Goldens (known as Golden Section until 2022, ) is a Ukrainian

auction house An auction house is a business establishment that facilitates the buying and selling of assets, such as works of art and collectibles. Overview The auction house is the physical facility where the objects are catalogued, displayed, and presented ...

. It was founded in November 19, 2004. It holds auctions, solo and group

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is occasionally true, it is stated to be a "permanen ...

s, and participates in charity projects. Main areas of expertise: classical painting of the 19th–20th centuries,

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

(

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

, nonconformist art,

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * Buenos Aires Underground, a rapid transit system * London Underground, a rapid transit system * ...

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

. In addition, it deals with sculpture in the round,

garden sculpture A garden sculpture is a three-dimensional work of art that is displayed outdoors, typically in a garden or park setting. They can be made from various materials, and can vary from classical figures to contemporary abstract designs. The predomin ...

graphic arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,art prints,

fine-art photography Fine-art photography is photography created in line with the vision of the photographer as artist, using photography as a medium for creative expression. The goal of fine-art photography is to express an idea, a message, or an emotion. This stand ...

object design Object Design, Incorporated (often called ODI) was a software company founded by Daniel Weinreb in 1988 which developed and commercialized an object database called ObjectStore. Object Design was founded by several former Symbolics employees, i ...

. It was the first Ukrainian company to contemporary art, hold design and photography auctions. According to ', in 2019, there were 2 auction houses (Goldens and Dukat) in the country that worked on a regular basis, while more than 10 others could not withstand the competition and closed down. Goldens (called Golden Section at that time) became the main auction house in the Ukrainian art market, taking a leading position.

History

Events

In March 2005 the company held the first auction of Ukrainian art of the 1930s–80s. It defined the art market segment for the next 4 years. The first Ukrainian contemporary art auction was held in 2009. In addition to paintings,

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific art, site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior intervent ...

, environmental art,

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. V ...

street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant gr ...

and

digital art Digital art, or the digital arts, is artistic work that uses Digital electronics, digital technology as part of the creative or presentational process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960 ...

lots were exhibited for the first time in the country's history. In 2009–2010, due to active efforts of the auction house, contemporary art has got on domestic collectors' preference list. The company has gained the status of a major player in the contemporary art market segment. The first object design auction in Ukraine was held in 2010. It comprised environmental and installation art, as well as authorial conceptual furniture,

light fixture A light fixture (US English), light fitting (UK English), or luminaire is an electrical lighting device containing one or more light sources, such as lamps, and all the accessory components required for its operation to provide illumination to ...

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

s, and

glass art Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including gl ...

. "Classic. Contemporary. Design" auction (2012) was announced the biggest and the most diverse in Ukraine's history. It offered three big blocks of top lots: classical art of the 19th–20th centuries, contemporary art and collectible object design. Despite the ongoing

war in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

, "Post war & contemporary art" auction (2014) attracted new collectors. It was the first auction in the Ukrainian art market since the beginning of the war. In 2017 the auction house opened its own gallery space. It holds regular solo and group exhibitions (8–10 projects per year) by famous Ukrainian and international artists. "Editions", the first Ukrainian auction of limited edition art prints took place on January 31, 2017; its format was carried on in the subsequent years. "Editions" presented the world's famous artists:

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (; ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern art, modern style characterized by a surre ...

, Oleksandra Ekster,

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the h ...

Giovanni Battista Piranesi Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric " ...

Marcantonio Raimondi Marcantonio Raimondi, often called simply Marcantonio ( – ), was an Italian engraver, known for being the first important printmaker whose body of work consists largely of prints copying paintings. He is therefore a key figure in the rise of ...

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker, who was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced ...

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

Katsushika Hokusai , known mononymously as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. His woodblock print series '' Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'' includes the iconic print ''The Great Wave off Kanagawa''. Ho ...

