Tushar Jiwarajka’s Volte Una Reinvents The Art Auction With A Rare Tyeb Mehta Masterpiece

One highly coveted masterpiece. A singular moment to acquire it. Built around the idea that true rarity deserves a place of its own, Volte Una is a new auction format that presents just one exceptional work at a time. The platform will present approximately 10–12 works a year, selected for their rarity, provenance, and significance. Its inaugural lot is Rickshaw Puller (2002), an iconic acrylic-on-canvas painting by renowned Indian modern artist Tyeb Mehta (1925–2009). It draws on his signature angular geometry and bold diagonals, building a dynamic composition charged with tension and an underlying sense of confinement.

Volte Una is the brainchild of Tushar Jiwarajka, founder and director of Volte Art Projects. Since establishing Volte in Mumbai in 2009, Jiwarajka has built a strong reputation for championing Indian modern and contemporary art, with a particular focus on rare and significant works by some of the country’s most celebrated artists.

Here is a brief conversation with the founder-director presented in the form of Q&A.

Robb Report (RR): What gap in the art auction market led you to create Volte Una?

Tushar Jiwarajka(TJ) : The way auctions are conducted today, every auction has 70–80 lots, maybe even 100 lots. I believe that a masterpiece should not have to compete or just be given a slot number amongst multiple lots. It should be the whole and sole focus; that’s the main reason for doing this. It was also a natural extension of what I was already doing. I’ve been a gallerist and a private art dealer for 18 years. Over the last 7–8 years, the business has evolved to finding the rarest masterpieces of Indian art and placing them in the right collections. With Volte Una, what I’m doing is just a different format of selling. Ordinarily, I would offer this work for private sale but now I’m offering it through the auction format. 

RR: How do you determine that a work is rare enough to become a Volte Una lot?

TJ: We are going after the greatest masters of Indian art, and that’s something that is well-established not only in the art market, but also amongst art critics and art historians. The Progressive Artists’ Group is widely considered to be some of the most important Indian artists of the 20th century. Amongst them, Tyeb Mehta was a very singular artist because he made very, very few paintings, perhaps somewhere around 200 canvases. So, there’s the rarity factor. Also, the provenance of this particular artwork is very well documented, making it extremely valuable. It was first exhibited when Tyeb was alive, by Vadhera Art Gallery in a show in 2002, from where it was acquired by Amrita Jhaveri, one of the most prominent art collectors. It was then sold twice through Saffronart, the last time in 2021, when it went to the current owner who is a private collector in the US. These are works that are not easy to come by and hence are very desirable.

RR: How do you define the idea of an exceptional Indian collectible?

TJ: Volte Una’s selection will extend beyond paintings to encompass exceptional works across Indian art and collectibles — from miniature art and ancient sculpture to historic jewellery and rare vintage automobiles. It could be anything, perhaps a necklace that belonged to a Mughal emperor or a vintage car that belonged to a Maharaja, even a fabulous bungalow in Lutyens Delhi. The point is that we don’t want to get into volume. We want to focus on curating extremely rare and hard-to-find works that our clientele would be interested in. For example, we have a spectacular M.F. Husain that belonged to a very important collection, which we will be offering for auction on Volte Una in November. That’s all I’ll say for now!

The artwork is on view at Kathiwada City House, Mumbai until September 12, after which it will be displayed at a private venue in South Delhi from September 16 to 21. The auction will be held online on October 11, with low estimates starting at approximately US$1 million.