New Billionaires in India.
http://www.businessworld.in/index.php/Corporate/Art-ful-Investor.html
PROFILE
Art-ful Investor
From a trainee clerk to a billionaire art dealer, Ajay Seth has made a mark
SUMATI NAGRATH
20 Jun 2008
Ajay Seth
Company: Copal Art
Profession: An art dealer whose personal collection is worth more than Rs 150 crore
(Pic By Sanjay Sakaria)
In a city where ostentatiousness rules, Ajay Seth’s single-storey home — amidst a crowd of multi-storeyed apartments — in Delhi’s Preet Vihar looks rather odd. In fact, nothing about Seth — his house, car, clothes, not even his holiday destinations — gives away the fact that he is a billionaire. It is not until he begins to show you the art works he has collected that the extent of his wealth becomes apparent. “I don’t have a flamboyant lifestyle,” says the mild-mannered Seth, whose collection includes works by Jamini Roy, Kishor Shinde and Thota Vaikuntam.
As head of Copal Art — a company that has successfully launched three art funds since April 2006, the most recent one being worth Rs 150 crore — 53-year-old Seth is an outsider to India’s art world. Rooted in Delhi’s walled city culture, he does not fit in easily with the wine-sipping, canapé nibbling sophisticates who crowd together at most gallery openings. As the son of an impoverished political worker, Seth started giving tuitions when he was barely 14 to support his mother and two younger sisters. So without the cultural, social and economic capital that is so necessary in the world of art, how did he manage to succeed?
It was in 1999 that Seth first got interested in art. By then he had risen from being a trainee clerk at DCM Shriram’s Chawdi Bazaar depot and earning Rs 140 a month, to running not one but two successful businesses — a PET bottling plant and a personal care products unit. “My wife and I started visiting various galleries,” he recollects. Two things struck him during these visits: the lack of crowds and the reticence of most art gallery owners to talk to him.
The humiliation of being treated like a pariah and being conned into spending Rs 9 lakh on worthless pieces of art — as he later discovered — spurred on Seth to work towards “democratising the art market”. He still retains every piece of art work that was part of the Rs 9 lakh collection. “It is my learning,” he says. Seth learned more about art and realised that he could “make art accessible to the common man”. Despite warnings, Seth devised a delivery-linked model of art fund, which is now into its third series. His faith proved to be well placed. Today, Copal is attracting several investors. Recently, a stockbroker from Mumbai, picked up 1 per cent equity in Copal’s art fund for Rs 3.5 crore. “I have not had my company valued, but those who have are saying it is worth around Rs 1,000 crore.” That is a lot of money if you take into account that the entire contemporary Indian art mart is valued between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 1,500 crore.
Meanwhile, his only concession to the display of his considerable wealth will be ready in a month — his new home, which is just down the road from the present one, but is “two and half times the area”. He deserves it.
sumati.nagrath@abp.in. This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
(Businessworld Issue 24-30 June 2008)
-
Permalink Reply by IAN Editor on -
The article was written in June 2008. The financial and asset markets have changed since then. It takes 5-7 years to ascertain the real potential, success and viability of an alternative asset product or strategy. Sachin, thank you for the information and I will keen to follow the progress.
-
Permalink Reply by Artseek on
-
Sachin,
I am also keen to learn about other art funds operating in India and abroad.
-
Permalink Reply by Bhupesh gupta on -
artseek,
guess what............ we are in wrong business !
you have to be RUNNING ART FUNDS ............. TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIVES!
" LIVES OF GREAT MEN ALL REMIND US,
WE CAN MAKE OUR LIVES SUBLIME !"
I HAVE HAD MY ENLIGHTENMENT...................guess another RICHES 2 SUPER RICHES STORY IS IN THE MAKING !
Artseek said:Sachin,
I am also keen to learn about other art funds operating in India and abroad.
-
Permalink Reply by Sachin on
-
You are right Bhupesh Sir.........
If you want to be super rich, float an Art Fund like Copal's. Buy works directly from Artists for Rs. 100, and sell them to innocent and ignorant buyers to Rs. 1000 !!!. You already have made 10 times !!??!! Then educate your buyers that Art must be bought for pleasure, treasure , passion (etc etc etc) and have a horison of 5-7 years to realise REAL value of the art work bought!!!! Art buyer may make money in long term, but you have already made 5 to 10 times of your initial investment......
Please dont forget me after becoming Super Rich............. !!!!!
Bhupesh gupta said:artseek,
guess what............ we are in wrong business !
you have to be RUNNING ART FUNDS ............. TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIVES!
" LIVES OF GREAT MEN ALL REMIND US,
WE CAN MAKE OUR LIVES SUBLIME !"
I HAVE HAD MY ENLIGHTENMENT...................guess another RICHES 2 SUPER RICHES STORY IS IN THE MAKING !
Artseek said:Sachin,
I am also keen to learn about other art funds operating in India and abroad.
-
Permalink Reply by Sachin on
-
Dear All.......
Please find attached a Presentation made by Copal Research Team - Art - Adding New Dimensions. Your feedback on the presentation is welcome.... - Attachments:
-
-
Art - Adding New Dimensions.ppt, 1.6 MB
-
© 2010 Created by IAN Editor
