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Artmarket.com: Artprice looks back over 2021 auction highlights and the NFT phenomenon

PARIS, Dec. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The term ‘NFT’ has been elected word of the year 2021 (all languages combined) by the Collins English Dictionary. The blockchain technology supporting the existence of NFTs was officially born in 2017, but it is only in the last ten months that it has attracted the general public’s attention by inviting itself into the art auction sphere. Today, it seems everyone is talking about NFTs…

This new digital market could merge completely with the physical art market; it already represents 8% of global secondary art market auction turnover. However, the two universes might also develop in parallel, with brief forays into each other’s territory, the physical world on one side and the metaverse on the other… like Ying and Yang.

Artprice’s Contemporary Art Price Index - Base 100 on January 1, 2000

thierry Ehrmann, CEO and Founder of Artmarket.com and its Artprice department: “The appearance of NFTs in the auction sphere represents a genuine revolution, the intensity of which can be explained both by long bottled-up demand and a particularly favorable economic context. Beeple’s initial record ($69.3 million) back in March perfectly illustrates this pent-up demand, the scale of which Christie’s itself had not predicted. NFTs question the art market’s traditional modus operandi, since artists without any market history (but with a huge community on social networks) can, in a few hours, reach prices usually reserved for the likes of René Magritte and Willem de Kooning“.

Artprice by Artmarket.com explains the NFTs for 2022

Artprice looks back at the key developments of the year 2021, quarter by quarter.

Q1: Boticelli vs. Beeple

Unveiled in September 2020, just before a second global wave of the Covid pandemic, Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Roundel (attributed to the Florentine painter Sandro Botticelli) was put up for sale by Sotheby’s in New York on 28 January 2021. Despite doubts surrounding the attribution of the world’s most expensive artwork (Salvator Mundi) to Leonardo da Vinci, and despite a still uncontrollable pandemic, this rare Botticelli masterpiece sold for $92 million, the second highest auction result of all time for a work by an Old Master.

However the biggest surprise of the year came on 11 March 2021 when Christie’s online auction platform sold what looked at first glance like a simple jpeg… for $69.4 million. The artist behind the work, Beeple, was totally unknown to the art market, but he had millions of followers on Instagram who know the 5,000 digital works offered by Christie’s in the form of an NFT. Faced with the unexpected enthusiasm of new bidders, François Pinault’s prestigious auction house accepted payment in a cryptocurrency for the first time in its history.

Q2: A flurry of records in the spring

It took a few months for the art market to fully appreciate the nature and implications of non-fungible tokens. During April 2021, two other major auction houses are also launched the sale of NFTs: Sotheby’s with The Fungible Collection by Pak, and Phillips with the work Replicator by Mad Dog Jones. The prices obtained for these works continued to disconcert collectors and analysts.

Fortunately in May 2021, New York’s traditional major art sales resumed, and a very physical artwork crossed the $100 million threshold for the first time in two years. Woman Seated Near a Window (Marie-Thérèse) (1932) by Pablo Picasso was acquired for $103 million at Christie’s on 13 May 2021. In its wake, almost all of the art market’s major signatures fetched very reassuring prices: Basquiat, Monet, Van Gogh, Warhol,… with lots of artists revising their personal auction records.

Top 5 new artist records recorded in May 2021 in New York

  1. Richard Diebenkorn: Ocean Park # 40 (1971) – $27,265,500 – 12/05/2021, Sotheby’s
  2. Larva Labs: 9 Cryptopunks – $16,962,500 – 11/05/2021, Christie’s
  3. Robert Colescott: George Washington […] (1975) – $15,315,900 – 12/05/2021, Sotheby’s
  4. Childe Hassam: Flags on 57th Street, Winter (1918) – $12,328,500 – 12/05/2021, Sotheby’s
  5. Barbara Hepworth: Parent II (1970) – $7,110,000 – 13/05/2021, Christie’s

Q3: Online sales didn’t stop during the summer

Traditionally, the major auction houses have always taken a break from sales during the months of July and August, in conjunction with the closure of art galleries and art fairs. But in 2020, the postponements caused by the covid pandemic and the establishment of new online sales platforms encouraged auction houses to continue part of their activities throughout the summer period, an exercise that was repeated in 2021, with online sales ensuring the circulation of works to all four corners of the globe.

A total of 121,000 fine art lots were auctioned in the third quarter of 2021. This historic transaction intensity for the summer period was largely driven by the Asian market; not just by sessions in Hong Kong, but also in mainland China, South Korea and Japan.

