rent? Art for Yes, it’s a thing
And the Bay Area has several options
“Being able to enjoy a piece of art without owning it or having to just see it at a museum — it’s a whole new way to experience art.”
Sometimes a piece of art speaks — nay, sings — to your soul, so you plunk down a month’s salary in a gallery and take it home and, well … that dramatic abstract with swaths of orange, red and pink totally hits a sour note with your chartreuse shag rug and sets your soul’s teeth on edge.
Now if you just could have borrowed it for a while instead. Kind of living together with it before you got hitched …
Well, you could have. Renting art has been a thing for many years, from museums like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and various galleries in the Bay Area, and we’ll get to a few of those options later.
But there’s also a brand-new idea on a more casual, streetwise, community level that fits right in with today’s shared economy: the Oakland Art Library.
It’s not related to an actual library system, but it’s a similar idea. You become a member for $20 a month, get a library card,
attend a monthly art show every third Thursday at the Trending Inn hotel in downtown Oakland, browse works from dozens of local artists and then “borrow” a painting for three months or more, with the option to give it back, trade it in or even buy it if you like, negotiating directly with the artist.
“Being able to enjoy a piece of art without owning it or having to just see it at a museum — it’s a whole new way to experience art,” says the library’s creator, Luke Fraser, a 35-year-old artist with a penchant for aloha shirts and backward baseball caps. He came up with the plan after finding it difficult to get his own designs in galleries and saw it as a way to help other artists get exposure. “We’re betting on, if a piece of art is actually on your wall, you’ll fall more deeply in love with it and want to buy it.”
The library just held its third event in June, drawing about 160 people — 13 of whom borrowed artworks and six who made on-the-spot purchases. And it’s definitely an event every time, with a DJ spinning tracks and a donation-only bar with local brews. The scene is literally underground, in the basement of the inn, where paintings are interspersed with thrift store table lamps and old doors — “so you can get a feel
— Luke Fraser, Oakland Art Library creator
for what these works would be like in your own living room,” says artist Mike Hampton, who is “kind of co-curating” the shows.
“This is amazing,” says Rafael Reynaga of San Leandro, who saw a TV news story on the art library earlier in the evening and “came running over,” he says. He pondered each work one by one. “The really cool thing — I’d had a similar idea for my own neighborhood, to take art to homes, let people see each other’s work and loan it out but get it back if you need to. So I’m super excited about this.”
The artwork represents all manner of styles and levels of expertise. There are abstracts, digital graphics, landscapes, portraits. Even works from death row prisoners at San Quentin, such as Daniel Landry’s vaguely human figure, almost mummy-like, titled “Spooky.”
Unlike an art broker, Fraser doesn’t take a cut of the sale. Artists get the full amount, negotiating directly with the patron. In fact, on the title card of each work is the artist’s Instagram handle so you can direct-message them. “It’s kind of farm-to-table for art,” Fraser says.
Frank Warner, a retired teacher from San Francisco, had three pieces in the June show, including a surprisingly colorful, happy-looking piece depicting Violetta’s death scene in the opera “La Traviata.” “I’m not a very good marketer, but I like to get some of my paintings seen,” Warner says. “So this is perfect for my needs.”
“Most artists create and create, they can’t help themselves. So they have works lying around in their studios,” Fraser says. “The more people we get involved, the better. It’s free for the artists. Great to meet patrons, meet other artists and be part of a community. I really want to create a culture here.”
Details: The Oakland Art Library has a show at 7 p.m. the third Thursday of each month at Trending Inn, 357 12th St., Oakland; make a reservation at www.oaklandartlibrary.com.
Here are other ways to get art in your home without a permanent commitment:
SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART >> The museum’s Artists Gallery has been renting artworks for more than 40 years, with a mission to support the local arts community, says Michelle Nye, manager of gallery programs. Individuals and businesses can rent or buy art from a collection of more than 600 works by Bay Area artists.
Costs go by size. Something like a 4-by-6-foot painting could be anywhere from $220 to $370 for a two-month term, Nye says. Smaller works can be as low as $50. Profits from rentals or sales go to the artists and to education programs at SFMOMA.
Note: The nonprofit gallery is not located in the downtown museum but at the Fort Mason Art and Culture Center in San Francisco’s Marina District. There’s an exhibition gallery on the ground floor of Building A, where rotating exhibits and events are held. It’s open to the public daily, but best to call ahead; 415-441-4777, www. sfmoma.org/artists-gallery.
KEENLEE ART RENTAL PROGRAM >> Based in San Francisco, the program partners with one of the Bay Area’s premier nonprofit arts organizations, Root Division, to offer affordable, high-quality art rentals for both commercial and residential clients. You fill out a profile and Root Division’s curatorial staff, working with more than 200 emerging and established artists, will help you engage in the visual arts while supporting your local arts community.
Rental fees are $15 per square foot of hanging space for a three-month rental. They’ll even install and remove the art for an additional fee. Keenlee also organizes tours to art studios and galleries and provides advisory services; www.keenlee.com/ artrentals.
HANG ART >> The Union Street gallery offers a large selection of fine art, which can be viewed on location or on its website. Founded in 1998 to bridge the gap between emerging artists and emerging collectors, Hang Art not only offers works for sale, but also developed a rental program so you can live with art before owning it, or just refresh your surroundings by rotating your art.
Rental fees run approximately 10% of a work’s purchase price; and works at Hang Art range from less than $250 to nearly $50,000. The gallery is at 567 Sutter St., San Francisco; 415-434-4264, hangart.com.
GET ART UP >> The online art gallery and rental service lets you browse its virtual gallery of works by contemporary artists, sign up to rent original works through a monthly subscription, then have your art delivered in the mail. You can rotate and try out new works, or if you want to purchase, they’ll give you half the rental fees back as a credit. Every rental and purchase from the site is shared with the artists who made the work; www.getartup.com.