The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - The Telegraph Magazine
Interiors
Make your home a masterpiece with original art, says Jessica Doyle
If there’s one thing that’s sure to lift the spirits, and the ambience of a room, it’s an artwork. Which perhaps explains why wall art has become one of the key interiors trends to emerge from lockdown.
Inexpensive prints are an accessible way to add a dash of colour to a room, but so too are original artworks, the kind that you won’t see all over Instagram in other people’s homes. And they don’t have to cost a fortune: original works can start from as little as £50 or so, a similar price to a print. Today’s lockdown-inspired art collector is looking not necessarily for investment pieces, but for a special and unique artwork that is not only beautiful to look at, but comes with a story behind it that will add meaning and depth to the room where it hangs.
‘There’s something wonderful about knowing the piece you have has been created by the artist and that they worked directly on that piece of paper or canvas,’ says Georgia Spray, the founder of online gallery Partnership
Editions (partnershipeditions.com), where original works can cost from a few hundred pounds (and where sales went up by over 250 per cent in a month at the start of the first lockdown). ‘I also love knowing that no other identical piece exists, it makes it such a special purchase and part of your home.’
Spray has seen a steady increase in demand over the last year as customers seek to upgrade their homes. ‘In particular supporting emerging artists at this time has struck a chord with collectors,’ she says. The same is true for Sim Takhar of east London gallery The Old
Bank Vault (theoldbankvault.com). ‘We saw a huge uptick when we reopened after the first lockdown,’ she says. ‘There were people who had been at home for three months, looking at their walls, and needed some kind of daily inspiration through their interiors and artworks.’
Now the gallery’s doors are closed again, Takhar has been working virtually with customers to find pieces to suit their space. Galleries such as hers have pivoted to offer interiordesign and art-buying advice remotely, and fairs that have been cancelled due to Covid, such as the Affordable Art Fair (affordableartfair.com) have successfully moved online.
New companies have also sprung up during lockdown, such as Canopy Collections (canopycollections.com), which sells pieces by emerging artists.
‘Original art is so accessible now,’ says Takhar. ‘And when you have art at home, it’s so impactful on your mood.’
GO VINTAGE
Another way to find affordable original art is to buy vintage: a stylist’s trick is to pick up an old portrait or still life at a junk shop or flea market and reframe it to create a one-off piece that will add character to a modern interior. The issue, while shops are closed, is where to find such pieces – which is what prompted Sara Allom to set up The Vintage Art Gallery (thevintageartgallery.com) last year. The paintings she sells may not come with a backstory, as the artist is usually unknown, but prices start from as little as £30 and, as she points out, ‘They can bring something unique to the home – whether that’s heritage paint tones or familiar beach landscapes reminiscent of childhood adventures.’
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
Add to your collection with furnishings created by artists. Woolwich Contemporary (woolwichprintfair.com/studio), a new brand established by gallerist Lizzie Glendinning, offers limited-edition fabrics and wallpapers, with patterns and motifs designed by emerging artists. Options range from colourful prints to a full-size mural inspired by the pool at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, outside Rome, for the ultimate feature wall (see above). Commissioning a bespoke mural is another way to incorporate an original work: Diane Hill (dianehill.co.uk) hand paints intricate chinoiserie-style wallpapers and abstract murals that turn a wall into a true work of art.