. During Covid lockdown restrictions in 2020, Goldens did not stop working and held

online auction An online auction (also electronic auction, e-auction, virtual auction, or eAuction) is an auction held over the internet and accessed by internet connected devices. Similar to in-person auctions, online auctions come in a variety of types, with ...

s. The new bidding channel attracted young collectors to the market. Over the next few years, all final bidding will be held online. In February 2022 the auction house went through

rebranding Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...

and changed its previous name Golden Section to Goldens. During

Russia's invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, on April 19, 2022, in partnership with Koller Auktionen (

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

), the charity event "Have a heart" was held to raise funds for Ukrainian artists who have been in a difficult situation since the beginning of the war. A large charity auction "Art can help" was held to support the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

Auctioned artwork

Among the famous artists whose works are regularly included in auction and exhibition collections are the classics of Ukrainian painting of the 1880s–1910s: Ivan Trush, Mykola Murashko, Serhii Svitoslavskyi,

Mykola Burachek Mykola Burachek or Buraček () (March 16, 1871 in Letychiv, Podillia Guberniya (now Khmelnytskyi Oblast) – August 12, 1942, in Kharkiv), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian Impressionism, Impressionist Painting, painter and pedagogue. Biography Bura ...

Serhii Vasylkivsky Serhii Ivanovych Vasylkivsky (, ; ; October 19, 1854 — October 7, 1917) was one of the most prolific Ukrainian artists of the pre-revolutionary period and an expert on Ukrainian ornamentation and folk art. Biography Vasylkivsky grew up in ...

Oleksa Novakivskyi Oleksa Kharlampiyovych Novakivskyi (Ukrainian: Оле́кса Харла́мпійович Новакі́вський; 14 March 1872, Obodivka, Trostianets Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast — 29 August 1935, Lviv) whose last name is also written as Nov ...

; the avant-garde of the 1900s–1920s:

Vasyl Yermylov Vasyl Dmytrovych Yermylov (, 1894–1968) was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian Painting, painter, avant-garde artist and designer.'Єрмилов', «''Словник Художників України''» ("Dictionary of Ukrainian Artists"), Голов ...

, Maksymilian Voloshyn; the emigration of the 20th century: , Davyd Burliuk, Oleksa Hryshchenko, Sonia Levytska, Petro Nilus; the 1930s–80s: Mykola Hlushchenko, ,

Tetiana Yablonska Tetiana Nylivna Yablonska (; ; 24 February 191717 June 2005) was a Soviet Ukrainian artist. Biography Yablonska was born in Smolensk. Since 1935 she studied at the Kyiv State Institute of Art under the modernist Ukrainian painter Fedir Kr ...

, , Adalbert Erdeli, Fedir Zakharov, Fedir Manailo, Viktor Zaretsky, Alla Horska,

Anatoly Zverev Anatoly (Anatoli) Timofeevich Zverev (November 3, 1931 – December 9, 1986) was a Russian artist, a member of the non-conformist movement and a founder of Russian Expressionism in the 1960s. He spent all of his life in Moscow. He did not have ...

Mihail Chemiakin Mihail Mikhailovich Chemiakin or Shemyakin (; born 4 May 1943) is a Russian-American painter, stage designer, sculptor and publisher, and a controversial representative of the nonconformist art tradition of St. Petersburg. Early life Chemia ...

, Valentyn Khrushch, Mariia Prymachenko; 1990s–2020s: Ivan Marchuk, Oleksandr Hnylytskyi, Arsen Savadov, Oleksandr Roitburd, Pavlo Kerestei, Vasyl Riabchenko, Oleh Tistol,

Ihor Podolchak Ihor Podolchak (, ; born April 9, 1962) is a Ukrainian filmmaker and visual artist. He is a co-founder of the creative association Masoch Fund, and a participant in the Ukrainian New Wave. Ihor Podolchak was named as one of the 10 most promine ...

, Oleksandr Zhyvotkov, Mykhailo Deiak, Vlada Ralko, Illia Chychkan, Viktor Sydorenko, and Matvii Vaisberg. The most expensive works sold at the auction are "Sinister sea" by Mykola Hlushchenko (US$165,000; 2008), "Garden of temptation" ($120,000; 2022), "Golden night" ($96,800; 2021) and "Boats overgrown with flowers" ($56,000; 2020) by Ivan Marchuk, "Black swan" by Leonid Kozlov ($101,800; 2021), "Chrysanthemums" by Serhii Shyshko ($61,600; 2006), "August" by Viktor Zaretsky ($55,000; 2011), as well a "Lviv. Rynok square" by Yosyp Bokshai ($44,000; 2006), "Ulysses" by Oleksandr Hnylytskyi ($44,000; 2011). Selling an artwork at Goldens serves as a significant impetus for raising price quotations of the artwork. For example, "Kavkaz No. 32" by Oleh Tistol, sold at Kyiv-based Goldens auction (Golden Section at that time) for $5,500 2012, went under the hammer for £15,000 ($23,500) at London

