Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 6:00AM Making Happy Walls: Part 3 (20x200, ArtWeLove, ArtNet, Art Hound & the VIP Art Fair)
Where to find affordable, accessible art for any wall of your home
“Looking for the snapping turtle | 08.27.10” by Stefan Hengst. courtesy of the artist & ArtWeLove.com
Last week we looked at Etsy, Art.com and Children’s Art as sources for something special on a smaller budget. We also featured some great choices for decorating Children’s Walls in our Etsy picks for the week. This week we’re looking at online sources for real Art. Yes, real Art, with that capital A. When you’re ready to start adding something a bit more to your collection, but still aren’t quite ready to head out to a Gallery or to deal with an Art Dealer, we have a few options to get you going from the comfort of your very own home. You will have access to great artists and you can still spend a bundle if you really want to, but here are 3 great sites to give you that big gallery product without the big gallery price tag.
Add Art and your room looks pulled together in a way that nothing else really can accomplish. I always think a painting or a really gorgeous, framed print can make a room. I adore photographs and would cover my walls in them happily. If you’re lucky enough to be or live with a painter, canvases are plentiful and you’ve got a head start. We’ve got stacks of paintings here, waiting to be rehung along side those of my children, thanks to my former pre-mommy life, but if you’re not as well supplied, there are many places to get a foot in the door. Buying a painting in a gallery can be overwhelming for many. Just going into a gallery can be a bit intimidating at times. If you do feel like getting out and visiting your new artworks in person or need to get a better feel for what you want before making a purchase, try checking out Art Fairs or smaller local galleries, especially co-operative galleries or group shows. These offer access to a wider variety of artists, often at great market-entry prices. Not sure what you like, look at art books, online sites like the jealous curator or Artnet.com (see more below)and art magazines or do some gallery visits to see what appeals to you and, more importantly, what really just doesn’t. Most importantly, buy what you love, not what someone tells you to like. You have to live with what hangs on your walls, not the pushy assistant at the gallery, so go with your instincts and your heart. Living with something you don’t love will wear on you, especially if you’ve made a big purchase. Art that you love really, no matter where it comes from, will make you and your walls much happier.
If you’re not quite ready to make the gallery visit or feel more comfortable sticking to your budget without someone else helping you make a decision, online art shopping is a great option. You can look through your choices, narrow it down and really think about what you want on your own schedule. You can also sign up for newsletters or twitter feeds to keep abreast of new additions to collections and buy when you’re ready or when something new and appealing pops up. Prices really do start very low, so anyone can find an entry point into collecting. These site are perfect places to start. You’ll find exceptional Art, helpful information and great tips.
Art Hound
image from Art Hound: Art @ Home (Melanie Acevedo via automatism)I’m starting with Art Hound because it is a great place to get a quick education on collecting and is a great place to look when you’re not sure where to start or what to buy. The site belongs to Kate Singleton who in addition to presenting this terrific blog, is an actual art consultant. The site is packed full of information and beautiful images to help you sort out where your Art happiness lies. Her “Art Crushes” and “Living with Art” posts will give you great ideas. Her Art Matching Service allows you to get a bit of help to find a few special pieces that suit you for a relatively small fee. There’s even a sidebar For Sale by Artist section if you want to buy something on the spot.
ArtWeLove
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“Times Square Pour” by Molly DilworthThis is an amazing site. Really gorgeous works of art starting at $15. What can you get in the $15- $50 range? Well, I have to say a whole lot of fabulous. When I first looked at this site, all I wanted to do was start snapping up oh so many things, even in the $15 range. I’m still trying to work it down to a reasonable number (now that I’ve secretly decided to divert lego & train funds into a special account…). I absolutely fell in love with the photos of Ambroise Tézenas, especially, Mumbai and the Molly Dilworths. An 8 x 10 “Times Square Pour” (shown at right) is just $25 or a set of 4 x 6’s from the Daily Practice series would be lovely at just $15 each. Prices go up into the thousands, but there’s such a wide range of styles and prices that there’s bound to be the perfect print or photo to kick off any collection. $2000 will give you a very lovely 40 x 32” Ordinary Lives, I Age 2 by Alison Weld, while a smaller version at 8 x 10” could be yours for just $25. All are accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a letter about the edition. There are also benefit editions, such as the SOS print by Mark Dion (shown below). 50 % of the proceeds for the sale of this print go to 350.org.
