2022 Results
DESA Unicum, the leader of the Polish art market, ends the year 2022 with spectacular financial results and announces plans for significant expansion of its activities.
This includes the development of new categories of collector's items, projects on a European scale, and, above all, significant investments in education and the promotion of culture, with over 100 exhibitions open to visitors throughout the year.
In 2022, DESA Unicum confirmed its position as the undisputed leader in the Polish and Central European art markets, outperforming its competitors with a total turnover of nearly 290 million PLN (approximately 61.2 million EUR). It also maintains its position among the top institutions selling art throughout Europe and the region, currently ranking 9th according to the Artnet report "Auction House Rankings in Europe." The growth sources according to the adopted strategy include: the development of new auction categories, high project intensity, continuous development of the customer base and increasing their knowledge, as well as, consistent investments in unique competencies and the size of the team, which enabled the organization of spectacular auctions that were unattainable for other institutions. In 2022, DESA Unicum achieved a historical auction record (the painting "Reality" by Jacek Malczewski reached a price of 20.4 million PLN/4.37 million EUR), the largest auction of a collection in the contemporary history of the region (in this case, parts of Grażyna Kulczyk's collection), as well as over 200 auctions and 100 exhibitions featuring works by the greatest artists. This is not the end of the ambitious plans of the Warsaw-based institution at Piękna. DESA Unicum announces further projects on a European scale, the continued development of categories, including young art, wine, jewelry, and watches, as well as the expansion of its portfolio with innovative auctions in the fields of comics, design, and urban art. First of all, our plan is to prioritize education even more and fulfill the role of an active and accessible cultural institution for all art lovers in Warsaw. In 2023, visitors will be able to see over 100 excellent exhibitions for free.
DESA Unicum once again at the top of rankings
DESA Unicum, just like in previous years, has confirmed its position as the largest auction house in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe in 2022. According to the prestigious ranking by Artnet, in terms of the total value of sales, DESA Unicum surpassed its competition from the other 16 countries in the region, maintaining its position as the leader. The auction house located at Piękna consistently ranks among the top ten largest art-selling institutions on the Old Continent, currently occupying 9th place in the ranking (data for 2022).
With a total turnover of 289 million PLN/63.2 million EUR (2022), DESA Unicum records annual sales growth (280 million PLN/61.2 million EUR in 2021). The institution also regularly conducts more auctions, with 216 taking place in 2022 (including 115 on-site, 96 online, and 5 charity auctions). It continues to be unrivaled in this market in Poland and Central Europe.
DESA Unicum. Private institution with social mission
Our good financial results and a team of competently diverse specialists allow for the successful execution of the largest and most demanding auctions in this part of Europe. It is the only place in Poland where a single artwork transaction worth 20 million PLN (Jacek Malczewski's "Reality" for 20.4 million PLN/4.37 million EUR) and an auction of a private collection featuring 200 pieces (Grażyna Kulczyk's Collection) can be successfully organized.
As the largest private entity in the Polish art market, DESA Unicum has a huge responsibility for the development of the market and the education of clients. The DESA management emphasizes this in their statements:
"We are happily past the pandemic and returning to our mission, which fills us with pride. We want DESA Unicum to be an institution open to all art lovers, which is why we organize over 100 exhibitions every year, all of which have always been accessible free of charge to visitors. Often, they can view artworks presented to the public for the first time. We want our visitors to get as much as possible out of the exhibitions; we want to talk about why art is so important and unique and also introduce artists, not only Polish but also foreign. We plan to organize many initiatives in this area: curator-led tours, panel discussions, and vernissages. One of such events will be an exhibition of Victor Vasarely's works,"
- says Juliusz Windorbski, the President of DESA S.A.
DESA Unicum offers its clients a selection of high-quality works of art, including not only paintings and prints, but also sculptures, designs, fabrics, comic books, posters, memorabilia, and urban art. The company invests heavily in the premium goods segment, such as luxury jewelry, watches, and wine. Thanks to systematically organized auctions of young art, many young Polish artists are successfully promoted.
Importantly, DESA Unicum is not only an auction house, but also a private cultural institution that expands Warsaw's cultural life. Through pre-auction exhibitions and numerous accompanying initiatives such as tours, publications, meetings, discussion panels, and special projects, DESA Unicum permanently integrates into Warsaw's cultural landscape, fulfilling an educational function, especially in terms of current trends in the art market as well as avant-garde and contemporary art.