Top 3 Fine Art results in Asia during July and August 2021

  1. Yayoi Kusama (1929): Pumpkin (1981) – $4,290,000 – 31/07/2021, Mainichi Tokyo
  2. Fu Baoshi (1904-1965): Spring (1963) – $4,400,000 – 25/07/2021, Xiling Yinshe Hangzhou
  3. Whan-Ki Kim (1913-1974): 1 -VII 71 # 207 (1971) – $4,152,720 – 24/08/2021, Seoul Auction

Q4: All indicators turn green…

The months of October and November saw countless new records for all creative periods: Jackson Pollock, Gustave Caillebotte, Peter Doig, Frida Kahlo, Banksy, Pierre Soulages, Agnes Martin, etc. The sales of two very prestigious American collections – the Impressionist Cox Collection at Christie’s, and the Post-War Macklowe Collection at Sotheby’s – made the last quarter of 2021 the most prosperous Q4 in American art market history.

Expected to rebound after a 2020 marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, Artprice will be looking more closely at this highly positive turn of events in its upcoming Annual Art Market Report.

Aside from the NFT phenomenon, one of the year’s key trends was the emergence of the Hong Kong market which proved to be absolutely decisive for the global art market as a whole. Not only did it host sales, for the first time, of major works by Jean-Michel Basquiat in Asia, it also hammered new records for major signatures, both Western (Richard Prince) and Asian (Yayoi Kusama). But, above all, Hong Kong emerged as the new hub for red chip artists – i.e. young signatures who trigger passionate bidding – like the American artist Avery Singer and the Ghanaian artist Amaoko Boafo. Last, but not least… Hong Kong is also emerging as one of the major new capitals for NFT sales.

Images:

[https://imgpublic.artprice.com/img/wp/sites/11/2021/12/image1-artprice-index.png]

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Copyright 1987-2021 thierry Ehrmann www.artprice.com – www.artmarket.com

About Artmarket:

Artmarket.com is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris, SRD long only and Euroclear: 7478 – Bloomberg: PRC – Reuters: ARTF.

Discover Artmarket and its Artprice department on video: www.artprice.com/video

Artmarket and its Artprice department was founded in 1997 by its CEO, thierry Ehrmann. Artmarket and its Artprice department is controlled by Groupe Serveur, created in 1987.

See certified biography in Who’s who ©:

Biographie_thierry_Ehrmann_2022_WhosWhoInFrance.pdf

Artmarket is a global player in the Art Market with, among other structures, its Artprice department, world leader in the accumulation, management and exploitation of historical and current art market information in databanks containing over 30 million indices and auction results, covering more than 770,000 artists.

Artprice by Artmarket, the world leader in information on the art market, has set itself the ambition through its Global Standardized Marketplace to be the world’s leading Fine Art NFT platform.

Artprice Images® allows unlimited access to the largest Art Market image bank in the world: no less than 180 million digital images of photographs or engraved reproductions of artworks from 1700 to the present day, commented by our art historians.

Artmarket with its Artprice department accumulates data on a permanent basis from 6300 Auction Houses and produces key Art Market information for the main press and media agencies (7,200 publications). Its 5.4 million (‘members log in’+social media) users have access to ads posted by other members, a network that today represents the leading Global Standardized Marketplace® to buy and sell artworks at a fixed or bid price (auctions regulated by paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article L 321.3 of France’s Commercial Code).

Artmarket with its Artprice department, has been awarded the State label “Innovative Company” by the Public Investment Bank (BPI) (for the second time in November 2018 for a new period of 3 years) which is supporting the company in its project to consolidate its position as a global player in the market art.

Artprice’s 2020/21 Contemporary Art Market Report by Artmarket.com:

https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-contemporary-art-market-report-2021

Artprice by Artmarket’s 2020 Global Art Market Report published in March 2021:

https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2020

Index of press releases posted by Artmarket with its Artprice department:

serveur.serveur.com/Press_Release/pressreleaseEN.htm

Follow all the Art Market news in real time with Artmarket and its Artprice department on Facebook and Twitter:

www.facebook.com/artpricedotcom/ (over 5,4 million followers)

twitter.com/artmarketdotcom

twitter.com/artpricedotcom

Discover the alchemy and universe of Artmarket and its artprice department https://www.artprice.com/video headquartered at the famous Organe Contemporary Art Museum “The Abode of Chaos” (dixit The New York Times): https://issuu.com/demeureduchaos/docs/demeureduchaos-abodeofchaos-opus-ix-1999-2013

L’Obs – The Museum of the Future: https://youtu.be/29LXBPJrs-o

www.facebook.com/la.demeure.du.chaos.theabodeofchaos999

(4.4 million followers)

https://vimeo.com/124643720

Botticelli, Portrait of a young man holding a roundel, $92,184,000 at Sotheby’s New York, January 28, 2021

 

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Contact Artmarket.com and its Artprice department: Thierry Ehrmann, ir@artmarket.com

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Reliance Digital Launches ‘Baaptaa’, a Father’s Day Campaign Celebrating the Many Expressions of Fatherhood

MUMBAI, India, June 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reliance Digital has launched ‘Baaptaa’, a Father’s Day campaign to celebrate the many expressions of fatherhood. Built around a simple cultural observation, while “Maa ki Mamta” has long been a part of India’s collective vocabulary, there has never been a word that captures the distinct ways fathers express love, the campaign introduces ‘Baaptaa’ as a tribute to the many shades of fatherhood.

