Wednesday, May 28, 2014

A novel way to wind up an art co-op collection


Over the past decade we've seen a growing interest in art co-ops in New Zealand - groups of art lovers forming collections purchased collectively and rotated around their homes. When the collections are wound up they generally go to an auction house to be sold into the secondary art market. However, this week the Auckland-based group Bijou took a novel approach to the dispersal of their collection. The works were appraised by an independent valuer giving an estimated value for the entire collection. The sum was divided by the number of members in the art co-op giving each member credit they could use to bid for works at a silent auction held at Starkwhite. Through a process of paper bids and rounds that allowed each member to get a work before moving to the next round, the entire collection was picked up by members who were all delighted to have works they couldn't bear to part with.