Alexey Ananiev: Investing in art would benefit only the financiers

[Dogel]

One of the owners of "PSB" Alexey Ananiev is known not only as a businessman but also as a great philanthropist. A year ago, he founded the Institute of Russian realist art dealing with the research and a description of this trend in painting. And they assembled a collection consists of about 5,000 jobs. On why the Russian realistic art almost not found in museums, as well as the fact that investment in the arts in general would benefit only the financiers, and collect with the hope of further profit should carefully Ananias told the RIA Novosti Maria Ganiyants.

- Recently, banks and other financial institutions offer a variety of investment programs related to the arts. How profitable to invest in art?

- Complicated question. The art market is very different from the stock market. Practically impossible to analyze the dynamics of sales. It's still not buying the "blue chips". Works of art in this sense - the goods illiquid.

There is one caveat - when they begin to deal with the idea of ​​gathering further profitable sales, the majority of the collection does not have a face. And it is a huge disadvantage. In this sense, much more valuable when the person in the congregation felt the collector when it is clear that it invested not only money but also time and effort, and taste, and knowledge.

If we evaluate the market Russian realist art, which I more or less know that even economic crises do not really affect the pricing. During the crisis, the market appears more worthy works, but at this price still will not fall.

- And other tools, such as art mutual funds, which began to appear in our country, as far as can be profitable investor or shareholder?

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- I can not carry themselves as supporters of this type of investment. As a rule, these stories earns only operator who receives fee income and does not take any risks.

There are other business structures related to art. For example, a collector is interested in acquiring some things, but can not afford at the moment. The bank may bail picture to give credit or take a piece of art on bail. But this kind of banking - non-mass product, and develop it as a separate great direction makes no sense.

- What do you think about banking art collection?

- Collection at the bank - it's not bad. However, many of the banks from 2007, after the crisis began to part with their collections, and often with a large profit. A couple of years ago, "Commerzbank" sold sculpture "Walking Man" by Alberto Giacometti for about $ 60 million. Do not always know where to go artwork from the banks. For example, it is very interesting that happened with a wonderful collection of "Inkom".

- On what basis you are building your collection? How it works and what it is measured?

- Now in the collection of slightly more than 5,000 works of Russian realists of the late XIX - early twenty-first centuries, and in the permanent exhibition of the Institute of around 450 jobs. The cost of the meeting, I do not open, the more selling while it is not going to fund and create art too.

I'm primarily guided by personal taste. I try to get direct access to the artists or to the heirs. I am the most significant works of an author. For example, I have one of the most representative collections of Helium Mikhailovich Korzheva. There are high-quality works of Vladimir Stozharova, Alexei Grits, George and Michael Kugach, a good selection of works by Dmitry Zhilinskis, a series of works of the brothers Sergei and Alexei Tkachev and others. There are some works of the XIX century - paintings Klodta Nicholas, Nicholas Krymova, Igor Grabar, Peter Petrovicheva, Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky.

- You founded the Institute of Russian realist art, which, in fact, has become a place where your collection is exhibited. But the word "institution" means something more than just a show?

- Frankly, the long-term development strategy initially I did not have. First, just wanted to hang pictures on the walls, then the right to organize exhibitions, art history to conduct the work. Following the idea of ​​having art classes, lectures on realistic art, decided to publish quality books and catalogs. Today, we are trying to integrate into a cultural museum space: take part in the programs of the Department of Culture of Moscow, working with Russian museum, with the union of "Arena." In April, an art project run lunch, designed for "white-collar" from the nearby offices - free once a day at lunchtime lecture will take place on art, a kind of cultural injection.

Partly in the area of ​​promotion of realism in art direction as we take over the functions of the state. Recently, the Russian state-owned museums have stopped buying realist art, and it allowed me to create my collection. But as the museum stopped buying realists, then they have ceased to conduct a full-scale research and exhibit representatives of this trend. In the Tretyakov Gallery on the Crimean shaft you hardly meet artists of this trend, there are only four rooms that hang several pictures Stozharova, reservoir and Zhilinskis. This is not enough.

- And what is involved in the decline of interest in realism in our country?

- This is a pendulum effect. Temporary denial of realism in Russia was associated with a fracture of the socio-economic structure. All that was associated with the former regime, had to be torn away. This happened not only in art but also in literature and cinema. You had time to emotionally people could rest. Now just comes a time when interest in the Russian realism returned. Look posters of cultural events to see this, read what they write art criticism. Today we have an opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff separated from the present agitprop art.

And everywhere there is now a great interest in realism. Remember a couple of years ago, what a lovely exhibition of Socialist Realism were held in Rome and what they have had tremendous success. A solo exhibition of Alexander Deineki in the capital of Italy visited 800,000 people.

There is a good collection of Russian realists and abroad, the most famous - TMORA, Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis in the U.S., which has organized Ray Johnson. British auction houses are showing serious interest in a joint exhibition projects. The plans of the Institute - to promote Russian realist art in Europe and do joint projects with museums of France, Austria, Germany.

From what will happen directly at the Institute in the near future - the exhibition "Watercolors Alexei Shmarinov" which will open on April 4, the birthday of the artist, which is well-known in Russia and abroad. This exhibition will help us to introduce our audience to the graphics department. We have a pretty serious plans and the exhibition season 2013-2014, and we very soon they will voice.
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