006. Art YOU Could Buy!
Start small and support friends.
I think it’s important for people to live amongst art but I don’t think it has to be expensive.
Some people have a snotty attitude towards works on paper, posters, and editions (prints of which there are multiples, which are often signed and numbered x/xx total).
I certainly don’t own any expensive art. The cheapest thing I have is a free poster from an exhibit at Greene Naftali, which I inexpensively framed myself using FrameUSA.com. If you have a good eye, you could probably have only free things in your house and it would look more beautiful, more special, than the homes of some serious collectors who view artworks as assets.
When I started making paintings, I found that they are living, breathing things. The paintings, I felt, wanted to be looked at. I would argue that looking at art is more important than the conservation of art, if we had to choose. Art wants to be seen more than it wants to be protected from time.
I saw Eva Hesse’s painstakingly restored sculpture “Expanded Expansion”at The Guggenheim a few years ago. It looked disgusting, like dead, dried skin stretched across poles (photos from its initial install show draping, wet-looking folds of latex). And there was a quote from one of her friends about how she didn’t think about or care about the aging of her pieces, which were usually constructed with materials like rubber latex that deteriorate over time.
What does that have to do with collecting affordable art? I guess bucking against this idea of “saving” something, of being precious about what is art, about waiting for the time when you can afford “real art,” and thinking too much about the appreciation of something, which is never guaranteed.
My advice to everyone, including myself: get what you can afford now that you want to look at every day. It’s the most simple collecting philosophy and the most innocent.
Here are some arts and crafts I have purchased or considered purchasing recently, all of which are affordable, special, and beautiful:
This print by Subway Hands:
Anything Wobbleware (made by ceramicist Sivim Ly in Brooklyn)
ok stuff collection of matte black thorn-y vases and candlestick holders (made by ceramicist Joe Sturm)
Nick Fusaro (this artist held a studio sale through the gallery Blade Study and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I could afford something - love the works on paper that are still available)
Arlina Cai paintings, discovered at a holiday market and under $500 for the smaller, framed ones
Newcube. is a site that specializes in “accessible contemporary art.” Fun to browse, I like these strange hair-like drawings by Homa Arkani and Brandon Elijah Johnson’s paintings.
Platform Art, which I’ve written about before, has one of these awesome little Em Kettner glazed tiles left (although at $2,000 I know it’s not super affordable for everyone). This Justin Cole painting is $1,200 and quite beautiful.
If you’re in the market for some cool art posters (including vintage finds), check out:
Renew Finds (Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
Dream Fishing Tackle (Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
Yvon Lambert (they ship from Paris, a wide range of printed works under $1,000, many under $300. Shop prints and artworks.)
Ai Weiwei at Faurschou (148 Green Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn) - I was super opposed to this based on the photos/one-sentence description of the show which is: Ai Weiwei remaking famous paintings in legos. It sounded stunt-y, ugly, and uninteresting. But I went and spent some time with the work and was happily proven wrong. These pieces are amazing to look at and there is a lot of room for interpretation in his artistic choices, making it a good one to see with a friend or group.
“In Praise of Shadows” at Jacqueline Sullivan Gallery (52 Walker Street, 4th Floor, Tribeca) - One of the dreamiest little hideaways in the city, Jacqueline Sullivan Gallery is full of functional art pieces that blur the lines between home decor, utility, “craft” and art. The current show is brilliantly curated and features mostly lighting.
Happy holidays and may your new year be filled with beautiful things :) xx