A COLLECTOR MARKET BREAKTHROUGH: DESA UNICUM INCORPORATES DIGITAL ART IN ITS OFFER AS THE FIRST AUCTION HOUSE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

NFT works are taking the global art market, as well as collectors' hearts, by storm. On the 2nd of December, DESA Unicum, as the first auction house in Central and Eastern Europe, will offer a digital work by Paweł Kowalewski – ‘Why there is something rather than nothing' – to collectors. 

The next step will be an auction devoted entirely to NFT art, which is to take place in the first half of 2022. In the upcoming months, auctions of virtual works are to become a recurring event on the Polish auction market. 

The forthcoming auction is a unique event on the Polish auction market. Introducing digital works to the offer of a Polish auction house is an event that could wholly change the current perception of high art. 

‘New technologies are changing the art market, enabling a dynamic development of digital art. Auction houses may play a significant role in its popularization process among collectors. For that reason, we have decided to extend our offer by NFT-technology created objects – being the first ones to do it not only in Poland but in the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. We perceive it as a separate artistic field with enormous potential that will develop parallel to the traditional auction market. An advantage of NFTs is the possibility of confirming ownership rights to a given work of digital art – something that was never available. In an increasingly digitalized environment, this ensures greater innovativeness of the offer, as well as top quality and transparency. We will be presenting unique digital artworks using the full potential of the blockchain protocol and digital authenticity certificates. By doing so, we aim to respond to the new aesthetic needs of contemporary art enthusiasts and to provide Polish and foreign artists with another medium enabling expression.'

said Juliusz Windorbski, CEO of DESA S.A.

The December event is an expression of ‘the readiness' of the classic art world for new possibilities presented by modern technology. By focusing on close cooperation with artists, DESA Unicum provides the highest quality of experiencing art and meets the expectations of the most demanding collectors. 

The first NFT object coming under hammer at the December DESA Unicum auction is ‘Why there is something rather than nothing' by Paweł Kowalewski, an iconic figure of the 1980s Polish art scene. To this day, Kowalewski's works constitute a commentary on the repression of the totalitarian regime that is both important and full of irony. They are a testimony not only to the traumatic experiences of the Polish people but also to their journey towards freedom. The object presented by the artist and DESA Unicum is a sentimental return to the original 1986 work lost due to flooding in Kowalewski's studio during a tragic flood in 1997. Thanks to the new blockchain protocol technology, the forever-lost work by Paweł Kowalewski has been immortalized in a digital form. 

In the first three quarters of 2021, the global NFT sales have reached a staggering $3.5 billion – as stated in the Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2021. According to Nonfungible.com, in 2020, the value of digital works worldwide was estimated at $250 million – four times higher than the previous year. The record prices of NFTs offered at the world's most prestigious auction houses – Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillips – and the biggest digital art platforms, contributed to the rapid growth of the market. Among the ground-breaking works were the $69 million virtual collage by Mike Winkelmann (known as Beeple) – ‘Everydays: The First 5000 Days', or the $1.5 billion ‘CryptoPunk' project created by LarvaLabs studio. 

Thanks to the blockchain ‘architecture' behind the NFT (non-fungible token) phenomenon, digital artworks gain verifiable uniqueness – each object contains a unique set of data that distinguishes it from other tokens. Thus, the purchaser becomes the owner of a digital equivalent of artwork. Yet, they have a guarantee as to its uniqueness and authenticity, as well as its unprecedented durability. Combining art with the world of distributed data simultaneously resulted in a new development area for artists, providing them with unprecedented new forms of expression. Thanks to the innovativeness of the blockchain and the ‘tokenizing' process, virtual art may constitute an important auction market area - which would elevate its prestige and market value. 

Paweł Kowalewski's work – ‘Why there is something rather than nothing' – will be available for viewing at an exhibition at the DESA Unicum headquarters. It will take place between November 24th and December 2nd and be open from 11 am to 7 pm (Monday-Friday) and from 11 am to 4 pm (Saturday). The work will be auctioned off as the first lot at the ‘Post-War and Contemporary Art. Pop-Art. Pop culture. Postmodernism' auction. The digital work will be presented on a screen of The Frame by Samsung, who is the technological partner of the auction. Entering the exhibition is free of charge.