Bukowskis had the 10 highest prices for contemporary works
Andy Warhol, Scandinavian Beauty, SEK 12 100 000
Jan Håfström, Den eviga återkomsten, SEK 5 025 000
Konrad Klapheck, Die Tyrannin, SEK 3 825 000
Ola Billgren, Townscape Braubach, SEK 3 315 000
Gunnel Wåhlstrand, Looking at Paintings, SEK 2 079 000
Christo, Deux chaisses et table, SEK 2 266 000
Jockum Nordström, Dödsskogen, SEK 2 048 000
Karin Mamma Andersson, Går i sömnen, SEK 2 000 000
Rolf Hanson, Runtom trappa VIII, SEK 1 530 000
Dick Bengtsson, Vykort, SEK 1 096 000
We look for:
Swedish: Karin Mamma Andersson, Torsten Andersson, Dick Bengtsson Ernst Billgren, Ola Billgren, Barbro Bäckström, Lena Cronqvist, Peter Dahl, Carl Johan de Geer, Nathalie Djurberg och Hans Berg, Cecilia Edefalk, Ann Edholm, Sten Eklund, Marie-Louise Ekman, Andreas Eriksson, Öyvind Fahlström, Linn Fernström, John-Erik Franzén, Roj Friberg, Peter Frie, Jens Fänge, Carl Hammoud, Lotta Hannerz, Anette Harboe Flensburg, Lars Hillersberg, Jan Håfström, Jarl Ingvarsson, Kristina Jansson, Clay Ketter, Klara Kristalova, Lars Lerin, Tilda Lovell, Maria Miesenberger, Jockum Nordström, Håkan Rehnberg, Ulrik Samuelson, Astrid Sylwan, PG Thelander, Martin Wickström, Dan Wolgers, Gunnel Wåhlstrand among others.
Finnish: Lauri Ahlgren, Hans Christian Berg, Juhana Blomstedt, Johanna Ehnrooth, Chris af Enehielm, Carolus Enckell, Susanne Gottberg, Juhani Harri, Jorma Hautala, Samuli Heimonen, Tiina Heiska, Nana Hermunen, Reino Hietanen, Eero Hiironen, Eric Hynynen, Pekka Jylhä, Kimmo Kaivanto, Kristian Krokfors, Matti Kujasalo, Ilkka Lammi, Tero Laaksonen, Kuutti Lavonen, Markus Konttinen, Sami Lukkarinen, Leena Luostarinen, Heikki Marila, Jukka Mäkelä, Marika Mäkelä, Jussi Niva, Lars-Gunnar Nordström, Kimmo Pyykkö, Mari Rantanen, Silja Rantanen, Osmo Rauhala, Nina Roos, Janne Räisänen, Riiko Sakkinen, Johan Scott, Kim Simonsson, Wuorila-Stenberg, Mari Sunna, Nanna Susi, Reidar Särestöniemi, Raili Tang, Marjatta Tapiola, Kain Tapper, Nina Terno, Tommi Toija, Katja Tukiainen, Anu Tuominen, Anna Tuori, Marianna Uutinen, Viggo Vallensköld, Hannu Väisänen, Rafael Wardi, Sofia Wilkman among others.
Foreign: Fernandez Arman, Donald Baechler, Stephan Balkenhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sandro Chia, Christo, Jim Dine, Marcel Dzama, Olafur Eliasson, Lucio Fontana, Sam Francis, Antony Gormley, Sigurdur Gudmundsson, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Olav Christopher Jenssen, Alex Katz, Per Kirkeby, Bjarne Melgaard, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Jesús Rafael Soto, Frank Stella, Leon Tarasewicz, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol among others.
Contact:
Anna Persson, Specialist contemporary art (Sweden), anna.persson@bukowskis.com + 46 8-614 08 30
Laura Pohjola, Specialist contemporary art (Finland), laura.pohjola@bukowskis.com +358 400 46 45 76
Lena Nytén, Specialist photography (Sweden), lena.nyten@bukowskis.com + 46 8-614 08 17
Helena Laakso, Specialist photography, (Finland), helena.laakso@bukowskis.com +358 (0)9 6689 110
Here they are – coming highlights 2012
“If you’re interested in contemporary art, this is your chance to take part in the art scene here and now. The number of customers in this segment has increased steadily, and from a collector’s point of view, contemporary art is available to you as a buyer in so many ways. If you want to build a collection of art from recent decades, you can keep up to date with what is being shown at established galleries, and have contacts with artists, to find out what is happening and keep up to date. You have a unique position as a collector of contemporary art. That's the way it has always been - just think of the major international collectors, who knew and bought the modern masters in the early 1900s, such as Gertrude Stein, Peggy Guggenheim, and today’s giants such as Charles Saatchi, François Pinault and Muccia Prada, to name but a few.”