DESA Unicum. The Events that dominated the art market in 2022
In 2022, we witnessed absolutely unique events on the Polish art market. One of the key events was the sale of works from Grażyna Kulczyk's collection, which was the most important collection auction in decades. This significant event in the Polish art market attracted many collectors and investors from Poland and abroad, including Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, and the United States, who noticed the very high level of the selection and Grażyna Kuczyk's exceptional courage.
The total turnover from the auction of works owned by this Polish art collector and art patron amounted to 37.4 million PLN (7.97 million EUR). As many as 8 new records were set for the most expensive works by artists such as Tadeusz Kantor and Teresa Tyszkiewicz. Kantor's work "One Night Velazquez's Infanta Came Into My Room" was sold for over 5 million PLN (1.01 million EUR). "SU 2" by Wojciech Fangor was purchased for 3 million PLN (640,652 EUR). A particularly noteworthy and fierce bidding took place in the case of Roman Opałka's early work "Nude with Orange," which exceeded the estimate by 10 times and was sold for almost 650,000 PLN (138,808 EUR).
The news of the auction of Rubens' "Portrait of a Lady," which had not been seen in nearly 150 years and was sold for 12 million PLN/2.5 million EUR (total price 14.4 million PLN/3 million EUR), electrified the art world in the spring of 2022. In December, a historic record was set for the most expensive painting sold in Poland: Jacek Malczewski's "Reality" for 20.4 million PLN (4.3 million EUR). It is worth noting that in DESA Unicum auctions throughout 2022, 33 items were sold for at least 1 million PLN (213,505 EUR).
DESA Unicum. What will 2023 bring for the art market?
According to experts from DESA Unicum, works of art today attract not only collectors but also investors, for whom art represents a safe and promising investment with higher potential for growth compared to traditional profit-making instruments. In 2023, the art market will continue to be a safe haven for investors, particularly in light of the real estate market's ongoing volatility.
DESA Unicum experts expect growing interest in more demanding projects with diverse forms, going beyond traditionally popular forms of art such as old masters and avant-garde painting (e.g., avant-garde photography, works on paper, works by the youngest generations, sculpture). The DESA Unicum team also emphasizes investments in luxury goods such as jewelry, watches, and wines.
"On the Polish market, we are witnessing a growing trend for art from the 1980s, which was previously a niche trend appreciated only by a small group of collectors. Since 2019, when we organized the first auction dedicated to art from this period, the prices of works by artists such as Włodzimierz Pawlak, Małgorzata Rittersschild, Marek Sobczyk, or Paweł Kowalewski have been increasing at a very rapid pace. An interesting aspect that we have begun to observe in recent years is how collectors' approach is changing, and their interests are becoming more diversified. The Polish art market is maturing, and customers are starting to pay attention to new auction categories, such as comics or photography, and thoughtfully supplementing their collections with such objects. Compared to foreign countires, this segment of art is still quite undervalued on our market,"
– says Agata Szkup, President of the Board of DESA Unicum.
"Last year showed how the Polish art market is increasingly asserting itself on the international market, which greatly pleases me. Polish artists are becoming sought-after and achieving increasingly significant sales successes on Western markets, and as a result, global collectors are increasingly paying attention to the Polish art market. Names from Central and Eastern Europe, such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Wojciech Fangor, Alina Szapocznikow, or Ewa Juszkiewicz, are becoming fashionable. This art is being discovered, and its value on the global market is growing,"
– she adds.
The perfect start of the season at DESA Unicum was the exhibition "Zakopane! Zakopane!" which ended on January 31, 2023. This unique, cyclical project was once again one of the most eagerly awaited by guests and collectors. It featured over 120 unique objects, including paintings, prints, photography, crafts, and antique skiing equipment. The headquarters at Piękna were adorned by the greatest names of Polish art from the beginning of the 20th century, such as Zofia Stryjeńska, Witkacy, Jan Stanisławski, and Tadeusz Brzozowski, as well as a large collection of Zakopane sculptures, watercolors by Władysław Skoczylas, ink by Andrzej Wróblewski, and fabrics by Jolanta Owidzka.