Art lovers attending an auction at SOGA. (source: Sme - Peter Žákovič)
AN AUCTION of contemporary Slovak art held by the SOGA auction house on October 27 broke three records. The first involved The Optical Object, a work by Milan Dobeš, which started at Sk200,000 (€6,639) and ended at Sk550,000 (€18,257), the SITA newswire wrote.
“This auction surpassed Dobeš’s personal record from this May, when one of his smaller works sold for Sk335,000 (€11,120),” Nina Gažovičová from SOGA told SITA.
Dobeš is Slovakia’s foremost exponent of constructivism.
Behind the Village, an oil on canvas by Milan Laluha, sold for Sk250,000 (€8,298). This exceeded his record from 2006, when one of his other works sold for Sk175,000 (€5,809).
Július Koller also reported a personal record at the auction. His acryl on canvas fetched Sk155,000 (€5.145), topping Sk130,000 (€4,315) paid at an auction this May.
Out of all 107 works of art, 56 pieces were sold, which brought in a total of almost Sk2.4 million (€79,665).
The auction also offered up a unique silver bracelet by Anton Cepka which started at Sk130,000 (€4,315). But it was one of the pieces that failed to find a new owner.
“This may only indicate that the collectors’ interest in jewels was not strong enough to justify the price,” Gažovičová said. “In terms of Europe, though, this is an appropriate price.”
