The art market for many in Ukraine still remains dark side. the site decided to find out the answers to all the questions that you wanted to ask, but didn’t know who: in big interview art market expert, co-founder auction house “Golden ratio”, Alexey Vasilenko talks about the features of the auction house, which was the first to work with contemporary art in Ukraine, the purchase and sale of works of art, the differences of the Ukrainian collector, the most dear artists and much more.
– Alexey, please tell us at what point and why the Golden Section auction house appeared?
“My brother and I were interested in art from an early age, and then, when we grew up, my father brought us to the collectors’ club, which still takes place every Saturday at Expocentre, on Levoberezhnaya. Everyone who collected anything gathered there, from stamps to folk icons, pictures and decorative arts. There, for many years, we looked, got to know each other, talked... In the early 2000s, we got into a little dealership (we bought something, sold something) and studied at the same time. In 2004, they decided to create an auction house, as it was understood that the market was not fully covered, there were certain empty niches - in Ukraine at that time there were only a few auction houses that conducted official auctions on art objects. Over time, I gained experience in conducting auctions and private sales. In 2009, for the same reason, we opened a department contemporary art, and over time they held 3 more auctions on Ukrainian design and photography.
Brothers Alexey and Mikhail Vasilenko
During the existence of the "Golden Section" we designed about 200 collections according to different directions, from classical Ukrainian and Russian art to contemporary. IN Lately planned to enter the European market. Before the revolutionary events, we planned to open a representative office in London and systematically hold an auction of Eastern European art there, representing artists from 9 countries in the auction collection. Today this project is frozen, but we will return to it as soon as the situation in the country stabilizes.
– They say that the art market and art are two completely different, non-overlapping spheres, they say, commerce is always, first and foremost, commerce. What do you think about this as a person who constantly works with the purchase and sale of works of art?
– I absolutely disagree. Non-art is not worth money. I will give a simple example - Gapchinska, a completely commercialized artist who promoted her brand. Her works will never be able to be sold at auctions; simply no one will buy them. Her paintings delight children and have a purpose, but they are not art in the sense in which it is interpreted. It's like a Rado watch, in which there is nothing special, but the company that created it at one time conducted an advertising campaign in such a way that in certain circles and at a certain period of time everyone dreamed of wearing it on their wrist. Accordingly, their prices at one time rose exorbitantly.
– How then are prices for artists’ works determined?
– A work of art is worth as much as one is willing to pay for it. For example, for Mamsikov’s “strong” work we can name 50,000 dollars, but no one will pay more than 15,000. Because today, taking into account the situation on the market and the number of collectors eager to have his work, it costs plus or minus exactly this money.
Pricing is influenced by many factors. In all directions and trends, the name of the artist is first and foremost important. For Aivazovsky, for example, there will be one price order, for Klodt (Mikhail Konstantinovich Klodt von Jurgensburg - Russian landscape artist of the second half of the 19th century - editor's note) - another. And then, in the artist’s work there are a lot of pricing factors, starting with period, size, technique, and so on. The extent to which this artist is represented on the market also has great importance. If there is a shortage of his works on the market - all of them are in museums and private collections, while the desire to own the work of this artist is stable - the cost will only increase.
S. Shishko “View of Ayu-Dag”, 1956
Why do Western classical and contemporary art cost such crazy amounts of money? It's not just about an established and wide market, it's also about competitiveness among buyers. Who craves more to have this or that piece of art, you know? Any record sales at auctions always set a certain bar for the secondary market, average cost for a record-breaking artist then increases by 10-15%.
One of the important reasons why clients are afraid to buy art objects is that prices in Ukraine fluctuate greatly and there is no stability. This happens because artists are often forced to play two roles: creator and businessman, while they often fail in the second due to a lack of knowledge of the principles of market functionality. For a number of reasons, most often, in order to simply buy canvas and paints, artists underestimate prices for their works too much, which is why, over time, the collector gets the impression that galleries and auction houses are selling paintings at inflated prices.
– At the same time, they often say that there is no art market in Ukraine. What do you say?
– Now the art market in Ukraine is in its formation stage, but we do not have the basic culture of the art market. Throughout the civilized world, there is a clear system and a certain dogma according to which the market functions: galleries, auction houses, market agents - all participants interact very comfortably and naturally with each other. Each performs its necessary function. In Ukraine, however, there is chaos and a vicious circle: galleries do not have enough funds to allow themselves to “secure” artists, promoting them on the domestic and international markets, thereby shaping their pricing policy.
