Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Artful investment

After years of political and social upheaval, Warsaw’s cultural life is finally starting to flourish. And with the spotlight suddenly trained on contemporary Polish art, potential investors need to get in quick, says Sonja Patel

Warsaw’s art scene may still be relatively small in comparison to established players like Berlin, London and New York, but it’s growing steadily. The city’s galleries now show at the world’s biggest art fairs, while cross-cultural exchanges between artists, institutions and art spaces are creating growing exposure around the world. With the addition of the €67.4m Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw – financed by the Ministry of Culture and the EU, and set to open in 2010 next to the mammoth Palace of Culture – these are exciting times for potential investors and collectors.

The mood among gallerists such as Agnieszka Czarnecka, founder of the Czarna Gallery which represents emerging artists such as Anna Okrasko, Slawek Pawszak, Olaf Brzeski and Tom Ellis, is one of robust confidence. “Warsaw’s art market is definitely moving forward.

Galleries are working together to make it happen. I would never have opened a commercial gallery in Warsaw if I didn’t think this was the case.”

And along with the owners behind forward-thinking commercial spaces like the Foksal Foundation, Raster Gallery, and Lokal_30, Czarnecka is propelling Polish artists onto an international platform, participating in prestigious world art fairs like Art Basel, Lister, Nada and Frieze. As she points out, “It’s hugely important in terms of creating dialogue and contacts with the international art market”.

Something demonstrated by the success story of the Raster Gallery. Art critics Michal Kaczynski and Lukasz Gorczyca founded the gallery in 2001. Though art fairs were not originally on their agenda, in 2004 they decided to try their luck at Art Basel.

“It was a huge success,” says gallery manager Paulina Wroclawska. “American collectors were coming to the stand and were completely crazy about the artists. They were buying everything. From this, we’ve been able to turn Raster into an internationally acclaimed gallery that can also be self-financed.”

Work by the Raster’s less-established artists now fetches between €2,000 and €3,000 while pieces by well-known artists can go for up to €30,000.

“Of course, any artist who finds success out of Poland will also be subject to the competitive pricing of the international art scene,” Wroclawska adds. “Plus it’s true that prices on the Warsaw art scene are not as low as they were three or four years ago. But it’s still a good time to buy, as the growing art market means prices are set to go higher in the near future.”

The story is the same for one of Poland’s homegrown collectors, former journalist Piotr Bazylko. “There are waiting lists for artists who are very popular in the West, such as Monika Sosnowska, Cezary Bodzianowski, Artur Zmijewski or Rafal Bujnowski,” he explains. “But if you’re talking about artists who are not recognised by the Western galleries or big galleries here in Poland, it’s definitely cheaper to invest here – but you have to be first.”

Work by artists like Sosnowska et al can command around €30,000, although Piotr Uklanski’s ‘Nazici’ sold for over €679,000 in 2006, making it the most expensive piece of contemporary Polish art ever sold.

Bazylko’s personal tip for would-be investors? Look to the new wave of Polish artists producing ‘new surrealist’ art such as Tomasz Kowalski.

Big business is also getting in on the act. The National Gallery of Art has an active sponsorship and financing programme, and works in partnership with companies like Leroy Merlin, Erste Stiftung, Peri, Netia, Benq and Pliva who top up grants from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the City of Warsaw and global arts funding bodies. This gives the National Gallery an annual budget of €3,745,945, of which €2,247,490 is a subsidy from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage; €599,332 is in the form of project and investment grants from the same source; and €899,123 comes from income generated by sales of tickets, merchandise and sponsorship.

Both ING and Deutsche Bank are building their own collection of Polish art. The Deutsche Bank Foundation has even launched Views, a €10,000 biannual prize for Polish artists run in conjunction with the National Gallery, and awarded last year to Janek Simon.

It doesn’t stop there. The Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) can count the Sheraton Hotel, the British Council, The Warsaw Voice and Gazeta Wyborcza among its sponsors, while its Artists-in-Residence (AiR) programme has benefited from the benediction of the Visegrad Fund.

According to Marianna Dobowska, associate curator for AiR, their Rooted Design for Rooted Living project has been bolstered by grants from the EEA and the NKD (Nordic Artists’ Centre). A joint venture between Polish and Norwegian designers, the scheme is something she’s clearly excited about. “We’re trying to create a model for the best possible live/work studio for artists in the world. If we succeed, it’ll put Warsaw on the map.’

The sudden surge of commercial interest in new Polish art is obviously something gallery owners are keen to capitalise on, but as Agnieszka Czarnecka stresses, the relationship is mutually beneficial. “In exchange for sponsorship, businesses – both here and abroad – get to invest in a growing art scene and benefit from any future success it has, on both a financial and emotional level.”

Echoing Art Bazaar’s Bazylko advice, Czarnecka’s key message to potential collectors and investors is clear: get in early.

Get in on the act

Top tips for collectors and investors in the art market

Get there first Some up-and-coming artists are still students. Look out for names like Olaf Brzeski, Pawel Dunal, Szymon Kobylarz and Tomek Kowalski.

Do your homework Art and Business’s (artbiznes.pl) Kolekcjoner supplement lists recent auctions’ sale prices while Piotr Bazylko’s Notes for Collectors is available free from galleries and bars.

