Presentation is Everything
Artists are great at completing their work of art. Many struggle with what to do so the piece shows best no matter the venue. I know in speaking to artists that there is the great debate about whether to frame or not, that's obviously a personal matter, but overwhelmingly, people like to frame their own work. If you can make it clear that the frame is either optional or can be changed out that's a plus. But that's not the end of things to consider.
When displaying your art you have to consider the surroundings. If you have small works of art it may look out of proportion in a large space. If you create very traditional types of art it may not get its full thrust in a contemporary setting. You need to consider the lighting, the placement of the pieces, even the flow of the body of work.
At a recent show at Space Gallery (www.spacegallery.org) I saw the work of Lela Shields. Her gouache, pen, ink and glitter on paper works are captivating (remember I like shiny things). The rough edges of the paper holding these larger pieces of work was very industrial. What I thought was brilliant on the part of the gallery was to paint a large band on the wall a deep charcoal or it may have been black (it was kind of bright that day).
The dark band of color allowed each piece of art to stand out. Had the wall been white the art would have been lost and all the magic would have been lost. The gallery director informed me that the decision to paint this dark band was based on the fact that Lela had a lot of very light color in her art, mainly from the large open spaces of the paper. It also allowed the images done with black ink to become dimensional.
If you're not up to the task of taking all aspects of presentation into account, hire someone. Ask your artist friends how you can best display your work. You don't have to paint a wall, you can buy a cheap fabric remnant and allow that to be the backdrop for the art. Remember it's all about context.
Love things that POP...
Greg Katz
Helping artist create successful and sustainable businesses
When displaying your art you have to consider the surroundings. If you have small works of art it may look out of proportion in a large space. If you create very traditional types of art it may not get its full thrust in a contemporary setting. You need to consider the lighting, the placement of the pieces, even the flow of the body of work.
At a recent show at Space Gallery (www.spacegallery.org) I saw the work of Lela Shields. Her gouache, pen, ink and glitter on paper works are captivating (remember I like shiny things). The rough edges of the paper holding these larger pieces of work was very industrial. What I thought was brilliant on the part of the gallery was to paint a large band on the wall a deep charcoal or it may have been black (it was kind of bright that day).
The dark band of color allowed each piece of art to stand out. Had the wall been white the art would have been lost and all the magic would have been lost. The gallery director informed me that the decision to paint this dark band was based on the fact that Lela had a lot of very light color in her art, mainly from the large open spaces of the paper. It also allowed the images done with black ink to become dimensional.
If you're not up to the task of taking all aspects of presentation into account, hire someone. Ask your artist friends how you can best display your work. You don't have to paint a wall, you can buy a cheap fabric remnant and allow that to be the backdrop for the art. Remember it's all about context.
Love things that POP...
Greg Katz
Helping artist create successful and sustainable businesses
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