Will anyone give more? Or why you should participate in auctions too

You all know it from movies. First, hands shoot up with auction numbers and then comes the famous "First, second, third, sold." ending with the knock of the gavel. Art auctions are an experience, their course is unpredictable, and the conclusion is difficult to predict. If you have thought that auctions are not for you, but you are tempted to experience their inimitable atmosphere, perhaps your opinion will change after an interview with the director of the SOGA auction company, Július Barczi. He says that anyone can participate in their auctions. "From a car mechanic to a politician. The main prerequisite for a person coming to an auction is that they enjoy art and want to own something from it." Enter with us into a world where you can discover, have fun, and most importantly, take away real quality art. What is the history of auctions, where do their origins lie? The auction format itself is a matter of the early modern era. It was the way of selling, for example, cattle at the market, when they said the price and people started shouting the words "I'll give more". We have been talking about art auctions since the 17th century, when there was the so-called golden age of Dutch painting. The oldest auction houses, those that still operate today and are considered alpha auction houses, were founded sometime around the middle of the 18th century. Our auction company SOGA was founded in 1996 on the foundations of an older antiques business. But that doesn't mean that something like this didn't exist in Slovakia before then. Until 1918, we were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where auctions were a completely normal part of life. Then, under socialism, the market was regulated by the communist party, and the sale of works of art was directed through state-owned stores called Dielo. They sold so-called "non-conflict art", i.e. rather decorative things that were distributed under the name of art. There was nothing progressive there, nothing that would in any way reflect on society or that there was a problem here. That was not desirable and it only changed after 1989.

How does the auction work? It looks exactly like on TV. There is an auctioneer, whose role is crucial, one could say the most important, because he is the person who directly sells the works. And then there is a commentator who talks about the works being presented. The exhibitors show the works to people in white gloves and the people in the hall raise the auction numbers. In Slovakia, we have two people conducting the auction, because our auctions are usually less dynamic, the bids come in more cautiously than at some of the big world auctions. Not every hand with a number is raised. But it happens here and there too. I also experienced an auction in 2012, when we auctioned the works of Ladislav Medňanský, and people were really fighting, their hands shot up from the first item. And of course, at every auction there are several items that are in the fight. How can a person participate in an auction? Can one bid remotely? Yes, it can. If you look at what a Christie's or Sotheby's auction looks like, they have these big counters full of telephone operators everywhere. Usually the most important auctions within an auction are done over the phone. There are also online forms of auctions, which SOGA also does. What is the difference between works auctioned live and online? Online auctions started as a complement to large live auctions, but towards today, those differences are blurring. It is true that even before Covid, we all had the feeling that we were going into a digital world, that everything would be replaced by digital content, space, and there would be digital tools for everything. But it was when selling art that we discovered that it is not always on the same level as live contact with a work of art. There are certainly people who invest in art and they are not interested in the art as such, but in the return after a certain period of time. In that case, that contact is not necessary, because they can get advice from an expert. But if a person is an investor and collector who is interested in art, likes it and likes it, and does not know the work, it is good to see it live, because those people then live with it at home. We introduced online auctions quite early, I think in 2008. Auctions are preceded by pre-auction exhibitions. What can interested parties learn at these exhibitions? How long does the exhibition of works last? According to the auction rules, you should have the right to see the work before the auction. Sometimes just showing it at the auction is enough, but when it comes to artwork, it's good to be able to go back multiple times, look at it, or talk to other experts about the work. The entire collection must be closed at least a month before the auction, so that the catalog can be written and printed, and last but not least, the exhibition can be prepared. Usually, the exhibition is made available two to three weeks before the auction, and we also hold guided tours where we introduce the works to interested parties. When you're preparing an auction, do you have an idea of ​​how high the price for the works might go? This is a great esotericism, because basically, what happens at an auction is irrational. There are no rules, nothing that should be followed in any way – if we are talking about how high the amount for one work of art can go. Of course, the auction rules apply to the auction itself, but they are more about things before and after, the auction itself is about people. But basically yes, even before the auction we can guess how it will turn out, we know what the interest is. But sometimes the result can surprise us. Pleasantly or unpleasantly. Is it possible that there will be no interest in a work at all? Sure, usually 30-60% of the works are sold at auction. It's rarely 100%. We've had 100% success with a smaller number of works. And usually at charity auctions everything is sold.

