IN an era that many are calling "the Asian century," it is not surprising that a small boom in Asian contemporary art has already occurred. The spike in interest (and prices) for Chinese and Japanese art of the past decade has inspired those in the know to look farther into Asia for emerging talent. India and Pakistan, two major players in today's world, are both producing enormously promising young and mid-career artists.

This is due in part to a system of British-built and state-supported art colleges whose graduates emerge with a keen understanding of both Western art and design theories, and regional classical and folk traditions in the visual arts. Products of a hybrid education and culture, these artists are creating an artistic language that bridges indigenous traditions and international art conventions. In many ways, the subcontinent's artists are placed at the center of our changing world, where concerns about globalization, economic disparity, religious fundamentalism and environmental sustainability come to a head.

The best-known Indian artists, including Subodh Gupta, Bharti Kher, NS Harsha, GR Iranna, Ranjani Shettar, Thukral and Tagra, and Riyas Komu, have experienced a surge in popularity over the last couple of years. Sculpture and painting remain the most popular visual art forms, but installation, photography, video and media art are increasingly represented as artists reflect on the huge impact of film, television and interactive technologies on their communities. Indian artists who have embraced these new approaches include established painters and sculptors like Nalini Malani and Ranbir Singh Kaleka, as well as the highly influential Raqs Media Collective. On the other end of the spectrum, painters from the Mithila region in the rural state of Bihar are adapting regional folk art conventions to contemporary subject matter. The work of such artists, like Santosh Kumar Das and Shalinee Kumari, reflects the influence of global media in a different way.

In Pakistan, artists including Bani Abidi, Rashid Rana and Farida Batool have also embraced photography and film, to international acclaim. A group of painters led by Imran Qureshi at the National College of Art in Lahore are updating traditional Mughal miniature techniques. Some of Qureshi's students, including Adeela Suleman, Hasnat Mehmood and Ruby Chishti, have innovated further by adapting their training to sculpture and installation practices.

Market interest in South Asian art comes from two primary groups: contemporary art collectors who have already begun to invest in Chinese, Japanese or Southeast Asian artists; and South Asians, whose collections are likely to already include mid-century Modernists from India and Pakistan including M.F. Husain, F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza, V.S. Gaitonde, and Sadequain

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