Be inspired Visit the CCA and National Gallery before buying at smaller commercial galleries.

Start a collection In a nascent scene, everyone has the chance to be first at something. Critic Monica Branicka advises buying “several dozen video works to create the only collection of its kind in Poland”.

FR L’art d’investir

La scène de l’art de Varsovie paraît sans doute relativement mineure à côté des places reconnues comme Berlin, Londres et New York, mais elle est en train de prendre de l’ampleur. Les galeries de la ville sont désormais représentées dans les plus grandes foires d’art contemporain et l’état d’esprit qui prédomine dans le milieu des galeristes est celui d’une confiance à toute épreuve.

La galerie Czarna, la Fondation Foksal, la galerie Raster, et Lokal_30, entre autres, propulsent les artistes polonais au niveau international en participant à des foires prestigieuses comme Art Basel, Lister, Nada et Frieze.

Lorsque la galerie Raster a pris un stand à Art Basel en 2004, les investisseurs et les collectionneurs américains ont répondu avec enthousiasme. Mais comme le souligne la directrice Paulina Wroclawska :

“Les prix du marché de l’art à Varsovie ne sont plus ce qu’ils étaient il y a trois ou quatre ans d’ici. Mais c’est toujours un bon moment pour acheter, car selon les critères actuels du marché de l’art, les prix sont censés grimper assez rapidement.”

Piotr Bazylko, un collectionneur, ajoute que malgré les listes d’attentes pour des œuvres d’artistes prisés comme Monika Sosnowska et Cezary Bodzianowski (leurs pièces tournent autour de €30 000), il est encore possible d’investir dans de jeunes artistes polonais (entre €2000-€3000).

Une recommandation de Bazylko aux investisseurs en herbe ? La nouvelle vague des artistes polonais qui produisent des oeuvres dans le style “nouveau surréalisme”, comme Tomasz Kowalski.

Le milieu des affaires entre aussi dans le jeu. La Galerie Nationale des Arts qui développe un programme de sponsoring et de financement, travaille en collaboration avec des compagnies telles que Leroy Merlin et Erste Stiftung, tandis qu’ING et la Deutsche Bank sont en train de monter leur propre collection d’art polonais. La Deutsche Bank a lancé un prix biannuel de €10 000 pour les artistes polonais.

La galeriste Agnieszka Czarnecka précise que le sponsoring apporte des avantages mutuels.

“Les entreprises – autant localement qu’à l’extérieur – investissent dans un marché de l’art en expansion et ils bénéficient des retombées de ses succès, à la fois sur un plan financier et émotionnel”.

NL Kunstige investeringen

Hoewel het kunstwereldje van Warschau nog niet zo groot is als dat van gevestigde waarden zoals Berlijn, Londen en New York, is het gestaag aan het groeien. De galerieën van de stad zijn nu vertegenwoordigd op ’s werelds grootste kunstsalons, met galeriehouders die blaken van zelfvertrouwen.

Galerieën zoals Czarna Gallery, de Foksal Foundation, Raster Gallery en Lokal_30 katapulteren Poolse kunstenaars op een internationaal platform door deel te nemen aan prestigieuze, internationale kunstsalons zoals Art Basel, Lister, Nada en Frieze.

Toen Raster Gallery in 2004 zijn intrede deed op Art Basel reageerden investeerders en verzamelaars bijzonder enthousiast. Manager Paulina Wroclawska licht toe:

“De prijzen op de kunstscene van Warschau zijn niet meer zo laag als drie of vier jaar geleden. Maar het is nog steeds een ideale periode om te kopen, aangezien deze bloei stijgende prijzen aankondigt.”

Verzamelaar Piotr Bazylko voegt eraan toe dat hoewel er wachtlijsten bestaan voor gevestigde kunstenaars zoals Monika Sosnowska en Cezary Bodzianowski (hun werken zijn goed voor zo’n € 30.000), een investering in beloftevolle Poolse namen nog steeds heel betaalbaar is (ongeveer € 2.000 tot € 3.000).

Bazylko’s persoonlijke tip voor investeerders in de dop? De nieuwe golf Poolse kunstenaars die ‘nieuwe surrealistische’ kunst voortbrengen, zoals Tomasz Kowalski.

Maar ook grote ondernemingen laten deze kans niet aan zich voorbijgaan. De National Gallery of Art geniet van een actief sponsorschap en financieringsprogramma, en werkt samen met bedrijven zoals Leroy Merlin en Erste Stiftung, terwijl ING en Deutsche Bank hun eigen verzameling Poolse kunst aanleggen. Deutsche Bank lanceerde trouwens een tweejaarlijkse prijs van € 10.000 voor Poolse kunstenaars.

Zoals galeriehoudster Agnieszka Czarnecka beklemtoont, is bedrijfssponsoring een goede zaak voor beide partijen.

“Bedrijven – zowel hier als in het buitenland – investeren zo in een groeiende kunstscene en profiteren van elk nieuw succes, zowel op financieel als emotioneel vlak.”

Haar advies voor potentiële investeerders? Wees er snel bij!

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