Phillips auction house has launched a selling exhibition titled "Crossing Borders" at its Berkeley Square location in London, featuring 64 South Asian Modernist artists including Bhupen Khakhar, Huma Bhabha, Rasheed Araeen, and Nilima Sheikh. The show, organized in collaboration with Grosvenor Gallery, includes major market figures like S.H. Raza and F.N. Souza alongside lesser-known names such as Ahmed Parvez and Viswanathan. Prices range from £5,000 to £1.5 million, with works jointly consigned and profits shared between Phillips and Grosvenor. The exhibition marks Phillips' most significant entry into the South Asian art market, a sector long dominated by Sotheby's, Christie's, and Bonhams.
This move matters because it signals a strategic shift for Phillips, which had previously limited its South Asian presence to short-lived Brics sales in 2010. The exhibition capitalizes on surging demand for 20th-century South Asian art, driven by India's economic growth, a private museum boom, and increased Western institutional interest in Global South artists. By integrating South Asian works into its global platform rather than segregating them into regional sales, Phillips aims to avoid "othering" these artists while competing with established auction houses. The collaboration with Grosvenor Gallery also highlights the blurring lines between auction houses and galleries in the private sales market, a trend accelerated by the current down market.