Over a five-year period, BI Auction has introduced to the GT readership some 35 Georgian Artists in our joint ‘Meet the Artists’ interviews.
To celebrate BI Auction’s 5th anniversary, a special auction event was held. Organized at the Sevsamora Marani Wine Museum in Saguramo, it presented 50 paintings from 31 artists, of which 13 were young artists who had participated in the BI Auction Competition ‘for Young Artists.’
Almost all the young artists’ paintings were sold, and, in total, 60% of artworks have already reached their new homes.
Established in 2016, BI Auction aims to promote Georgian art and artists and enlarge the market. In its five years, BI Auction ‘for ART’ organized 10 Auctions and presented more than 550 paintings from 140 Georgian artists. In every auction, the collection is selected from among thousands of paintings created by both well-known legendary artists of Georgia and from promising young artists.
BI Auction co-founder Bengü Akçardak Küçük noted that the hardest thing was not being able to unite due to the pandemic.
“We miss being together, we miss that live auction excitement. But still we feel the honor of celebrating our 5th year with our 10th auction,” she said.
“Our journey to ‘add value to art and life’ began with our first auction five years ago. As the first art auction company to be established in Georgia, we have kept our vision of breaking new ground and contributing to the rise of interest in and value of Georgian art and artists.
“After five years, I can say that, yes, we did our best for art and artists, for art enthusiasts and for all dynamics of the art market. I am thankful first to my partner, then to our families, and of course to all our highly esteemed clients and all artists we worked with.
“Five years ago, it was a good initiative to start, but now we feel not only strong but also more responsible towards all dynamics of the art market, to create a qualitative connection between past, present and future through art.”
“Five years is more than enough to realize how appropriate our decision was in starting this business,” said co-founder Ika Bokuchava. “The establishment of the culture of classic auction of artists in Georgia was timely and really necessary.
“After years of experience, BI auction has already taken its place on the local market and gathered a strong audience of Georgian and foreign collectors.
“We are especially proud of the works we have collected from Georgian classical art, and of what we presented to the audience during these years,” she noted. “I’m extremely excited by the fact that BI Auction plays an important role in representing the paintings of many contemporary as well as young artists, in so doing, assisting them to increase their popularity and achievements.”
By Team GT
