November 21, 2019, 01:12 / Lifestyle

What will be sold at the 14th Vladey auction

The pre-auction exhibition at the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation shows how contemporary art becomes classic - literally golden Katerina Vakhramtseva

Classics (Vadim Sidur. From the series “Preparations”, 1968, 35,000 euros) side by side with new works (Alexander Tsikarishvili. “Gardener”, 2019, 8,000 euros) / Andrey Gordeev / Vedomosti

A pre-auction exhibition of this level would have been impossible just a few years ago, when Vladey was just entering the market, taking the risk of occupying an empty niche in it. The fact is that auctions of Russian art from the point of view of large houses (Christie's and Sotheby's) are unprofitable, the percentage of sales is very small, and therefore attention to Russian things is insignificant. The founder of the famous Moscow gallery “Regina” in the 1990s, Vladimir Ovcharenko, took advantage of this situation, creating the first auction house in Russia in 2013 and beginning to attract the attention of collectors to domestic contemporary art. Vladey auctions are held twice a year (the current one is already the 14th), sales are growing steadily, customer confidence is increasing, and with it the level of exhibited works.

At the autumn auction 2019, Ovcharenko presented works by Russian artists dating back to the 1960s. The earliest are Lydia Masterkova (starting price from 6,000 euros for a graphic composition to 70,000 euros for a collage on fabric), Vadim Sidur (from 8,000 euros for graphics cut out on linoleum to 35,000 euros for a sculpture) and Lev Nusberg (from 8,000 euros for graphic “Wave in a gray magnetic field”). The living classic Viktor Pivovarov is represented by several works, including recent ones, such as the excellent picturesque “Tenderness” 2016 (estimate: 25,000 euros). And prices for small brewery graphics from the 1990s start at 5,000 euros.

A separate room is dedicated to the “Assy generation” – artists who worked in the 1980s and 1990s. In addition to the international star Timur Novikov, here you can see works by the “Russian Basquiat” Oleg Kotelnikov (from 6,000 to 10,000 euros) and two small pictures by Viktor Tsoi (both have an estimate of 8,000 euros). Before becoming a rock star, he managed to study at the Leningrad Art School. V. A. Serov and Art Restoration School No. 61, from which he graduated as a woodcarver. Colorized photographs in the pop art style presented at the exhibition (one of Schwarzenegger) are evidence that Tsoi could become a star of the art scene.

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Generations are separated by floors: you need to go up to the older ones, and in the halls on the first floor young artists are exhibited - for example, regular auction participants and public favorites Egor Koshelev and Kirill Kto. But buyers at this auction are still more attracted to the classics. “When artists have spent most of their lives in the profession, the collector can appreciate the quality of their work throughout their career. It’s easier to choose top works,” admits philanthropist and collector Igor Tsukanov, whose collection is the envy of any Russian museum of modern art. “But with young people this is not always possible, it’s a risk. Assessing young artists from the point of view of their perspective is a difficult job, I don’t know how to do it. I created a collection when I realized that I could buy the best 10–15 works in the artist’s entire life,” explains Tsukanov.

However, the demand is growing not only for already deceased artists. The same is true with broken up duets. The joint works of Alexander Vinogradov and Vladimir Dubossarsky are more expensive than their solo work. “Bather” by Dubossarsky from the series “FB Speaks and Shows” (about the fact that the artist doesn’t really need models today - open your Facebook feed and draw for yourself) is put up for 22,000 euros. And the giant canvas by Dubossarsky and Vinogradov - a sketch of collective memory, the Mosfilm screensaver from the series "Escaping Reality" - is estimated at 100,000 euros. Opposite is the “Wooden Map” by the young artist Nestor Engelke (taken into the company of his elders for a similar scale and theme). It is made using the topographic technique - a map of our country is hollowed out on a tree, with wood chips scattered below (it smells very tasty of wood, starting price is 8,000 euros). And in the center of the same hall are objects by Rostislav Lebedev, including the red parallelepiped “Made in the USSR”, which is iconic for all social art (from 20,000 euros).

Oleg Kotelnikov. “Hurray!”, 1988, 10,000 euros / Andrey Gordeev / Vedomosti

Lots, artists, prices at Vladey auction

78 artists presented at the pre-auction exhibition
122 lots are up for sale
100 euros – minimum estimate (for the touching readymade “Dog” by Vova Marina, more like a fox)
150,000 euros – maximum estimate (for a fragment of an installation by Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid)
10,000–15,000 euros is the average starting price. In addition to traditional auction sales, you can participate in purchases online or by phone from anywhere in the world
1 million euros were collected at the previous autumn auction of the Vladey auction house
! The most expensive work of the previous auction, “Lord Help me survive among this mortal love" by Dmitry Vrubel. This is the author's small copy of the artist's most famous work, the large-scale mural known as "Brotherly Kiss" (1990), which decorated the surviving part of the Berlin Wall

Among the expensive lots are works from the 1990s. Oleg Vasiliev (from 90,000 euros) and Valery Koshlyakov (from 70,000 euros). They are allocated a separate room with a fireplace, on which you also involuntarily look for a label - you never know who’s installation.

“This auction is a secondary market, works that have stood the test of time,” says Ovcharenko. “Both the 1960s and 1970s attract a lot of attention, but we always find interesting works created in recent years.” Resales account for 80% of the lots, the remaining 20% are new works. But Ovcharenko hopes to sell everything. “Collectors and specialists appreciated the high level of the auction; many recognize it as the best in the history of Vladey. There are a lot of top names and historical works,” the auctioneer is proud.

“I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of works. I rarely buy at auctions now; works come to me from private collections - people know what interests me. Last time I went to Sotheby's I didn't find anything that interested me. And this time there are at least three jobs that I will apply for. But if I say what kind of works they are, it will attract the attention of other collectors and they will cost me more,” the collector admits.

The pre-auction exhibition at the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation is open until the auction, which will take place on November 26

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Andrey Gordeev / Vedomosti