Buying Art For Art’s Sake
You may not notice art on a wall but you will certainly notice an absence of it. It can effect the mood of a room, making it brighter, more positive, warmer – reflecting the occupants personality. Buying contemporary and original art can brighten up your home and can be an expression of who you are but it is a very personal experience. While art can also be an excellent investment, it is always best to remember the adage of buy what you like and if it becomes more valuable that is great – but if it doesn’t you still have a piece on your wall that you love.
When choosing a piece of art the main things you should consider are:
- What style of art you like. Narrowing down a style such as abstract, pop art, conceptual or sculpture will help you to narrow in on what you are looking for
- How it makes you feel. there are some pieces of art that you may absolutely love but they may make you feel sad so may not be ideal for you home. Art for the home, regardless of style should be uplifting
- Where you want to put it. If you have a certain part of the house you are buying for think about the colours used in that room and the purpose in the room and when buying the art think about whether it compliments that.
- Buy originals not prints if you can – obviously if you are interested in photography it is going to have to be a print but then make sure it is a limited edition run.
- And most importantly buy what you like – as we said earlier art is very personal and the best person to impress with it is you.
A great place to discover various types of art from a number of galleries around the country is an art fair. There you can learn more about and purchase art in a relaxed, enjoyable environment. Here is a run down of some of the art fairs coming up.
20/21 BRITISH ART FAIR
15 to 19 September 2010, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London. Tickets £9.
Starting today, this fair specialises in modern and contemporary British art. Now in its 23rd year, it offers an enormous variety of art under one roof from Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, to Banksy and Graham Sutherland. Past fairs have features the works of Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry alongside greats from the 20th century such as Bacon, Freud, Lowry and Moore. Whether your taste is for the earlier work, pop art or the contemporary, the breadth and depth of over a hundred years of British art may well surprise. This is one of the more expensive fairs but you can still find a hidden treasure for under £1,000 with prices going up to hundreds of thousands.
Celebrity visitors include new anchor Jon Snow, chat show host Michael Parkinson and author Jilly Cooper.
PALACE ART FAIR
7 – 10 October, Fulham Palace, London. Tickets from £5
This is the new boy on the block so to speak being held at Fulham Palace in South West London.
It is from the people behind the Brighton Art Fair and aims to deliver the same quality, size and friendliness but in a beautiful new London location.
“We believe that there is a need for a high quality art event in London which provides a smaller scale more intimate show in contrast to some of London’s vast art events,” they say on their website. Like Brighton, The Palace Art Fair will showcase just over 100 contemporary artists across all media who will exhibit and sell their work direct to the public. The atmosphere is kept informal and intimate providing a wonderful environment for first time art buyers or for collectors to seek out up-and-coming artists.
A beautiful cafe in the Georgian wing of the palace with outside terrace overlooking the walled gardens provides an area to relax and contemplate potential purchases whilst enjoying a bite to eat and a refreshing cup of tea.
FRIEZE ART FAIR
14 – 17 October, Regents Park, London. Tickets from £15.
The Frieze Art Fair features over 150 of the most exciting contemporary art galleries in the world and has become as much of an cultural event as a place to buy art. The fair includes specially commissioned artists’ projects, a prestigious talks programme and an artist-led education schedule.
Frieze Art Fair is one of the world’s most influential contemporary art fairs and every year brings an international focus to the dynamic contemporary art scene in London. This year, the forward-thinking galleries from around the globe will present outstanding work by over 1,000 of the world’s most innovative artists. Notable presentations this year include: the first European showing of Brazilian sculptor Carlos Bevilacqua at Simon Preston Gallery, New York; artist duo Daniel Keller and Nik Kosmas (Aids-3d) at Gentili Apri, Berlin and Naeem Mohaiemen at Experimenter, Kolkata.
Frieze has seen A-list celebrities such as Claudia Schiffer, David Bowie and Gwyneth Paltrow attend the opening in the past!
AFFORDABLE ART FAIR
21 – 24 October, Battersea Park, London. Tickets from £12
Whether you are looking for the perfect painting to go over the mantelpiece or the next Murakami, amongst the 120 galleries at displaying at Battersea Park you are sure to find artwork to suit your taste and pocket. Alongside established names such as Norman Ackroyd, Howard Hodgkin and Bridget Riley, there are pieces by the stars of tomorrow, recently graduated from the likes of the Slade, RCA and Central St Martins.
The price ceiling of £3,000 and the clear labelling of all artwork ensures you know what you can and can’t afford. And with such a diverse range of paintings, sculpture, prints and photography, you will easily find a piece to love. There is also the opportunity to hear leading experts from Contemporary Art Society discuss the pleasures of collecting art or join in one of our free ‘Food, Glorious Food’ themed activities.
Ant and Dec, Ricky Gervais and interiors queen Kelly Hoppen have all been spotted trying to pick up a bargain here.
