Olivia Gillingham in Conversation with ARTSop Founder and Arushi Arts Director, Arushi Kapoor
Arushi Kapoor.
Arushi Kapoor was originally poised for a career in finance before art world internships and a business school project sparked an idea for an app that would connect artists and galleries as easily as swiping on Tinder. As the Founder of ARTSop, which evolved into a fine art consultancy, Kapoor is also the Director of Arushi Arts Gallery where she champions the work of more than 300 Southeast Asian artists.
MADE IN BED’s Olivia Gillingham connected with Kapoor over Zoom to talk about her global upbringing, her advice for finding a place in the art world and the origins of ARTSop as well as its new ventures.
Olivia Gillingham: You have already accomplished so much in the art world at a young age. You authored a book, Talking Art at 16, and started ARTSop when you were still a business student at the University of Southern California. How did your passion for art develop, and what was the motivation for starting ARTSop?
Arushi Kapoor: My passion for art started from the kind of upbringing I had, before I recognised that art could be a career. My mother is one of the largest art collectors in India and made sure I was involved in meeting artists and understanding artwork from a young age. My father is a businessman who is very opposite that but made sure I understood the value and the asset side of art. [Art] was a passion that was sort of handed over to me. As a business student studying finance, I wasn’t initially thinking about a career in art, but as time went by, I interned at different art institutions like the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and Revolver Art Gallery. While interning, I gained a skill set that I didn’t realize was rare at the time: knowing the value of artwork, its history and how to create future value. Since I was in sales and I was also doing charity events, I had to understand how to talk to clients. At some point, I decided to start [a business] myself.
The idea for ARTSop began as a project for an entrepreneurship class, which my then-business partner and I decided to start together outside of school. I had the resources to go to art events and make connections and my business partner worked on the UX building side of [the company]. ARTSop started as ‘Tinder’ for art, which is something entirely different from what it’s become. We wanted to connect artists directly to art galleries. It was fun while it lasted, but because galleries are limited by the artists they can work with, it wasn’t a viable model long-term. I made my first sale from that platform though, which gave me the confidence to build ARTSop into a consulting firm. For the first couple of months, business was mostly word of mouth, but I started building collections and now I’m working with some of the top art collectors in the United States.
OG: You mention that ARTSop grew into a consultancy; what is ARTSop focused on now and how do you see it evolving in the future?
AK: ARTSop is working on a couple of different projects and expansions. We just launched ARTSop Editions, where we pick up-and-coming artists and publish limited-edition artworks. In the past year the prints market has picked up, especially with COVID-19. More and more people are buying prints and so the value of prints has gone up exponentially. There are a lot of people who want artwork but don’t want to pay, or don’t have the resources to pay, fifteen or twenty thousand dollars. Our last run of the limited-edition artworks launched in December 2020 and sold out. Our next [edition] will launch March 1, 2021.
In terms of the future, we’re working on another project that I can’t speak about right now, but I will say that ARTSop will always focus on helping clients invest in art as an asset. For a long time, art was only considered an asset for rich, luxury clients. I think as time has gone on, and with how volatile the markets are right now, art has held strong and is coming into the public eye as an accessible investment for normal, everyday people. That’s what ARTSop is trying to do; not just consulting, not just publications, not just bringing up emerging artists from LA, or representing the vernacular Southeast Asian art, but providing art to the people.
OG: You grew up across India, Europe and the United States. How has your multicultural upbringing affected your career, and particularly your decision to work with emerging Indian artists and art of the African Diaspora?
AK: I was incredibly lucky. I think my upbringing was the best possible thing to happen to me because it gave me perspective on different cultures. I’ve been to museums in parts of the world where I didn’t even know museums existed. I went to Salvador Dali’s house and the first Picasso museum when I was 10 or 11. I’m immensely grateful to my mum for doing that. I think at the time I probably wanted to go play or ride horses, but now there’s no way that I travel somewhere without experiencing the art scene. I would say I became a melting pot of cultures, and in terms of my career, it helps me speak to people from diverse backgrounds.
When I transitioned first from India to the UK and then eventually to the United States, there were a lot of confusing cultural differences, but it resulted in me gaining a greater understanding of what people want. Ultimately, it has helped me to understand people and help them choose artwork for their collections. It has helped me work internationally too. I have offices in India, London and the United States, and sister companies in South Africa and Hong Kong. My upbringing gave me a more worldly perspective and has helped me listen to people and understand their environment and their needs. I think it’s immensely important for people to have a global understanding in today’s world; it will help you to be successful in any career.
At Arushi Arts, we represent over 300 artists of Indian or Southeast Asian origin. It’s very important to me that Southeast Asian art and vernacular Southeast Asian art is recognized. I think Asian art saw a boom a couple of years ago that Indian art, as of right now, has not seen yet. I’m confident that with how the world is going, within the next couple of years there will be a similar boom in Indian Contemporary Art.
Baua Devi, Untitled, acrylic on canvas, 144.78 x 106.68 cm (2008). Courtesy of Arushi Arts Gallery.
OG: The entire world has faced challenges with COVID-19, and the art world has been no exception. With the cancellation of art fairs, various lockdowns and restrictions on gathering in public spaces, how have you had to adapt as the Director of Arushi Arts Gallery?
AK: Covid-19 changed the art market dramatically. Brand new artists lost part of their markets without the means to go to galleries or market [their work] themselves, but I think that will come back as exhibitions and group shows start again. I also think some older art dealers struggled to adapt quickly, so younger art dealers were given an edge. We also saw a plethora of new clientele that wanted artwork. Everyone who was sitting at home wanted their house to look beautiful and wanted to invest in something reliable. A big change was that viewings, typically done in viewing facilities whether that is a warehouse or a gallery, couldn’t happen with Covid. [Practices] moved to sending clients professionally taken videos and photos from every angle, and Facetiming clients to show them the artwork. It became our job to hold the torch and make sure that we could give the client the most information and show them the artwork digitally in the best way possible. More people are buying artwork through digital channels, and I believe that will continue even after Covid. If people have the resources to sit at home and view a piece of art, they may not want to fly internationally, [especially] if they’re not one hundred percent sure about the piece. From this year onward, I think technology is going to play a big part in the transformation of the art world.
OG: Who are some artists that you’re especially excited about at the moment?
AK: Wonder Buhle Mbambo, Adjei Tawiah, Jammie Holmes, Valay Shende, Paresh Maity, Dhavat Singh, Baua Devi, Amit Mahadev Dhombare, Alli Conrad, Ian Nelson, and Amy Sherald.
Paresh Maity, Rider, oil & acrylic on canvas, 88.9 x 116.84 cm (2020). Courtesy of Arushi Arts Gallery.
OG: The art world is notoriously exclusive and largely white and male-dominated. What advice would you give to other young professionals in the art world who want to make it more inclusive and diverse?
AK: You have to push yourself into the art world. No one is going to just let you in. You need to do the work, and it’s going to be a lot of work. You have to go to galleries, make those connections, and become genuine friends with people involved in the art world without expecting a financial return. I don’t think the art world is exclusive, I think it’s protective. It’s a learning process, and it takes a long time to get to a point where people accept you as someone who knows enough. My advice to someone starting out would be to really indulge yourself in the process of learning, know what your strengths are and try to hone that information and those skills before you jump into a career.
Thank you, Arushi.
Learn more about Arushi and ARTSop’s services on their website and on Instagram.
Except where otherwise noted, imagery courtesy of Arushi Kapoor.
Olivia Gillingham,
Contributor, MADE IN BED