Conceptualised as an original music-led campaign, Baaptaa celebrates fathers not as idealised figures, but as they are experienced in everyday life, protective, dependable, emotional, quirky, practical, occasionally embarrassing, and always present. Through a relatable narrative, the campaign acknowledges the countless ways fathers care for their families, often through actions rather than words.

Watch Video: https://youtu.be/9XyUsJB33Ds?si=PM67vhxrzth1JEkz 

At the heart of the campaign is an original music video told from a father’s perspective, capturing the different roles he plays across life’s moments and milestones. The film brings to life the humour, warmth and unspoken affection that characterise father-child relationships, while giving a name to a form of love that many recognise but few have articulated.

The campaign stems from a simple insight: while motherhood has often found expression through familiar phrases and popular references, the unique language of fatherhood has remained largely undefined. Baaptaa seeks to fill that gap by creating a term that reflects the everyday gestures, practical wisdom and quiet sacrifices that fathers make.

Father’s Day communication often leans into familiar emotional territory, but Reliance Digital’s campaign celebrates fathers in a way that feels more culturally authentic and relatable. The idea for ‘Baaptaa’ came from a simple observation — mother’s love has been immortalised in a number of heartfelt, emotional songs, there needed to be an anthem dedicated to dad’s love. And thus was born Baaptaa – a love language that is often awkward, practical, protective, humorous and deeply felt, even if rarely verbalised. It’s a celebration of fatherhood in all its wonderfully imperfect forms immortalized by a song that you won’t be able to stop humming.

Shop for the widest range of electronics at Reliance Digital and thank your father for his Baaptaa.

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Harper Collins Publishers India is Delighted to Announce the Recent Publication of ‘People We Love’ by Preeti Shenoy

NEW DELHI, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HarperCollins Publishers India is delighted to share the recent publication of People We Love by bestselling author Preeti Shenoy. At once tender and sharp, this collection of stories offers intimate, truthful and relatable portraits of the people we cherish, the ones we lose, and the people we become.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The people we love never truly leave our story…

In these tender yet piercing stories, Preeti Shenoy returns to some of her most beloved characters to reveal who they were before they appeared in her bestselling novels It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have.

Aniket, a coder, carries the weight of a longing for Trisha that he cannot bring himself to act on. Nidhi abandons her corporate life to teach pottery, only to discover that clay is far more forgiving than the people she loves. A quiz competition sparks an unlikely romance between Aman and Shruti, one that must withstand parental disapproval and class divides. And Anjali, a journalist, is so busy chasing stories that she almost misses the one unfolding in her own life.

Set against the pulse of contemporary India, People We Love explores the tug-of-war between duty and desire, family and freedom, who we are and who we dare to be. Intimate and deeply felt, these are stories about love that stays, leaves and almost slips away … love that quietly and irrevocably shapes the people we become.

Preeti Shenoy, author, says, “People We Love is a collection of three long stories, prequels to my bestsellers It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have. If you have read those books, you already know how these characters’ stories unfold. But what you don’t know yet is where it all began, the loves they carried, the choices they made, and the people they were before life shaped them into who you met on those pages. Writing these prequels felt like returning to a home I hadn’t realised I missed, and discovering rooms I had never been in before.”

Rashmi Menon, Associate Publisher – HarperCollins India, adds, “Preeti Shenoy has an extraordinary gift for finding the heartbeat of ordinary lives. People We Love is a warm, wise and deeply humane collection of short stories that reunites readers with favourite characters from her bestselling novels It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, weaving them into fresh, deeply satisfying narratives. These characters feel like people you know, and their journeys will move, comfort and surprise you. This uplifting, thought–provoking collection reminds us why we turn to stories in the first place. We couldn’t be more excited to share it with our readers.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Preeti Shenoy is among the highest-selling authors in India. She was featured on the Forbes longlist of the most influential celebrities in India. Her books include When Love Came Calling, Wake Up Life, Is Calling, Life Is What You Make It, The Rule Breakers, A Hundred Little Flames, It’s All in the Planets, Why We Love the Way We Do, The Secret Wish List, The One You Cannot Have and many others. Her work has been translated into many Indian languages. Preeti is also a motivational speaker, an avid fitness enthusiast, and an artist specializing in portraiture and illustrated journalling. Preeti lives in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS INDIA