There is no money because there are a critically small number of buyers. But the latter do not exist, because there is no culture of collecting, and, generally speaking, no love for art on a national scale.
There is no money because there are a critically small number of buyers (collectors). But the latter do not exist, because there is no culture of collecting, and, generally speaking, no love for art on a national scale. This is the main problem of today's art market in Ukraine. If, for example, we take the segment of contemporary art, we can count, if we’re lucky, up to a hundred collectors throughout the country. By the way, in England the attitude towards art is formed from an early age. The tradition is so rooted that the average family distributes the family budget in such a way as to allocate funds for the purchase of paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc. every six months or a year. That is, among the distributions of money for food, clothing, study, public utilities, travel, the budget for the purchase of an object of art is also “prescribed”. It is difficult to imagine such a depth of attitude towards art among post-Soviet people today.
– That is, abroad, an interest in art is instilled from school?
- WITH kindergarten! Educational programs adapted for children instill a love of music, painting, literature, and design. Art history is taught in high school. Since there is no such tradition in Ukraine, many people, when they grow up, have their life and personal values shifted. Most people simply don’t understand why art should cost more than two hundred dollars. And at the same time, for the majority, the extremely high cost of, for example, watches is very transparent and understandable.
– Who are your clients? Describe the average person who regularly purchases work from you for their collection.
– Our buyer is often not a politician. Which, by the way, is very strange when compared with Europe or America. Our clients come from different industries, but what distinguishes them is their education and constant search for something new. This is an important quality for building a collection. After all, having decided on the artist, period and direction, you are constantly in search - you visit fairs, flea markets, follow auctions, acquire, over time, some works from the collection, sell, exchange, etc. This is the drive. And the feeling when you manage to buy a masterpiece for pennies is incomparable to anything else.
But it can be noted that buyers of classical and contemporary art are completely different types. The collector of contemporary art is often young successful businessman, 25 – 40 years. A collector of classics is an older person, 40–60 years old, more conservative, with strong traditional views. And theoretically, a collector of classical art can switch to contemporary art, but a collector of contemporary art is unlikely to subsequently begin collecting classical art. Although, of course, everything is very individual.
– You say that there are very few politicians among your clients. Maybe you know why Ukrainian officials completely lack taste? Why do they all have a “Mezhyhirya complex”? By the way, were you at this exhibition?
– I think not for everyone, but for the vast majority – I agree. No, I wasn’t at the exhibition - I looked at the photos in the news and didn’t waste time. Again, it all comes down to education and values. In all countries of the world, the government is corrupt to one degree or another, the world is not ideal. It just happens there in disproportionately smaller volumes. In our country, when they come to power, the first thing politicians and officials strive for is to have time to squeeze out as much budget money as possible before others take their place with the same tasks. In European and American politician the goals are completely different - they first of all think about leaving some kind of mark behind themselves. Fundamentally different approaches. An elementary example: in Kyiv (I won’t even talk about the rest of the city) there is practically no urban sculpture. Although, allocating 200-300 thousand dollars from the budget and holding a competition is a pittance. Today there are independent platforms (one of them is the Kyiv Sculpture Project), which on their own are trying to develop the culture of urban sculpture in Ukraine, but why is this not of interest to the authorities, even at the city level? And, of course, organizations such as KSP are a drop in the ocean, despite the fact that their activities are difficult to overestimate. But truly serious steps in this direction are almost impossible without the support of the country's government, one way or another.
A. Savadov “Ballerina”, 2003
– Regarding non-profit platforms: why is it more prestigious in our country to invest in the purchase of a tangible work of art, rather than become a sponsor and help some important non-profit project?
– This exists, but the number of people and organizations that act as patrons of art also counts. Much depends on the absence of a law on patronage. For example, Victor Pinchuk, who opened the Pinchuk Art Center. I will not criticize this site, since it, just like its owner, has its own goals. For most companies and individual businessmen, a simple fact remains incomprehensible - patronage, like collecting, in addition to educating the viewer, promoting culture and pleasure as such (the moral aspect), also brings very understandable “dividends”. Collecting and patronage give a certain status and open doors to a very narrow circle of people. When it comes to the European mentality, for them the fact of involvement in art is like a white flag - if you understand art, it means that you can talk about something with you, it means that you interesting person. My first education was as a musician, I graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory, and although now I don’t play often, nevertheless, I don’t regret my education - it was it that opened up a wide inner horizon in me. The same can be said about everyone creative professions: in simple terms, when you pass through the prism of your inner world art, music or literature, you know how to feel, you become more humane.
