Art storage (in Czech depozitář) is a place where artworks are kept away from exhibition spaces, in a controlled climate and under lock and key. Museums often hold most of their collection there: Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum says that around 95 per cent of its collection is in its storage building. But galleries and private collectors use storage too. In Art Part Club’s Edutéka we advise, with a smile, buying what you truly like, because you will live with it. Unless, that is, you mean to put the work under the bed or into storage.
Good storage keeps temperature and humidity constant, because what harms works most is fluctuation. The Stedelijk, for example, keeps works on paper at 18 to 20 °C and a relative humidity of around 50 per cent, stores metals in a drier zone and guards against pests as well. A special category is the freeport, a bonded warehouse where customs duties and taxes are deferred for as long as the goods stay inside. The best known is in Geneva, whose origins go back to 1888. In 2013 it was estimated to hold around 1.2 million artworks.
The advantage of art storage is professional care that an ordinary flat cannot provide: no radiator, damp cellar or direct sunlight, all of which we warn against in Edutéka. On the other side is the rent you pay even though no one sees the work. And art that just sits in a crate brings you no joy. Freeports also have a reputation for opacity, which is why since 2009 the Swiss authorities have required inventories that include owners’ names. How many works there, one wonders, are simply waiting for their next sale?
Art storage suits collectors who are running out of walls, it helps during a move or renovation, and it makes sense for works whose value exceeds what home security can guard. When choosing, ask about climate, security, insurance and specialist transport. In an Art Part Club co-purchase this is not your worry: the club places the work in storage and arranges insurance, documentation and loans to exhibitions. And if you wish, you can borrow the work for your home and live with it.
— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club
Related terms: Art insurance · Fractional ownership · Lending a work to an exhibition · Institutional collections · Collection custodian
