Gallery owner and auctioneer Leonid Shishkin answers questions of the forum ARTinvestment.RU

February auction in the Gallery of Leonid Shishkin aroused keen interest among readers ARTinvestment.RU, primarily for professional participants of the art market. And no wonder, because we are speaking about the first auction this year, which provide practical information about the health of the market. Not on the level of feelings and expectations, and "mathematical information" - what activity and how do that. Statistics of Trade-known, but a lot of interesting, very "kitchen" Trading has remained behind the scenes. Therefore, at the request of its readers ARTinvestment.RU forward your questions directly to the main part of the man - Leonid Shishkin.

ARTinvestment.RU: Feb. 6 held the first auction this year. Of the 115 lots sold 61. These statistics are slightly better than last year. The crisis passes?

Leonid Shishkin: The first auction on February 6 gave the statistics are not "slightly better", but much better. And not in the quantity sold, and in the volume of sales. And this, of course, evidence of improvement in the market, which, incidentally, was already evident in the December auction, but apparently coincided with a change in our auction policy.

used (and is ten years in a row), we have positioned ourselves as an auction of Soviet painting and selling works mostly from the collection of galleries, buying them in advance directly from the heirs. This strategy has many years to justify itself: we have a large group of permanent customers, two thirds of them - foreign buyers. However, in the last two or three years, interest in Soviet art began to wane - nothing is eternal under the moon, aliens, our departed, new somehow did not come. In short, the crisis of the market, we also coincided with the crisis of the genre. Therefore, in recent times, we reserve collection in the auction, only 50 percent of Soviet art from the lower and middle price sensitive for beginners Russian and the majority of foreign buyers, without whose presence in the room auctions are becoming boring. The second part of the collection, we try to make things from other sections of the art market: old paintings, famous names, non-conformists, etc. But if the latter has not yet found a response from our customers, as, indeed, sculpture, porcelain and lacquer miniature, then big names went to cheers.

In October we sent out a letter from galleries, dealers and collectors with an invitation to participate their belongings in our auctions. Some of those who responded (apparently helps crisis). Thanks to the internet customers are immediately noticed - I mean the emergence of better things. On the phone we have traded from Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, St. Petersburg, as well as London and Houston - but it's old customers.

AI: High interest in the forum called good care in a range of up to 600-800 thousand rubles. In particular, interesting events surrounding the struggle for the following lots:

№ 68. Pimenov and Yu . Portrait of a Woman. 1930-e. Oil on canvas. 32 x 24. Yakovlev H . Village Widget. Option pictures of the same name of the State Tretyakov Gallery. 1947. Oil on wood. 65 x 85. 450 000 p.

№ 40. Trofimov P . On the quay (Bretonki). 1910-e. Cardboard, oil. 62 x 52. 650 000 p.

№ 38. Natalia S. Goncharova NS . Shepherd. Page from the album "Divine Liturgy". Theater sketch for the ballet Massine "Liturgy". 1927. Paper, mixed technique. 61 x 30. 800 000 p.

№ 107. Tsvetkov A . Conductor E. Mravinsky. 1971. Oil on canvas. 55 x 36. 40 000 rub.

№ 64. Nalbandian D. A . Winter. 1954. Oil on canvas, oil 30 x 20. 260 000 p.

№ 67. Bogorodsky F. C . Isle of Capri. 1930. Oil on canvas. 50 x 34. 330 000 p.

Comment on the mood of participants. Can we say that the intensity of fighting has grown? What a lot has caused the most intense fighting in this auction?

L. Sh: In all of these lots have been selected for two or three buyers. But I would not say that it is high prices - just decent. At the first Soviet names we always have customers, so the sale Pimenov, Vasyl Yakovlev, Nalbandian, one of the surprising Bogorodsky No one should include. Lot 107 bought it as a portrait Mravinsky, and 40 thousand rubles big money, too, will not name. By the name of Goncharova's interest, I think, understandable, and one buyer is to this album "Liturgy". Trofimov - a beautiful thing in 1912, besides the cover, which is also always adds interest.

most bitter haggling was over early picture Aidan Salakhova (Lot 94): four members chased him with twenty thousand to one hundred and twenty. This message plunged Aidan in amazement, and she promised to give a few early drawings at auction.

AI: as caring lot number 37 ( Polenov V. D . In the Crimea. Sketch. Oil on canvas, oil 15 x 20. 1 100 000 rub.)? How many participants were traded for this lot? How long does a bargain?

L. Sh: For Polenova traded four of our old customers, who tend to buy Soviet authors of the first row.

AI: How is the formation of collections for the next auction? Is there a deficit situation?

L. Sh: As long as we hold auctions almost every month, usually we make just two collections in parallel. No deficit. There is a growing collaboration with galleries and collectors, but we are open to any suggestions. Now we are trying to transform our auction of some club, closed, such as for lovers of Soviet painting in a more open marketplace. Moreover, in late April plans to open Hotel Radisson Royal Moscow (former "Ukraine"), where we will have a second, more convenient for the auction room.

AI: What is your forecast for 2010? What are the expectations?

L. Sh: All the best in the best of all worlds. Our market is mature, and thus improving, mature, and consumers. And with smart people is always more pleasant thing to have.

questions answered ARTinvestment.RU gallery owner and auctioneer Leonid Shishkin