WARSAW.- On the one hand many years of experience and a well-known name, one the other – innovativeness and a strategy for development which is highly esteemed by foreign institutions operating in the mature art markets. This is a short description of the cooperation between the Abbey House Auction House and Wojciech Fibak, which gives the national art market a chance for the dynamic development worldwide.

Joining forces with the famous Polish art collector belongs to the activity model of Dom Aukcyjny Abbey House S.A., which model since the very beginning involved strategic partnerships both in Poland and abroad – which guarantee ample opportunities for the promotion of the contemporary Polish art in the global markets. In May this year, the company was introduced into the prestigious Skate’s Art Index, as one of the biggest global companies operating in the art market.

Furthermore, it started the cooperation with the art market expert, Sergey Skaterschikov, the CEO of Skate’s Art Market Research. In October, Abbey House together with the Wilanów district of the Capital City of Warsaw entered into an agreement on cooperation by the joint project of twelve Polish art institutions (among others, The Wilanów Palace Museum and Zachęta the National Gallery of Art) and business institutions (Totalizator Sportowy Sp.z.o.o., or NFI Empik Media & Fashion S.A.). The reputation and credibility of the company has now borne fruit in the shape of plans for the future shared with Wojciech Fibak, who has for years been connected with art.

One of the foundations of this agreement is the creation of a program which promotes the local art in Poland and in the international markets. The first disclosure of the details of this agreement will take place in Warsaw, where the company and the collector will jointly open the Art Gallery (Galeria Sztuki). More such undertakings are to follow in Berlin, London and Dubai.

“Abbey House operate in a very interesting and future-oriented market of works of art, priced at PLN 300 million nowadays. The company’s visionary approach towards the promotion of art and investments in art, combined with my experience may turn the presence of the Polish artists abroad into a lasting one”, Fibak explains how he came to the partnership decision.

The cooperation between the auction house and the collector will result, among others, in a network of galleries in Poland and soon also in other corners of the world.

“We are planning to open, together with our partners from abroad, 3 or 4 galleries by the end of 2012 – in London, Berlin, Dubai...”, reveals Jakub Kokoszka, the President of Abbey House.

This agreement will also be a trigger for Abbey House’s participation in auctions organised together with the most prestigious auction houses worldwide, such as Sotheby’s, Christie's, Phillip de Purry & Co. Thus, the company will get even closer to the world’s elite – also as regards the prices for the sold works.

“Connecting the experience of the Polish collector with our offer and distribution system will definitely allow for our quick development and participation in exhibitions in Tokyo, the USA, China or India. Exhibiting the works abroad involves the possibility to obtain prices that are several times higher than those in Poland”, underlines Paweł Makowski, Abbey House co-founder.

According to Abbey House representatives, the value of the painting depends both on the assessment of the critics and on appropriate contacts, as well as on the place of exhibition – hence the need for expansion abroad and reaching the so-called passion investors.

‘”The group of art experts in Poland is still relatively small. We are trying to educate the market, and we have a growing number of regular customers. However, there are many more people passionate about art with great knowledge about it – and therefore it is worth trying to catch their attention. Then the Polish artists and their works will be a true object of interest and esteem in the international market”, claims Paweł Makowski, a member of Abbey House supervisory board.