Fifty million PLN – this was the turnover of three Contemporary Art auctions at DESA Unicum. At one of them, for the first time in Poland, an NFT work was sold. It was the work of Paweł Kowalewski titled “Why there is something rather than nothing", which sold for 552,000 PLN.

The auctions “Op-Art and Geometrical Abstraction" and “Pop-Art. Pop culture. Postmodernism." at DESA Unicum brought about a turnover of 17,6 million PLN. This means the total turnover of three Contemporary Art auctions taking place in one week amounted to nearly 50 million PLN. It equals half of DESA Unicum's turnover in 2020 in this crucial time for art sales.

“The three Contemporary Art auctions held this week reflect the great and continuous interest in this art area among collectors. Their total turnover – nearly 50 million PLN – amounted to half of last year's turnover at all Contemporary Art auctions. A sensation at yesterday's auctions were the three works by Wojciech Fangor, as well as the first NFT work auctioned off live. It being sold for the high sum of 552,000 PLN bodes very well for this new market area in Poland. We wish to set standards for Poland's new digital art market and hold the leading position. In the first half of 2022, we plan to hold an auction entirely devoted to NFT art. In the following months, auctions of virtual works are to become a reoccurring event at our auction house."

Says Juliusz Windorbski, CEO of DESA S.A.

The Polish Op-Art and Geometrical Abstraction art market is one of the most important ones in the world. At yesterday's auction, five works were sold to exceed 1 million PLN. Three works by Wojciech Fangor – the auction record holder from 2018 and 2020 – found their buyers and sold for the total sum of 6,2 million PLN. The works of cult representatives of Op-Art and Geometrical Abstraction also appeared at the auction. Among them were the sought after works of Victor Vasarely (two of which sold for over 1 million PLN), Julian Stańczak, Henryk Stażewski, Ryszard Winiarski, Edward Krasiński, or Andrzej Nowacki.

In turn, at the “Pop-Art. Pop culture. Postmodernism." auction, apart from the first NFT work at auction in Poland, outstanding works of artists contesting mass culture and breaking social taboos came under the hammer. Among them appeared the works of Jan Dobkowski, Jerzy Ryszard “Jurry" Zieliński, Wilhelm Sasnal, Radek Szlaga, and Rafał Bujnowski.