The photo is symbolic. Photo: Nik Erik Neubauer
Sloart gallery auction: What prices do paintings fetch in Slovenia?
At the fourth auction of the Sloart gallery, which took place on Saturday at the Grand Plaza Hotel in Ljubljana, 20 works with a total value of around 94,200 euros were sold. Among the most expensive works sold were Tršar’s sculpture Untitled and Sternen’s portrait of Dr. Fran Windischer, which reached a price of 12,000 euros.
They were followed by Tone Kralj with a price of 11,280 euros and Jože Tisnikar with the work Self-portrait with a raven, sold for 10,800 euros. After the official end of the auction, one work by Tone Kralj was sold as part of the post-auction sale, while the unsold works of art remain in the post-auction sale for another 30 days after the auction, the Sloart gallery announced. They estimate that the result of the auction is very encouraging despite the uncertain economic and geopolitical situation, as the turnover was slightly higher than at the previous auction.
Also sold were works by Ivan Napotnik, Saša Šantlo, Albert Sirek, Rik Debenjak and Stanet Kregar, two works each by Metka Krašovec and Safet Zec, and four more works by Tisnikar.
About a hundred visitors gathered at the event. Most of the offers were submitted in writing, while some buyers participated online. Among the buyers was a collector from Italy.
The work of Tone Kralj, for which four bidders competed, aroused the most interest during the auction itself. Intense teasing also accompanied some of Tisnikar’s works, especially the famous motif of ravens.
According to the Sloart gallery, the results of the auction showed once again that the art market often surprises. Some works by renowned authors did not meet the expected response, while other artworks attracted multiple bidders and fetched higher than expected prices.
At the auction, special attention was also paid to the inclusion of the younger and middle generation of artists, with a starting price of 1,000 euros for larger-format works of art. Nine creators of the younger and middle generation were presented, and among the works sold were also works by Patrik Dvorščak (2,640 euros), Ira Marušič (1,560 euros) and Matej Čepin (1,200 euros).
All offered works of art were examined by renowned experts Aleksander Bassin, Brane Kovič, Nada Mađarac and Ferdo Šerbelj before being included in the auction.
As stated by Sloart, which is currently the only Slovenian gallery that regularly organizes art auctions of selected works of art, they want to establish a tradition of two public auctions per year – the spring one, which will be held on the first Saturday in June, and the autumn one, scheduled for the first Saturday in December. As they point out, the goal is not just the sale of works of art, but the long-term development of the secondary art market, which will be based on professionalism, trust and publicly available results.