Nikita Kravtsov “Wounded Swimmer”, 2014
– You have designed approximately 200 collections, one hundred of which are contemporary art. But a wide audience knows the name of one Igor Voronov, who periodically demonstrates individual works from your collection. Why is there such a trend and why is everything so secretive in Ukraine? Is it possible that someday they will still show their collections?
– In fact, many collectors are public people, but in general you are right. This is again the specificity of our society. Since there are many times fewer middle class residents in our country than those below the poverty line (the capital does not count), and the majority are thinking about how to live on $300-500 a month - you must agree, the public purchase of a painting for $50 thousand and demonstrating this will not cause the most positive emotions. This is precisely what hinders many people in the matter of publicity, both of themselves as a collector and of their collection.
As for whether they will show their collections? I guess so! The “journey” of art objects from the artist’s studio in most cases sooner or later ends within the walls of the museum. Often a collection is collected precisely for this purpose. Many generations are dedicated to her life before the collection is transferred to the museum. New museums are often formed on the basis of these collections.
– In order for the middle class to join the ranks of collectors, it is necessary to completely reformat the country’s economy? Or are there other problematic issues besides economically disadvantageous conditions and poor education?
– This is a process of several generations, in my opinion. First of all, there must appear educational programs, systematic. Instead of endless series, TV should show interesting educational programs about culture. This must be a kind of “cultural zombie.” There must be a clear program for the popularization of art, a program for cultural policy in the country as a whole.
Victor Melnichuk “Pink Day”, 2014
– Is your auction house somehow trying to instill taste, doing something for this?
- Yes, but we, first of all, commercial organization. Our goal is to shape the market and the buyer. For our potential clients and those who are simply interested, we arrange some kind of lectures. We communicate face-to-face about schools of painting, compare periods of this or that artist, share literature, invite you to exhibitions, etc. Very often, a few meetings are enough to light a fire in a person, which over the years “flashes” into a fire of passion for art. But everyone comes to this in their own way. If you have a craving for beauty, sooner or later it will manifest itself, rest assured.
– You are the first auction house in Ukraine that began working with contemporary art. Wasn't it scary?
- Scary! But we are risky guys! To date, we have held 7 auctions of contemporary art. When we carried out the first one, when assembling the collection, we completely trusted the opinion of experts (in the content of the collection) and gallery owners (in pricing policy), which ultimately affected sales results. At that time, prices for almost all artists were inflated. The auction was completed with a result of 3% of sales. Step by step, joining the environment, we established ourselves and began to conduct auctions regularly, focusing on both the pricing policy and the professional level of artists. Naturally, with this understanding, sales increased. For the buyer, in turn, a certain transparency in the pricing policy, the structure of the art market, etc. began to appear.
Alexander Kurmaz (HOMER) “Untitled”, 2008
– How do you work in the current conditions?viah, after such strong political and social upheavals?
– Organizing an auction is very expensive. To break even, you need to sell about 30% of the collection. Due to the situation in the country, many of our clients took a break from purchasing art, some left the country, so there is no point in holding open auctions now. The art market has noticeably “cooled down” over the past six months, but some dynamics are already felt, which may lead to an activation of the market in the near future.
– Have prices for artists’ works now fallen or, on the contrary, increased?
– In such moments of political or economic crisis, such as we are witnessing today in our country, of course, works of art cease to be the subject of attention even of those who are passionate about them. Accordingly, the market is less active, and with millet, as a rule, the supply price falls. It has always been this way. Art is food for the soul, and in times of crisis, first of all, you think about food for the body. However, it is precisely in moments like these that the best collections were and will be formed. Moreover, they are the best in every sense - both in terms of material quality and economics.
– Objectively, these are three artists – Arsen Savadov, Vasily Tsagolov and Alexander Roitburd. Anatoly Krivolap is known to be the most expensive artist based on the results of auction sales. The works of these same artists are the most expensive in the world. secondary market. As for young artists, it is already almost exactly known who in, say, five years will cost many times more. This list includes Nazar Bilyk, Artem Volokitin, Zhanna Kadyrova, Nikita Kravtsov, Stepan Ryabchenko, APL 315. And the list goes on.