At HarperCollins Publishers India, we believe in telling the best stories and ensuring they reach the widest readership. We publish around 250 new books every year across 10 imprints, adding to a diverse catalogue of more than 3,000 titles in print and digital formats, with an array of genres and voices that ensure there is a book for every reader. Our authors have won some of the most prestigious literary awards, and we are proud to publish many acclaimed writers, alongside new and emerging voices shaping contemporary literature. We are also the publishers of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, winner of the Booker Prize 2008, and Girl in White Cotton by Avni Doshi, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020, and HarperCollins India itself has been awarded “Publisher of the Year” several times. In addition, we represent some of the finest global publishers such as Harvard University Press, Lonely Planet, Oneworld, Nosy Crow, Usborne, and National Geographic Children, bringing Indian readers access to world-class books and ideas. We are also proud to be certified as a Great Place to Work for two consecutive years, a recognition of our culture, people, and values that make HarperCollins India a truly inspiring workplace. 

PRESS CONTACT:

Nandini Tripathi, Manager – Marketing (Commercial)

Email: nandini.tripathi@harpercollins.co.in | Mobile: +91 9718928839

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Fulfilling PM Modi’s Dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat: India’s AI Writing Startup Kreativespace Incubated at IIT Kharagpur

  1. Kreativespace, an Indian AI-powered writing platform founded by Vinet Kakadea, has been incubated at IIT Kharagpur and recognized by SVNIT University, Ministry of Education under Bodhan AI Conclave also through the NVIDIA Inception Program, AWS Startup Program, and DPIIT under Startup India.
  2. The platform unifies 8 AI-powered writing tools, along with AI Humanizer and Message AI feature being the latest addition into a single ecosystem, so you can generate and refine content all in one place.
  3. The company reports more than 50,000+ signed-up users, 75,000+ anonymous users, and roughly 100,000 monthly website visitors, positioning itself as the only Indian company operating at scale in the global AI writing market.

SURAT, India, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Kreativespace, an AI-powered writing platform, is building out its position as the only homegrown alternative in a market long dominated by international tools such as Grammarly and QuillBot. Founded by Vinet Kakadea and incubated at IIT Kharagpur, the company has aligned its growth with the broader push behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative, which encourages indigenous technology development capable of competing on a global scale.

Kreativespace Incubated at IIT Kharagpur

As AI adoption accelerates across India’s education, research, and enterprise sectors, Kreativespace is among a small group of Indian startups building writing technology designed to compete directly with established international platforms.

Kreativespace’s progress has been recognized by several institutions central to India’s startup and technology ecosystem. The company has been incubated at IIT Kharagpur, selected under SSIP 2.0 through SVNIT University, and chosen by the Ministry of Education to present its work at the Bodhan AI Conclave. It has also been accepted into the NVIDIA Inception Program and the AWS Startup Program, and holds DPIIT recognition under the Startup India initiative.

Where many writing-tool users rely on separate subscriptions for content generation to refinement for grammar correction, paraphrasing, plagiarism checking, citation generation, and editing, Kreativespace brings these functions into a single platform as a super-app for AI writing tools. The company says its approach centers on affordability and accessibility alongside performance, aiming to make advanced AI writing assistance available to a wider range of users regardless of geography or budget.

The idea for Kreativespace took shape while founder Vinet Kakadea was studying at New York University and Marymount University in the United States, where he experienced firsthand how students, researchers, and professionals often need multiple paid subscriptions to cover writing-related tasks. That fragmented experience led him to build a super-app offering each of these capabilities together, at a more accessible price point.

Kreativespace combines 8 AI-powered writing tools with AI Humanizer and Message AI feature being the latest addition, allowing users to generate, rewrite, refine, and humanize content without moving between separate platforms. The product is available via web platform, mobile apps on the App Store and Google Play, browser extensions for Chrome, Mozilla, and Edge, and a Google Docs add-on.

Vinet Kakadea, Founder of Kreativespace, said, “Kreativespace’s vision is to digitalize the entire Indian education ecosystem to support PM Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme.”

About Kreativespace

Kreativespace with the Motto of Making Writing Accessible for Everyone: Kreativespace is an AI-powered writing platform built to make AI writing tools accessible, affordable, and effective for students, researchers, educators, professionals, content creators, startups, and enterprises. Founded by Vinet Kakadea, the company is incubated at IIT Kharagpur and has been recognized by AWS Startup Program, the NVIDIA Inception Program, and DPIIT under Startup India. For more information, visit kreativespace.com.

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