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Born in Kerala in 1963, Bose Krishnamachari is one of India's leading artists. Popularly known as an art evangelist, he now dons mutiple hats - that of a gallerist, curator, collector and museologist.

1. What drew you to the world of art?
There was a big shift...a transformation in my life at the age of 17. I had actually slipped into a coma for two months and suffered a memory loss. I didn't quite know what to do with my time and myself. Then in 1983 I read about an institute called Kalapeethom in a small socio-political magazine called Sangramanam. Even when I went to the institute in 1984 I wasn't sure that I would be an artist. But that is where the journey began. In 1985 I received a Kala Academy award and in a way that was a small turning point for me.

A friend of mine sent me a prospectus from the JJ school of Art, Mumbai and I applied. I didn't get admission there in my first attempt because they said I was already an artist and an award winner. But I applied again the following year and they took me in then. The city of Bombay taught me much more than the institute itself. Actually it was the "canteen" where I did most of my learning, met people outside of my discipline, interacted with architects and engineers. This is where I was exposed to many sides of art.

2. Your 2007 solo show LaVA (Laboratory of Visual Arts) was a strong statement and tremendous success. What was your intention behind it?
I don't like to dream. I like to do.

LaVA was part of the intention of finally creating an institution. My intent was that art, poetry, design, architecture should all come together as cultural forms in one space. It was a critique of the institutions and infrastructure that existed (and continues to exist). I was provoking institutions into responding. When people like me could put up a show on such a large scale what was stopping the larger institutions from doing the same. The show was in a way ridiculing them and the rich in this country. They may have the money but they have no vision.

Take a person like Charles Saatchi who is such a patron of the arts and has a public museum. People like him actively promote art and even if they do not have a background in it, they hire advisors to do the job. Our Indian billionaires, if they do not have time, can easily hire advisors to do the same for them.

3. And now you are closer than ever before to fulfilling this ambition of setting up your own institution.
I have always thought large. I've done many shows, one of the most important was the one titled AmUseuM which showcased works whose scale was huge – 16 feet by 10 feet. Not the dimension you typically find young artists exploring.

About my museum project, I plan to set up a museum in a place called Aluwye near the Periyar river, about 14 kms from the Kochi airport. I came across this place when I was looking for a residence for myself. It cost me a lot of money, but it is a beautiful location and the view from here is breathtaking. I know this spot was meant for housing my museum.

I am very proud of the role I have played as a curator. While the museum will take time to be completed, we have started building the home, which should take about one and half years to come up and will house my personal collection. My collection is not very large but has some very good works. I will convert this home into a residency for writers and artists with the museum built right behind it. You know, I enjoy creating communities and an environment where people interact, when I was living in Mumbai, my flat in Chembur was the adda. I would invite known artists, poets and thinkers over to spend time with us younger artists. This is the just the same thought in action, just on a larger scale.

4. You are now on the verge of donning a gallerist's hat. Tell us about this role.
The BMB gallery (after Bose, Mehta and Birla) will have an interesting program which will showcase leading artists from around the globe within India alongside our own finest talent. Devaunshi Mehta and Avanti & Yash Birla were passionate about doing something that would make a difference in the art world. I realise expectations are high but am confident that we will have much to say and do with the gallery program. The first show is being curated by Shaheen Merali and will include Jon Kessler, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Tunga, Riyas Komu, George Osodi and Wang Qingsong. This is exactly what we intend to do with the space - expose Indian audiences to exceptional work from around the world.

5. How do you straddle the role between being a gallerist, curator, a collector and an artist? Aren't these roles contradictory in nature?
It is always nice to have contradictions. I have lived in Mumbai, which is quintessentially about contradictions. I come from a certain background and live in totally different environments. Contradictions are also a part of my artistic practice. I do extreme abstracts and I also do highly realistic works. Then there works wherein I juxtapose these contrasting elements.

I have always been interested in other art forms. This I may not term as a contradiction but rather a diversity of visual art practice. In India we continue to use the archaic term "fine arts", which then defines the way in which we approach the arts.

I took on these contradictory roles as I have always stood for change. I was and still am deeply disappointed with the curatorial practice in India. You go to Europe and you see parents taking small children to museums and galleries which is sorely lacking in India. I have done a show "Double-enders" – when it was shown in Kerala, lots of people came to see it. They travelled miles. People want to see art, expose themselves to it, they just don't know where to go as there is a severe lack of museums and exhibition places in India.

When I was a student in Mumbai there were only a few galleries like Chemould to view art. So the learning platform was actually quite limited. And if this was the case in cities such as Mumbai and Delhi, you can just imagine what it must have been like in smaller places.

6. What do you think about investing in art?
Art has always been an investment. Now there is just a different kind of market and a lot more money is involved. But there are different ways in which people are invested in art: There is Intellectual investment and there is Material investment.

And there needs to be some kind of education to move people from latter to the former. The general media focus today seems to be on the money aspect of art. One must remember that when you buy art you are actually collecting history. My collection has a balance of everything. I do not exchange my work or barter with other artists. If I like something, I somehow work towards buying it.

7. Can commerce and art co-exist?
Of course they can co-exist. But nobody likes to discuss this. But let's be honest; let's be straight. Even when you do a performance or an installation piece, you sell the photographic images of it, you sell the archival material. Money has to be associated with art because without money nothing works.

People have romanticised the idea of art. Radical movements have consistently critiqued the commercial aspect, but the truth is that you cannot exist without financial support. What you can have is a short term philosophical argument about it. But as Warhol said "the best businessman is the best artist". For me money helped to buy art and art helped make money.

8. If you could own any piece of art, what would it be and why?
Jeff Koons' work titled Puppy at the Bilbao Museum. The scale of the work, the idea of it is just amazing. Actually, I am not that interested in buying it as I am in getting it to India for all to see what the power of an idea can do.

9. In your view, is there a 'the defining moment' of Indian art?
Hmmm....maybe not one moment but over the last few years a lot of artists in India have gained confidence. We should study and understand where this confidence has come from, because ambitious art stems from this level of confidence. Earlier artists in India lacked confidence. While money has a role to play in this, there are other factors at play too. The risk and vigour that some senior artists took have also inspired confidence in younger artists.

10. What is the one piece of advice you would give a first-time collector?
Travel. Travel. Travel. That opens your mind, exposes you to international trends and makes your taste more nuanced. It also hones your sense of appreciation.

Another point I would make is always go for quality and do not run after names. I have always been a collector myself. The first piece of art that I collected was by Professor Ingle, the then dean of JJ School of Art. [Interestingly, Prof. Ingle was the one who rusticated Bose from the institute in 1992].

11. Do you collect anything else besides art? If so, what and why?
I can never walk into a museum shop and come out empty handed – watches, pens, especially the limited edition, commissioned objects, anything that catches my fancy. Over the years this collection has just built up.

12. If you could invite any three people from the art world as dinner guests, who would they be and why?
I would like to have François Pinault, Damien Hirst and Dasha Zhukova. Each represents an important section of the art market - the collector, the artist and the glamorous gallerist. It should be fun.