Show your style with unique artworks
If you look at any really sophisticated, decorated spaces in top interior design magazines, they all have original art on the walls. It’s a critical component to really giving your home a feel of class and uniqueness, but many of us still opt instead to buy mass-produced prints that adorn the homes of thousands of others.
Its understandable – the art world can sometimes be quite intimidating to the un-initiated, but in reality it has extremely low barriers to entry, and a wide range of pricing that makes it accessible to just about everyone.
Best of all, buying unique pieces of work will enable you to truly reflect your own style and taste in your home, creating countless conversation pieces.
In this post we’ll cover off the best steps to finding your personal style for your home and how to get started in buying your first piece of artwork.
When deciding what type of art you’d like to introduce to your home the best start point is to visit any number of local exhibitions, museums, galleries and art fairs to find a style or subject matter that you like.
Most galleries typically rotate work on a regular basis, but they’ll also have catalogues for other represented artists that you can flick through for inspiration.
Local exhibitions will allow you to meet other collectors and often the artists themselves. Many collectors will be more than happy to talk about their own collections and artists to consider, which will gradually help to build you knowledge on the subject.
At Asian Art Platform for example we typically run a new exhibition every month, showcasing mainly emerging Chinese artists.
Finally, Singapore has a regular run of art fairs, but the best is arguably Affordable Art Fair, which runs in May & November each year and again gives you access to a huge range of relatively inexpensive artwork.
If you have identified some specific artists that interest you then do some research to understand more about their work and potential for growth.
If you like to do your own research, then a good start point is to search the artists name on popular search engines such as Yahoo, and see what comes up. It’s a positive sign if you see relevant results such as articles and images, as this is usually a sign that the artist is actively promoted, which is important when it comes to seeing increased market value over time.
Aside from the normal search terms, you can also consider signing up for popular artist search sites such as Art Price or Artnet both of which will give you detailed auction records for just about any artist out there, which enables you to better understand the market value of a given artist.
If the artist has no record on these types of sites however don’t let this necessarily put you off buying their work. Many younger, up and coming artists will purposefully have their work kept out of auction in order to protect their market price early in their career.
Unique artwork can range from a few hundred dollars to millions, so set a budget that you feel comfortable with, but be willing to sneak slightly over it if there is a piece you really love – you’ll regret it if you lose a piece you really liked for a few hundred dollars more.
Buying emerging (younger) artists can be a great route for buying less expensive, unique pieces of work whilst still leaving room for investment growth in the future, but look for young artists that have representation.
Image above - Victory by Cai Jun
Do be aware of the hidden costs associated with buying more expensive works (such as insurance, framing and shipping/import taxes – some of which you can obviously try to offset when negotiating the price).
If buying via an auction then be sure to also factor in sales tax and buyers premium to the final hammer price as these can provide an unwelcome surprise to the un-initiated.
Check out this article on buying via auction – what you need to know to avoid any surprises.
Auctions can be a great source for buying unique pieces of fine art below market rate, but its also a great place to visit if you’re just looking for inspiration on what types of artist to follow and consider buying.
In Singapore you could try 33 Auction and Borobudur for a wide range of affordable works, whilst Sotheby’s and Christies in Hong Kong cater for the top end of the market, but often do preview events in Singapore.
All these auction houses typically produce paper and electronic catalogues that you can use to research works and seek inspiration, whilst the preview events are some of the best opportunities you’ll get to see a vast array of unique paintings in the flesh.
Once you’ve taken the plunge and purchased a piece of work either privately or via auction, make sure you keep all the documentation that came with it.
For example, the certificate (if there is one), invoice, and any books or catalogues showing the work. This is all valuable material that you can use if and when you come to sell the work in the future.
Art is a truly fantastic way to transform your home and really push your personal style and taste, whilst creating interesting conversation pieces.
If simply brightening up your home with beautiful works of art that express your personality wasn’t enough then art can also provide a very solid investment opportunity.
Of course, art is only ever a good investment if you’re willing to sell it in the future.
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