Buying Art 2.0: Johanna Penz talks about the "Art of buying Art"
In interviews one can read that you are driven by the desire for change - a big one is currently on the cards. What can you tell us about the newly founded platform and the team behind it?
My art fair “ART” has always been characterized by permanent change, supported by simultaneous consistency in orientation. For some time now, I have had the vision of establishing an adequate online platform for the presentation and sale of contemporary art, as a permanent batch program, so to speak. Due to the virus-induced situation since spring this project has taken on very special relevance.
You are known beyond the industry as the founder and organizer of the physical fairs “ART Innsbruck” and “ART Salzburg Contemporary”. Will you be able to outdo them with the new concept?
The opposite will be the case. I see “GALARTERY.shop” as a logical and contemporary addition to my “ART” trade fairs, which are both hip and up-to-date based on the flow of our time. The perfect combination of an “old and new economy”!
Art in digital space is not an easy topic - how do you manage to transport this magical effect, that works of art often have in nature, online?
This is where the topic of “storytelling” comes into play, both through the artists as protagonists and through the description of the works including their philosophy. I see “GALAR- TERY.shop” as a total work of art. It will radiate my intention and love for art and will make this enthusiasm resound in the hearts of users and art lovers.
You also talk about the fact that art can and should be presented in a sexy way. What can one imagine by this?
Admittedly a somewhat unusual predicate in dealing with art. In recent years, an abstract image of art has emerged in the official art discussion. In my experience, however, people secretly long for joy, a positive impetus, release from everyday life through mysticism and the beauty of art. You will find these heart’s desires perfectly fulfilled at the “ART” fairs and on “GALARTERY.shop” - as a powerful expression of lived emotions.
You start with around 100 artists - that is, to say the least, very ambitious.
I was able to see with pride and pleasure that, after a mailing, our closest circle had received an immense number of applications from both renowned and up-and-coming talents. Our committee selected the first 100 artists in a stringent and at the same time very empathetic selection process.
What criteria do you use to select the assortment? On which genres and categories do you focus?
The program covers all areas of fine arts, from painting, original graphics, and drawing to objects and sculptures. In other words, these are top-class, authentic works of art - directly from our artists. They are ordered online and delivered to your home.
The wide range of prices is striking - works of art from 350 euros to 80,000 euros are offered ... Is this intended to attract both expert collectors and beginners?
Art “for beginners and collectors” has become a familiar word. It is the founding concept of “ART INNS- BRUCK”, which has proven itself over 25 years. Art newcomers become confirmed lovers and collectors through low entry thresholds. Experienced connoisseurs per se bring their professional approach with them. The price should never be the decisive argument for art – as with sophisticated fashion!
Would you like the art market, in general, to become a little more accessible than it is right now?
That is the crux of the matter. Prospective collectors or enthusiasts are more likely to find themselves in the anonymity and neutral atmosphere of a fair or online platform than in visiting an actual gallery. You have to open up the market to reach all art lovers - including prospective ones - at their own level. Art is for people to enrich this world, to make it more beautiful, more conscious, more pleasant, more individual, more conscious, more radiant, more fairy-tale.
Photos: Thomas Welti (“Werk Nr. 4”), Johanna Penz/Die Fotografen, Fabio Giocondo (“Natura morta con testa dell’artista”), Lena Krashevka (“Isolation #2”), Thomas Blas (“berghausen graßnitzberg / 600”)
