Gallerist Q&A - Marina Schiptjenko

How did your experience working at other galleries shape the ethos at Andréhn-Schiptjenko? Were there certain ideas you adopted or railed against?

My first working experience in the art world was in the late 1980’s as an assistant at a traditional gallery called Konstruktiv Tendens. During that period I learnt a lot about art handling and logistics, but when Ciléne and I started Andréhn-Schiptjenko in 1991 we brought with us other experiences too. Ciléne had for example worked with PR and information on an international level and I had been a part of the music scene since my teenage years. I like to think that all these different backgrounds added a certain energy to our gallery already from the start.

Our ambition was to not only be a part of the Swedish art scene but also the international. We railed against a lot in those early years.

Your background as a musician (and also a movie star!) is written about lots online. Do you think it is easier for gallerists to be multi-hyphenates today or is there a pressure to “stick to one thing”?

It’s definitely easier today. People in general are doing more stuff parallel and it’s much more accepted than it was before.

Of course that’s something that I am happy for because I believe in the energy created when different areas meet.

It seems that there was a generational shift occurring in the 1990s when Andréhn-Schiptjenko first started. Do you see the same thing happening today? Do you think new galleries have a different understanding of what it means to be a gallerist in 2024?

There's definitely been a generational shift but opposed to how it was when we started, there are much more intergenerational collaborations.

Even if I see some changes in how the young galleries work with representation, they are mainly working traditionally.

What was the first work you sold to an institution? Did you find that institutions were supportive of the gallery’s programme from the beginning?

Hmm, I wish I could recall the first time but after all, over 30 years have passed since we started the gallery. What I do remember though, as an example, is that we sold Xavier Veilhan’s complete Le Studio installation (which we exhibited in 1993) 14 years after it was first exhibited to an important foundation. What you learn from that is that it is important to be consistent and stick to your guns.

In the early years it was difficult to get interest from the institutions as a young gallery, but museums collected differently back then as far as I remember. It was more reared towards very established artists rather than young artists.

Do you feel collecting culture has changed since the 90s? What is the difference between a collector and a buyer in your mind?

To answer very briefly: the collector of today is not necessarily interested in being a part of the infrastructure or to see their role as an important part of the art scene as opposed to earlier. But one has to remember that the scene was so much smaller before.

Do you collect anything yourself, perhaps outside of the artists that the gallery represents?

I mainly collect gallery artists but I do have a faiblesse for prints by Hans Bellmer…

Sustainability continues to be an important topic in the art world – has the gallery implemented new strategies in recent years to become more sustainable?

The main thing is that we try to travel less and choose train before plane.

It seems like Andréhn-Schiptjenko is engaging with local collectors in Stockholm and Paris on a deep level, as well as participating in important international fairs. Do you see priorities shifting when it comes to balancing between nurturing local and global interest?

No, not really. You have to nurture both, especially if you are based in a small country such as Sweden or Denmark. This is not based on financial reasons only as there is so much to gain from having far-reaching networks both on an international and a local level. In order to develop, it is just as important to have a thorough knowledge of your local scene as it is to have a keen and active eye on everything that is happening outside it. In this business one is never fully learned.