What happens to unauctioned works? They will return to us, we have a post-auction sale, which is also accompanied by an exhibition in our premises. Only then will the works be returned to their owners. Is there interest in auctions in Slovakia? It is not good to imagine auctions as popular entertainment. Art is a matter for the elite, whether we like the word or not. We should all be interested in art, but there is only a very small percentage of people who are interested in it in the way that they either collect it or invest in it. Going to a gallery without knowing what I'm going to see there rarely makes sense. Because contemporary art can seem very hermetic and meaningless. There are things we can be proud of, such as quality art from the second half of the 20th century, crazy painting from the 19th century. The concept of neo-avant-garde from the second half of the 20th century is quite difficult to understand. The work of us art theorists is important primarily for communicating art to laypeople. First, working with artists, doing research, dealing with what was created within art in the past. How many Slovak artists appear at foreign auctions? Very little. However, it is necessary to distinguish between older and contemporary art: older works that were created in Slovakia can be found abroad, and we also see that, for example, Benka or Mousson appear at auctions in Prague or Vienna. However, contemporary art does not primarily belong at auctions. The fact that we do it here in Central Europe does not mean that it is also happening in the world. We do it because we do not have a built-up network of small galleries and art fairs, until recently there was nothing like that here, and the auction company was the only place where you could get contemporary art. Today you can easily buy the graphics of Black Holes by Erik Šille, who sells his paintings for 5,000-10,000 euros, which are high amounts for contemporary art, for 25 euros. But that doesn't mean he's a cheap artist. It's the concept of Black Holes, I just wanted to say that these are also amounts for which you can buy quality art. At SOGA, we have a rule that we don't offer art for under 500 euros, but there are exceptions. For example, we included a small, interesting drawing by Ladislav Medňanský for 300 euros. How much was the most expensive work of art ever auctioned in Slovakia? The most expensive work was by Domenico Zampieri, Boy with a Dalmatian, still in korunas for 15,000,000, or more than 530,000 euros. Those hundred-thousand-dollar auctions are not that common, there are not so many such rare works in our country. According to our ranking of the most expensive works auctioned, the top Slovak authors are Martin Benka, Július Jakoby and Ľudovít Fulla.

Do you often encounter counterfeits? Very often. It's our everyday reality. Everything that involves money is subject to such illegal activity. Counterfeits are made of expensive and cheap things, of everything. How to detect them? It depends on what the fake looks like. There are better and worse ones. But often, the fact that a fake exists at all does not even occur to an "ordinary" Slovak. And that is bad, you always have to be on your guard. We are so calm, we feel that before 2000 there were no fakes, so when it is a little older, it is poorly painted, it looks strange, but it is old, we automatically tend to consider it genuine. And that is nonsense, and it is very dangerous. There are so many fakes, an ordinary person does not quite know how to deal with it. So it is necessary to turn to experts. Art is full of stories. Which story of a work is your favorite? When we prepare a catalogue before an exhibition, we try to write something about each work that introduces the painting or the artist. In that case, stories are really interesting and also important as a tool to improve the saleability of the work. People are increasingly interested in it, which we are looking forward to. For example, at the last auction we had a work by Martin Benka, Leto (Žitný ostrov). There is a bullet mark on the frame of the painting from August 1968. The painting is restored, but we have preserved this mark on the frame. It is authentic, and important as part of our history. We would like to thank the auction company SOGA for providing the space for the photo shoot.