“SOS” by Mark Dion.The site introduces new exclusives each week of their very special limited editions and is full of helpful information, including a size chart to give you a reference point for sizes and framing hints. The Learn About Art & In Our Blog sections are also full of information to help you figure out what will make you happy. You can easily search by artist, collections, price to help you find what you love. Once you do, you can also visit the artist’s page and find more details including video studio visits, so you know who produced the beauty that you’ve fallen in love with. ArtWeLove has very nicely offered this link which will sign you up for their newsletter and give you $5 off of your first purchase.
watch more about ArtWeLove below:
ArtWeLove at Pulse Art Fair, New York, 2010 from ArtWeLove on Vimeo.
Blizzard by William Wegman, courtesy of the artist and 20x200.com20 x 200
This site tells you it offers “Art for Everyone” and it does. Real art, photos & prints, starting at prices as low as $20 and new art is introduced each week, one photo and one work on paper. The site’s signature edition is the $20, 8”x10” print, in an edition of 200 (hence the name), but you’ll also find more expensive levels- larger sizes in smaller runs. The prices do go up as far as $5000, but that will give you a very large print from a very small edition. For example, $2500 will bring home a 36” x 36” Mike & Doug Starn or $1000 will find you with a very nice 24” x 20” William Wegman (shown at left). The $20- $50 range really does offer some very nice options as well, so there is a great selection for every budget. I love Winter Flags (East Village, New York) by Youngna Park, Untitled (May the bridges I burn light the way.) by Mike Monteiro, Steps & Jump by Thomas Prior and Assignment by Clare Grill.
Jen Bekman started the site after running a gallery in New York for several years. Her idea was to make it easy for people to buy and live with art, real art. These are editions of the highest quality, presented with a numbered and artist-signed Certificate of Authenticity. It’s a great way for anybody, especially those who are a bit nervous about getting started, to make an entry into collecting and to feel safe in your purchase. The site is very easy to navigate and really does make it easy to sort through to find exactly what suits you. Searching by Artist, category, price range, even color make it quite simple to narrow your choices down to the perfect print or photo. There’s even a limited election of framed prints which are gorgeous and ready to hang. There’s a newsletter and a Blog to keep you up to date on what’s happening. There’s even a Gift Guide to help you choose for someone else (or perhaps to help what to choose for yourself) and a very handy video (which we’ve included below) to show you how to frame your lovely purchase.
20x200: How To Frame Your Art from 20x200 on Vimeo.
Online art sales and auctions are becoming more and more popular each year. Artnet.com, which offers a wealth of information on what’s happening in the art world on a daily basis, offers an online Art Auction where you can bid on works in a range of artists, media & price ranges. Currently on the auction site are works by Ed Ruscha, Robert Maplethorpe, Mr. Brainwash and Damien Hirst. Opeing bids are as low as $500 and rise all the way up into the hundreds of thousands. Coming up this weekend is the VIP Art Fair, a virtual Art Fair featuring an international roster of major galleries, including Gagosian, David Zwirner, Lehman Maupin, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, White Cube and James Cohan to name a few. Major works of art will be avaialble for viewing from the privacy and comfort of one’s own home with sales worked out through the home gallery.
VIP Art Fair Introduction with Interviews from VIP Art Fair on Vimeo.
Whether you’re ready to jump into the deep end or want to just take a few baby steps, online art shopping can give you a really easy way to move into adding real art to your collection. Personally, I often prefer my children’s pieces, but it’s always nice to mix it up a bit. There are so many ways to bring really beautiful art into your home, whether you start with your child’s tempra paintings or move on up to a work by a recognized artist. All you really need to know is where to look, what you love and to trust your heart to tell you what will make your walls, your home and your family happy. As long as each piece pleases you, it can work together. The first step, is to just step forward and find what you love, everything else will follow.
Reader Comments (1)
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