Apl315 “Double-Trouble”, 2011
– What do people buy most often in Ukraine?
– Since the contemporary art market is relatively young, it is natural that there is more volume of Ukrainian Soviet art. We are not talking about propaganda art, works that were created to order from the party, but creative works artists of that time. These are landscapes and still lifes by Victor Zaretsky, Sergei Shishko, Nikolai Glushchenko, Alexei Shovkunenko, Tatyana Yablonskaya, Sergei Grigoriev, Vasily Chegodar and many others.
Evgeny Petrov “Winter”, 2011
– Do you collect things yourself?
- Yes, sure! Both my brother and I are experienced collectors. At first I collected “classics”, now I switched to contemporary art and design. I am very critical of my collection. I only buy items that literally make me shake! The most recent acquisition included paintings by Evgeniy Petrov, Viktor Melnichuk and Nikita Kravtsov, an object by Derkach. In the future, when I can afford it, I will definitely buy a portrait by Modigliani. This is what you might call an achievable dream. It's almost impossible to find it :)
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“There weren’t many people at the auction. The organizers were counting on telephone bets - and there were bets. The bidding can hardly be called active, but several works were bought in the hall.
If the estimates were lower, perhaps there would be a struggle at the auction. The estimates of the work need to be lowered in order to test the market.
Several people were bidding for the work of Mikhail Deyak. With a lower estimate of 4500, the work was sold for 6000. There was a struggle for works by Odessa artists: for example, a work by Oleg Sokolov at a starting price of 400 dollars was sold for 700. Works by Odessa artists Altanz and Moldovanov were also sold (at the start) - the works were installed realistic estimates, so there was interest in them.
The works of the masters of modern Ukrainian art: Roitburd, Gusev, Mamsikov, Marchuk, Zhivotkov - were not sold. But they bought works over the phone for less famous artists- so it's difficult to talk about trends regarding what's happening in the market. Let's hope the market picks up.
We are located somewhat away from the world centers of art and art business. At the end of November - beginning of December there will be auctions in London dedicated to Russian and Soviet art. And then it will be possible to talk about what is happening on the global market of Ukrainian and Russian art at the moment.”
On November 28, the Golden Section auction house held its 40th anniversary auction, which resulted in 43% of the lots sold. The theme of the auction is underground and contemporary art - UNDERGROUNDCONTEMPORARY.
Post-sales were no less active, which confirmed the interest of collectors in the mentioned areas of art. In total, 68 works by famous Ukrainian authors, whose works adorn many museum and private collections around the world, auctioneers sold 40 works of art. And post-trading will continue for another week.
All images are provided by the organizers
“Both in the world and in Ukraine, we are seeing an increased demand for the art of our contemporaries - the cost of their works continues to grow - plus 12-15% until the end of this year. No less interesting to collectors are paintings by representatives of the underground movement - this segment has been showing stable growth for several years. At the same time, art sales are much less affected by the political situation in the country. This indicates the strengthening of the position of the Ukrainian art market and the reliability of investments in art,” emphasizes Mikhail Vasilenko, co-owner of the Golden Section auction house.
Among the works sold during the auction are the top lots of the modern block - Anatoly Krivolap and his “Landscape”, which went under the hammer for $6,050 at a starting price of $4,000. And also the canvas “Meeting” by Alexander Roitburd, sold for $4950 at a starting price of $3500. AND early work « Female portrait» Ilya Chichkan, who was bought for $5225 at a start of $4000. Among other sold works of the modern blog are “Night Kyiv” by Mikhail Deyak, “Oriental Landscape” by Pavel Makov, “Confusion” by Konstantin Lizogub, “Goldfish” by Vladimir Miller, “Kyiv. St. Andrew's Church” by Vadim Mikhalchuk, “On the Pier” by Valeria Fokina and the works of other contemporaries.
Underground artists have also received increased attention from admirers of this movement. In particular, “Sketch for a mosaic” by Alla Gorskaya was sold for $1,650, the work “Struggle” by Gorskaya’s closest friend Boris Plaksiya was auctioned for the same price, and the collectible painting “Me and Ernst” by Valentin Khrushch was bought at auction for $2,420. In addition, other top lots of once banned authors were sold during the auction: “Lust” by Ernest Kotkov, “Nudes” by Viktor Grigorov, “Flowers in a Vase” and “Breakfast” by Mikhail Turovsky, “Coast of Crimea” by Lucien Dulfand, “Andreevsky Descent” ” by Anatoly Lymarev, “Nude” by Maya Zaretskaya and other works.
