海角大神

The contemporary art space Raster Gallery in Warsaw used to be tucked away up three flights of stairs in an old apartment complex.

Such venues aren鈥檛 atypical for the contemporary art galleries of post-Communist Poland. Exhibitions have been hung in hotel rooms, fire stations, or anywhere, really, that gallery owners and artists could find space.

So when Raster moved recently to a ground-level storefront with clearly marked opening hours to invite in the public, to the co-owner, at least, it felt as much symbolic as a matter of logistics.聽鈥淲e should be visible, there is no reason contemporary art should not be visible,鈥� says Lukasz Gorczyca.

Apparently the outside world agrees. Polish art is the new buzz, with market research dedicating reports to its potential, new international exhibitions, and record sales of art pieces. It鈥檚 given rise to bold 鈥� if controversial 鈥� new experiments, and continues to grow with a middle-class collector base. While not altogether new, it鈥檚 left one thing clear.

鈥淧oland is in vogue,鈥� says Boguslaw Deptula, a leading art critic in Poland, who co-curated an exhibit called 鈥淧olish Art Now鈥� at London鈥檚 Saatchi Gallery in June. 鈥淔or many today, it鈥檚 鈥榝ancy鈥� to own a piece of [Polish] art.鈥�

An art haven amid communism

Earlier this year, Skate鈥檚 Art Market Research, a company based in New York, published a report on Poland titled 鈥淭he Rising Star of Central Europe,鈥� and concluded its market is 鈥渋nnovative and quickly growing."

Mr. Gorczyca of Raster says that Poland is the hub of Central Europe right now in part because of simple numbers: it鈥檚 much larger than its neighbors. But history has played an important role too.

While there was vast censorship during communism in Central and Eastern Europe throughout the 20th century, Poland was given a degree of cultural autonomy. That meant that compared to neighboring countries such as Hungary or what is now the Czech Republic, he says, art was allowed to flourish.

Mr. Deptula says that contemporary art in particular fared well during the Soviet era. 鈥淔or art, it wasn鈥檛 really a bad time,鈥� he says, in a Warsaw gallery where he works as a manager. 鈥淐ontemporary art was tolerated here. The Communist government preferred abstract art instead of realism,鈥� he says, because there was less of an overt 鈥減olitical context.鈥�

It鈥檚 been in the last decade that the genre has become more apparent, with a rise in contemporary gallery spaces and sales of contemporary art.

Gorczyca of Raster counts himself as a pioneer in the contemporary arts world in Warsaw. 鈥淲hen we started [the gallery], it was something that鈥檚 so simple, but the concept didn鈥檛 exist,鈥� he says in his office in a neighborhood that is now dotted with Mediterranean and other ethnic eateries, cafes, and bars. At the time in 2001 there were doubts they could pull it off. 鈥淎rtists said, 鈥楾here is no market, there is no middle class,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淏ut we survived,鈥� and he says their client base is growing.

That鈥檚 mostly among younger Poles drawn to newer art. Before 2000, it was the so-called 鈥渙ld masters鈥� that accounted for almost 90 percent of the Polish market in terms of number of auction lots, reports Skate鈥檚. In the first half of 2012, that share had dropped to 25 percent, while ultra-contemporary art, or art created by artists under 40 years old, increased its market share from 0.5 percent in 2005 to 43 percent in 2012, 鈥渕aking it the most dynamic segment of the Polish art market,鈥� Skate's concludes.

Julia Michalska, London-based editor at The Art Newspaper,聽says that new galleries that have popped up recently are catering to the country's substantial middle-class collector base. These are not hugely wealthy patrons, but a growing 鈥測uppie鈥� class of lawyers and bankers who started their careers after the fall of communism in the 1990s and have benefited from one of Europe's steadiest economies.

Abbey House

One group has sought to capitalize on this 鈥� and has since become the most controversial part of Warsaw鈥檚 art scene today. Abbey House was begun in 2010. Its home is not in a fire house or crumbling apartment complex, but in a slick, modern shopping mall where stores sell designer labels 鈥� as well as $50 bottles of olive oil.

Abbey House is both gallery and auction house, and works with about a dozen artists, mostly young, who are put on a monthly salary in exchange for about three works of art per month. Notably it also promotes art as an asset with an investment fund.

It鈥檚 based on the fact that people are getting rich in Poland, says Maciej Gajewski, an economist and art market expert at Abbey House. 鈥淧eople are starting to think about new needs and interests,鈥� he says. As new caf茅s and slow food movements pop up in Poland, so too are new tastes and motivations to spend money.

He acknowledges the criticism from galleries that say business and art shouldn鈥檛 mix. (Gorczyca doesn鈥檛 even count Abbey House as part of Poland鈥檚 contemporary art scene.) Local gallery owners also say the group is inflating the price of art and creating a bubble. One Abbey sale 鈥� a portrait by , in her 20s, of 鈥� went to a German buyer for more than $50,000.

Mr. Gajewski defends what Abbey House does. 鈥淧eople forget that artists need money,鈥� he says.

Their larger drive is to promote a burgeoning art market in Poland. 鈥淥ur idea is to give young people with their first money the opportunity to invest in art,鈥� he says.

Whether young people in droves ultimately want to support art remains an open question. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we have a big recognition of art in society,鈥� says Anda Rottenberg, at the caf茅 of the Center for Contemporary Arts in Warsaw, housed in the Ujazdowski Castle.

鈥淧eople can afford luxury cars but they don鈥檛 buy art. They don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 necessary.鈥