2025-04-03
Magdalena Abakanowicz's sculptural installation was auctioned for more than PLN 8 million. In this way, Magdalena Abakanowicz's work has surpassed the 2018 record holder-Wojciech Fangor and his series of five paintings-with its value
Art auctions on the Polish market are becoming increasingly popular and have a stronger position. Their quantity and revenues are constantly increasing. The constant emergence of new annual record holders in this branch of alternative investment is proof of this. The record holder of the year 2019 was Magdalena Abakanowicz and her installation of twenty bronze sculptures titled 'Caminando', which reached PLN 8,024,000. In this way, the work of Magdalena Abakanowicz broke through the record holder of 2018 - Wojciech Fangor and his series of five paintings, which the anonymous buyer purchased for PLN 7 million and PLN 11,000. Well, Polish art auctions are undoubtedly excellent.
Magdalena Abakanowicz made a set of sculptures at the turn of 1998 and 1999. The headless figures were made in the Bologna foundry, from where they later found their way to the Basel Art Fair, and then to the Marlborough Gallery in New York, where they were purchased by the famous actor Robin Williams and his wife Marsh, who had previously heard about Abakanowicz's work. From the marriage estate, the installation went to the hands of a private collector who exhibited sculptures at the Warsaw art auction.
The author of "Caminando" was born in 1930. In her youth, treadmills were closer to her than art auctions. As an athlete, she competed in relay and distance races. In 1954, she graduated from the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. Fabric plays the most important role in her work. It is from her name that the term "abakans", a type of artistic fabric that is a monumental spatial composition similar to sculpture. In the later stages of her work, the artist experimented with other materials, e.g. ropes, metal, wood, etc. Her world career began with a gold medal, which she received at one of the most important artistic events in the Brazil-Biannale in São Paulo in 1965. A few words about the artist's work you can hear in this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0uwu6hqK8k.