Information about AD "Golden Section":
Auction House "Golden Section", founded in 2004, regularly holds auctions and exhibitions and sales of paintings and graphics, Russian icons.
The main activities of the company are classical paintingXIX- XXcenturies, the art of alternative movements (avant-garde, nonconformism, underground), modern “actual” art, object design and photography, as well as Russian orthodox icon. All works of art come to auction from a wide variety of private collections and galleries in the CIS and European countries.
On April 12, the big spring auction CLASSIC UNDERGROUND CONTEMPORARY will take place at the auction house “Golden Section” (Kyiv, Pervomaisky St., 4). The organizer is the auction house “Golden Section”.
The total number of works is 90 works.
Pre-auction the exhibition will take place in two stages.
The second part of the pre-auction exhibition - CONTEMPORARY - will be held
From the first day of the pre-auction exhibition, collectors will be able to place bids at the silent auction online (on the website of AD “Golden Section” www.gs-art.com in the online catalog) and directly in the exhibition hall. The final live auction will take place on April 12th.
Classic art at the auction will feature paintings from the 1940s to the 1990s. -the heyday of realism and impressionism in Ukrainian painting.
Top lots of the block CLASSIC: David Burliuk and his two works - “Tea Party” and “Card Players” (1950s), Nikolai Glushchenko and his “Water Lilies” (1956), Alexey Shovkunenko and his work “Thunderstorm” (1940s). And also - the painting “Bank of the Dnieper” by Sergei Shishko (1952), the work by Fyodor Zakharov “Still life with roses in the background of a painting” (1972) and the work of Josip Bokshay “Autumn in the Carpathians” (1964).
In addition, fans of classical art will be pleased with the works of Pavel Gorobets, Adalbert Boretsky, Vladimir Mykita, Andrei Kotsky, Vasily Chegodar, Valentina Tsvetkova and other authors.
The main lots of the section UNDERGROUND will be: the painting “Memories from Childhood” (1966) by Ernest Kotkov, the work of Boris Plaksy “Avant-garde composition” (1970), “A bird rides on a beast” (1992) by Maria Primachenko, the work “Girl” (1960s) by Grigory Gavrilenko , “Abstract composition” (1972-1975) by Henrikh Tigranyan,
“I Read Your Thoughts” (1999) by Ivan Marchuk, “People and Mirrors” (1961) by Stanislav Sychev.
As well as works by sixties artists - Ferenc Seman, Alla Gorskaya, Viktor Zaretsky, Feodosius Tetyanich, Konstantin-Vadim Ignatov, Oleg Sokolov, Galina Grigorieva.
Block CONTEMPORARY consists of 40 works. Top lots in the contemporary art section: “Floating Rags” (2003) by Alexander Gnilitsky, “Breakfast with Giraffes” (2016) by Dmitry Kavsan, “Venice” by Yaroslav Prisyazhnyuk, “Structures” (1990s) by Anatoly Krivolap, “Beach” (2015 ) Maxim Mamsikov. As well as the creation “11092012” by Vasily Bazhay 2012, “Big Fountain” (1997-2013) by Sergei Anufriev and Igor Gusev, “Variation on the theme of the Avgan ketuba” (2017) by Pinchas Fischel and fresh work Roman Minin “LOVE” 2017.
The highlight of the contemporary art block is the work of five main representatives artistic association“Picturesque Reserve” - Tiberia Silvashi, Anatoly Krivolap, Marko Geiko, Nikolai Krivenko, Alexander Zhivotkov.
Prices for works of art presented at the auction range from $300 to $20,000, the average cost of works is $2000-3000.
« The auction collection turned out to be very diverse. Many works are practically not found in open sale. To interest novice collectors in art, as well as to give experienced collectors the opportunity to bargain for rare works, we have lowered the starting prices compared to their actual prices market value. The auction will definitely be of interest to those collectors who, with minimal costs and investment risks, want to purchase high-quality works, the cost of which will soon increase"- emphasizes the co-owner of the auction house "Golden Section" Mikhail Vasilenko.