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

auction in November 2014. Of the named works, the first two were included in the ranking "Six most expensive paintings by Ukrainian artists" (2022), compiled by the ' scientific historical research project. "Sinister sea" by Mykola Hlushchenko was ranked 3rd, and "Garden of temptation" by Ivan Marchuk was ranked 5th. The business magazine ' has made its own ranking "Five most expensive Ukrainian artworks" (2022), which includes "Sinister sea", which invariably occupies the 3rd position, and "Garden of temptation" was pushed out of the 5th position by the most expensive Ukrainian photograph. The auction "Avant-garde" (2010) presented a painting by

, which is considered one of the world's first works of

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

Departments

* Classic Art (since 2005) * Contemporary Art (since 2009) * Editions (since 2017) * Design (since 2010)

Process

The auction house Goldens provides a wide range of services including private sales; collections compilation; art-banking (investment portfolio); interior design, cooperation with designers, and selection of gifts. The collection can be viewed at the pre-auction show, in the printed catalog or on the company's official website. Online, real time bidding has been available since 2010. The GS-Art Store has been working online since 2023.

Art exhibition

46 exhibition projects have been held since 2005. Significant events include two large-scale icon expositions (2009, 2014), retrospective exhibitions by the artists Yakiv Basov (2006), Mykola Hlushchenko (2012), and Viktor Zaretsky (2012, 2017). The exhibition of graphics by Zaretskyi (2012; 388 works) has been the artist's largest solo exhibition. A special project, "Ukrainian underground" (2017), presented works by Ukrainian artists of the

Sixtiers The Sixtiers (, ; "people of the 60s") were а new generation of young intellectuals who reawakened literature and a sense of Ukrainian nationalism within the Soviet intelligentsia. The Sixtiers entered the cultural and political life in Ukraine d ...

. Another important exhibition, "The art of emigrant artists of the 20th century" (2019), presented 31 works from collections from Ukraine, France, Germany,

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and United States. At the exhibition by the Spanish

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

"Les songes drolatiques de Pantagruel", the visitors were offered a complete set of the artist's

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

from the series of 1973, under the same name: 25 lithographs hand-signed and numbered by the artist. Before framing, the lithographs had been stored in a special folder made in the form of a medieval book, which was also presented at the exhibition. 34 of the 46 exhibition projects received printed catalogs and albums.

Publishing activities

85 editions (50 auction catalogs, 34 albums and exhibition catalogs, and 1 digest) have been published since 2005. A catalog of icons of the 17th – early 20th centuries (2009) and "The catalog of the exhibition of M. Hlushchenko's graphic (1930s–1970s)" (2012) was published under the auspices of the . We should also mention the album "Purity of soul" (2014, icons of the 16th–20th century). Other important catalogs are "Ukrainian underground" (2017), "Ukrainian classical art of the 20th century" (2018), "The art of emigrant artists of the 20th century" (2019), and "Heartbeats" (2022). Other published editions an album of graphics and a catalog of paintings by Viktor Zaretski (2012, 2017), and a catalog of the series of

's lithographs "Les songes drolatiques de Pantagruel" (2020). The information digest of the auction house was published in 2012. The editor-in-chief is Mykhailo Vasylenko, among the authors are ,

Volodymyr Petrashyk Volodymyr Petrashyk (; born 25 July 1985) is a Ukrainian art historian, art critic, participant in the Russo-Ukrainian War. In 2008, he became a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine. From 2012, he has been a candidate of art histor ...

, and Olha Balashova. Full-color glossy edition. Language: Russian, edition of 5000 copies.
Digest : [information digest of the Golden Section auction house]
'. 2012. No. 1. 132 p.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Goldens auction house Ukrainian auction houses Companies based in Kyiv Ukrainian companies established in 2004