Assembling an art collection
Julia Gorlewska
Consciously assembled art collection is a form of cultural expression. The dynamics of the Polish art market, which has been observed in recent years, has contributed to a growing interest in collecting. More and more people are deciding to purchase paintings, sculptures, or design objects. This is due not only to aesthetic needs but also to investment opportunities and prestige. In such cases, questions arise about how to get started. Despite many concerns, navigating the auction market consciously does not require specialized knowledge or extensive experience. Below are a few tips for beginner collectors.
Personal Preferences
The first steps in assembling your own art collection should be based on your own sense of aesthetics and taste. Consider the colors that make you feel good, how specific forms and combinations of colors affect you, and, above all, whether you are interested in figurative art or abstraction. The diverse and rich auction selection of the Young Art project was created primarily with beginner collectors in mind. The presented works are characterized not only by their aesthetic value but also by their diversity in terms of size and type of objects. The catalog is usually composed not only of paintings but also of drawings and sculptures. Young art is currently the second fastest-growing segment of the market after contemporary art. It is an innovative project the idea of which is to provide direct support and promotion to emerging artists entering the art market. Artists such as Marcin Jasik, Karolina Jabłońska, Sylwester Ambroziak, as well as many now recognized and sought-after creators, started their journey in the auction market within the framework of this project. Therefore, the offered works often have high investment potential alongside their aesthetic qualities.
Education
The next step in assembling an art collection is defining our aesthetic or investment preferences and thereby identifying the artists and movements that interest us the most. The more information we have about the artist and the artwork, the more satisfying the journey to purchase it will be. Each auction by the DESA Unicum auction house includes a PDF catalog with descriptions of all or selected works from the selection. Our website is a compendium of knowledge about art history and market mechanisms. In addition to auction catalogs, lists of institutions where specific works have been exhibited are also published. This makes it easier to independently track the career path of a particular artist.
Investment
If art is primarily seen as an investment, it is worth examining auction reports of artists or projects that interest us. Auction results are published on the desa.pl website after each auction, which should facilitate the search process. To explore the career path of the aforementioned Karolina Jabłońska, for example, one can simply enter her personal information into the search engine on the main page of DESA Unicum. By clicking the "Past Lots" tab, it is easy and quick to review the individual steps and development of an artist in the auction market.
For years, art has been perceived as elite and inaccessible. The goal of the DESA Unicum auction house is to change the way we approach the art world. Through broad access and education, we enable close contact with artworks by both top-class artists and those whose careers are just beginning.