But doesn't collecting contemporary art require more expertise?
“The verve of dealing with contemporary art lies in the fact that its history is yet to be written, so you need more awareness, since you are buying in the early stage of an oeuvre, and there is no way of knowing what works will eventually be regarded as timeless classics. Above all, buying contemporary art requires more courage and trusting one’s own intuition and the information that is available. Go to as many exhibitions as you can, at museums and galleries, visit the best renowned art fairs that apply strict criteria on the quality of the art they present. The selection at the quality auction of contemporary art can also give you some guidance on what has passed through the eye of the needle.”
So, what should I buy?
“Since there is a chance of buying works early in an artist’s career and the possibility of buying the best quality art, you can build a collection for less money than if you buy masterpieces by established modern artists. Video art is still moderately priced or even under-estimated. We have sold two top items by hot international artists who are represented in internationally acclaimed collections. Cory Arcangel’s Super Mario Movie was sold to a foreign collector for just over SEK 100,000, and just recently Nathalie Djurberg’s Hardcore was sold for around SEK 170,000. Both these are good buys in the longer perspective.
“Also, there are fine 1960s and 1970s works in the auction at prices that are still relatively low in relation to their quality. This includes both paintings from that period and the more ‘strident’ political art. The same is true of the best 1980s art.”
Something that never goes out of style and has a tendency to constantly reinvent itself is painting. What are Bukowskis’ clients looking for among the younger generation of artists who are mainly active as painters?
“Painting is an old, traditional medium that has always existed and which most buyers feel safe with. But, as always, you have to consider the quality, regardless of what technique is involved. We have noted a lively interest in the artists Gunnel Wåhlstrand, Lotta Hannerz, Carl Hammoud, Linn Fernström, Bjarne Melgaard, Astrid Sylwan, Kristina Jansson and, of course, Mamma Andersson. I suggest you also keep an eye on Christine Ödlund, Maria Nordin, Lena Johansson, Astrid Svangren and Martin Jacobson. Personally, I also like Lisa D Manner, to mention a name where you can get a fine piece on a smaller budget.”
But painting isn’t the only art that’s interesting at an auction? Recently, a collage by Jockum Nordström was sold at a record hammer price. Isn’t quality more important than the medium?
“Absolutely! Basically, it’s the same as buying a flat. You expect to pay more for a sea view than for a ground floor apartment.”
The photography section's sales figures have rocketed. How do you explain that?
“At long last, the wariness against photography, and whether it can be regarded as art, seems to have subsided. Today, the two art forms and their practitioners, artists and photographers, are interrelating in a more natural way than before. At the recent major photography fair, Paris Photo, there were nearly as many art galleries as photography galleries among the exhibitors. The boundary between them is growing fuzzier, and some of the works at Paris Photo could just as well be shown at the large fairs focusing exclusively on fine arts, such as Art Basel.
“Photography is a technique that younger buyers and future collectors have no problem relating to. We are surrounded by photography and film, and this medium is both contemporary and of the future. These collectors don’t have the same hesitation as those who buy the more traditional art media – to them it isn’t a problem that the picture exists in a few prints. It’s an old misunderstanding that photographers hang around in darkrooms all day making thousands of prints! That's not the case. When it comes to classic black-and-white analogue photos, each picture is made by hand, and it can take days to get the perfect print. Each picture is exclusive, and not all photos are produced in numbered editions. Contemporary artists who work in the photographic medium, digital or analogue, do number their works, however. Often, their editions are kept small.
“The price range for international photographic art and photographs is generally higher internationally than in Sweden and for established Swedish names, meaning that you can pick up a masterpiece and iconic images for a fraction of the cost of, say, a masterpiece by an equally established Swedish artist in a traditional medium such as painting.”